Republican New York Senate candidate Jon Girodes was arrested Friday, Oct. 14 on nine counts of grand larceny.
According to Atlanta Black Star, Girodes entered the national spotlight after telling NBC New York his plans to hand out “KFC, Kool-Aid and watermelons” to Black Harlem residents as part of a campaign initiative.
Now, the candidate has been accused of scamming multiple people wanting to rent from him. NBC New York reports that the 39-year-old would post ads on Craigslist, court prospective renters and take their money. However, Girodes allegedly never intended to rent out the apartment advertised.
Attorney Pierre Gooding represents 10 people who claim to be victims of Girodes’ renting scam.
“… He’s posting an apartment that’s affordable because that’s his initiative as a public officer,” Gooding tells NBC 4 Friday. “The person comes over. He shows them the amenities. Wines them and dines them and then takes their money. And then he comes up with various reasons why he won’t return [their] money. It’s the same apartment every single time. The same sort of lease structure. It’s very obvious that there’s no intent to ever rent out this apartment.”
During Girodes’ perp walk, he tells reporters that he is ready for an exclusive sit-down. He insists that he is the real victim here while slyly stating that he is hungry for pasta.
After the storm of controversy, all of his campaign social media pages have been removed. But there is no word on whether the senate candidate will still run for the 30th District seat.
