D'Esposito put family members of GOP allies on congressional payroll, records show

Rep. Anthony D'Esposito not only put his would-be stepdaughter on his congressional payroll, but also the children and family members of his Nassau GOP allies, records show. 

D’Esposito (R-Island Park), vying for reelection against Democrat Laura Gillen for New York’s 4th Congressional District, came under fire Tuesday after a New York Times report alleged the congressman's ex-girlfriend and the daughter of his longtime fiancee were on his payroll.

At least three more people with ties to prominent figures in Nassau County Republican politics were paid through his congressional office, payroll records for 2023 and 2024 show. 

The congressman's former scheduler, Ashley Sapraicone, 26, of Long Beach, is the daughter of Republican Senate candidate Mike Sapraicone. 

Mike Sapraicone, 68, of Glen Head, is a former NYPD detective who owns a private security company and has been a longtime Nassau GOP donor. He is currently running to unseat Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. D'Esposito's endorsement of Sapraicone is at the top of Sapraicone's campaign homepage. 

One of D'Esposito's former interns, Aidan Driscoll, 20, is the son of Hempstead Town Receiver of Taxes Jeanine Driscoll. Aiden Driscoll, a college student, was a paid intern in the congressman's Washington office. 

And among D'Esposito's list of part-time employees is Jill Ann Ryder, 59, of Wantagh, who worked on constituent affairs for D'Esposito. She is the wife of Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, a Republican.

Newsday researchers used public records, social media and Newsday archived articles and obituaries to confirm these family relationships. Newsday left messages for Aidan Driscoll and Jill Ryder on Tuesday, but did not get a response. Ashley Sapraicone declined to comment. 

D'Esposito spokesman Matt Capp on Tuesday confirmed to Newsday they worked for the congressman in various capacities. 

When asked if their employment was related to their family connections, Capp said in a statement to Newsday: "Congressman D'Esposito values staff members that have deep ties to the communities the Congressman serves, and all employees of the district office were hired based on their merits as well as their ability to serve the public." 

Nassau Democrats, however, say GOP nepotism runs deep in the county and D'Esposito brought the practice of hiring family and friends to Washington in his first term in Congress. 

On Monday, the Times reported Tessa Lark, the daughter of his longtime fiancee, Cynthia Lark, was employed in his district office. Cynthia Lark's other daughter, Alyssa Lark, is the deputy communications director for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.

"For as long as anyone can remember, Republicans in Nassau have been wasting taxpayer money on these types of low-show jobs, which trade political loyalty for paychecks," said Nassau County Legis. Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove), the legislature's minority leader. "And now we have D'Esposito, who’s spent his entire political career milking this system of nepotism and exporting it to Washington, D.C., where even national Republicans are seemingly baffled by how brazenly he was flaunting this level of corruption."

Gillen, a longtime rival of D'Esposito from their time spent as supervisor and councilman in the Town of Hempstead, also ran against him in the 2022 congressional race. D'Esposito won by 9,751 votes or 3.6 percentage points. 

While a Hempstead councilman, D'Esposito's mother, father, brother and sister-in-law all worked for the town. D'Esposito voted in March 2017 for a $2,500 raise for his mother, a secretary in the highway department. 

Gillen on Tuesday said D'Esposito "abused his power in every position of trust he’s ever held."