NEW: “Alison Esposito Failed to Report Stock Investments”

"After publicly retiring from the NYPD in July 2022, Esposito spent the second half of the year on the campaign trail but reported earning $168,529 that year - just $17,000 less than her annual base salary"

"In 2023, Esposito also 'claimed she was 'employed as a law enforcement officer' despite retiring the previous year.'"

"An NYPD spokesperson told POLITICO that Esposito retired in June 2022, but did not disclose her take-home salary or explain how she earned nearly a full year's pay while spending the second half of the year on the campaign trail."

"But Payne, who now serves as general counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, a non-partisan government watchdog group, added that while an intentional violation of a disclosure form constitutes a criminal offense."

Republican congressional candidate Alison Esposito, who's vying for a seat in suburban New York, failed to disclose her stock holdings as required under federal law, records show.

Esposito filed her first disclosure in November 2023, a month after declaring her bid to run against Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat, for a prized Hudson Valley congressional seat. She submitted her second disclosure in May 2024. Both list a Vanguard stock brokerage account valued between $15,001-$50,000, but neither disclose specific stocks, as required.

"It's not very common for congressional candidates to fail to report the underlying stock holdings of their investment accounts because the reporting instructions are crystal clear," said Kedric Payne, a former deputy chief counsel at the Office of Congressional Ethics.

Payne's former employer reviews allegations of misconduct against members of the House of Representatives and refers investigations to the House Ethics Committee. If a candidate wins office, the Office of Congressional Ethics could then investigate their campaign activity.

Spokespeople from Esposito's campaign and the National Republican Congressional Committee did not respond to questions.

Esposito is one of several New York Republicans vying for a competitive House seat that could decide control of the chamber next year, but she's the only Republican challenger in the Hudson Valley. She's trailing by five points against Ryan, a decorated combat veteran, according to an Emerson College poll from Oct. 7.

Ryan's team also declined to comment on Esposito's disclosure forms. Others - like End Citizens United, a campaign finance watchdog that aims to elect more Democrats - were not as reluctant.

"It is required by law to disclose which stocks you're invested in, and her salary reporting raises serious questions given her purported retirement date," said that group's president, Tiffany Muller. "Voters deserve answers because - and I can't stress it enough - this is not normal."

As Muller alluded to, Esposito's disclosure forms also reveal inconsistencies in the income data she reported.

Her 2023 salary as reported on her first disclosure - $99,483 - does not match the same year's salary as listed in her May 2024 disclosure. That form lists no salary at all - and neither disclosure corresponds with the city's public salary information.

According to Payne, "It's also uncommon to have two financial reports disclose different income amounts for the same calendar year."

"The filer should recognize that it doesn't logically add up," he said.

But Payne, who now serves as general counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, a non-partisan government watchdog group, added that while an intentional violation of a disclosure form constitutes a criminal offense, "first-time filers are usually given the benefit of the doubt and allowed to correct an unintentional mistake."

"It is common for candidates to make mistakes with filing," he said. "But they are expected to quickly and accurately amend their reports once notified of discrepancies."

After publicly retiring from the NYPD in July 2022, Esposito spent the second half of the year on the campaign trail but reported earning $168,529 that year - just $17,000 less than her annual base salary - according to her first financial disclosure from November 2023.

In the same disclosure, Esposito reported earning $99,483 in the first ten months of 2023 and claimed she was "employed as a law enforcement officer" despite retiring the previous year.

Esposito and her campaign did not clarify if Esposito's reported salaries in 2023 and the second half of 2022 included residual vacation or sick days. According to the NYPD's Administrative Guide, retiring officers are required to use residual leave time before their retirement date.

In her second financial disclosure in May 2024, Esposito disclosed no income for the current or previous years. Her campaign would not clarify which filing was accurate.

Esposito's 2022 salary is also missing from NYC Open Data's website, which lists salaries for city employees and includes information on her 2021 and 2023 pay.