
Mark Chiusano
Photo by Charlotte Alter
Mark Chiusano, a journalist who has written for NPR, The Atlantic, and The Paris Review, will read from his new biography, “The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos,” at The Colonial Theatre in North Canaan, Conn., on Sunday, Dec. 10. He discussed his new book during a phone interview from his home in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Alexander Wilburn: I could not have dreamed of a more suitable day to dive into George Santos. To give readers context, it’s Thursday, Nov. 16, and just hours ago the House of Ethics Committee unveiled a 56 page report outlining a litany of alleged misconduct involving, of course, accusations of embezzling funds from his campaign, as well as, and I’m going to quote The Washington Post here, “deceiving donors about how contributions would be used, creating fictitious loans, and engaging in fraudulent business dealings.” Have you had a chance to look at the report, and did anything surprise you?
Mark Chiusano: Nothing surprised me, because this is kind of what my whole book is about: the kind of grifty, schemy behavior he’s been engaged in for a really long time. My book includes some of the mooching and scamming he did off his grandmother and his aunt. He’s been doing these low level things for a long time. What I think is so great about this report, though, is that they had subpoena power, and they were able to get bank records. So they nailed down some things that we only wondered about or assumed or questioned, right? So they were able to see where the money actually went as opposed to where Santos said it went or where it came from.
AW: Speaking of where the money went, The Financial Times discussed his use of campaign dollars for expenses like Botox, shopping at Sephora and Hermes, and then thousands of dollars used on OnlyFans. Obviously, I don’t have to explain what Botox is to Connecticut readers, but for those who don’t know, OnlyFans is an online social-media-slash-commerce platform where users pay a monthly subscription to view media content from freelance sex workers. Is George Santos’ payments to OnlyFans the making of a sex scandal or just another strange detail?
MC: Another strange detail. I would say that he’s been spending money on strange and sort of luxurious things that he that he enjoys for a long time, like he kind of has lived this… I think the report called it “a high roller lifestyle” for a long time. So this is like one more thing there that he decided to shell out for.
AW: Do you see any difference between his funding here and the spending of another disgraced gay Republican, Aaron Schock, who was notable for spending funds on his private jets and Downton Abbey inspired office?
MC: I think that what sort of sets Santos apart from a lot of these other people is that he… like the sort of brazenness and the kind of laziness and covering his own tracks, you know? There was a lot of stuff in here that raised questions well before he was elected and well before he was know famous for being a liar. I wrote stories about his FEC filings during his first campaign. So did other journalists, but unfortunately we didn’t pull it all together and didn’t understand the largeness of what he was doing.
AW: He took to X today, formerly Twitter, to say that “becoming a public figure was never [his] goal.” Is this his biggest lie?
MC: I mean, let’s put it this way: he’s definitely been interested in politics in a very serious way since the Trump era, since 2016 era. So that’s a pretty long time. I don’t know if it was a childhood dream of his, but he’s been into this for a while. As part of my book, I went through a lot of his social media, including a look at a lot of his deleted tweets from early in life. Back then he was very interested in celebrities, the kind of Paris Hilton figures, and was interested in being famous and being a celebrity. So I think that a little bit of that translated over into politics, especially after 2016, when politics was like, the hot thing that everyone was interested in. He quickly kind of made that jump from interest in celebrity to interest in celebrity politics.
AW: You wrote that he had this group text with his family where he stated that his main platform was going to be illegal immigration. Yet that never really transpired into his public platform. Does he have any set politics?
MC: There’s a really great line that was in the report that a bunch of his campaign staff did on him a while back where they uncovered this line where he said something to the effect of, “I’m no right winger.” And then he was running as a very intense right winger, like one of the more extreme candidates of that cycle. So he says many things in different settings. He’s flip-flopped on abortion, he’s flip-flopped on COVID precautions. I think his governing thesis is just say whatever makes sense in the room, “I’m in.” And so it makes it kind of hard to trace what does he actually believe politically.
AW: He represent of two groups put together. On one hand, as a gay Republican, as a Republican who is a child of immigrants, it’s really nothing new. We’ve seen right-leaning figures who campaign against the self-interest of the groups that they supposedly represent. We’ve also seen a lot of people who fabricate backgrounds to get ahead. But he combines these two. Do you think that’s essentially what makes him such an interesting figure or is it some third ephemeral thing?
MC: I think it’s a little bit of those two things. And I think it’s just his absolute gratuitousness. His story is a real version of the somewhat fictional story that the “Catch Me If You Can” guy told about himself, you know. Frank Abagnale pretended to be a pilot and did all these other cons. Santos is living this wild, wild, chameleon-like life, where he pretended to be many, many things over the years. I think, to me, it’s a little bit of a sad story that he felt the need to kind of go to these lengths in order to get ahead. I think it says a lot about where we are in this country, that someone who was ambitious, who wanted to be famous and wealthy, felt that this was the only route available to them. Finally, he’s been very threatening to victims of his and has certainly done a lot of nasty things in his life that I report on in the book. But he, as far as we know anyway, he hasn’t been violent, he’s not a warlord or something. So I think that’s another reason that people can feel okay being fascinated in this guy, because he’s a liar, but in some ways he’s mostly hurting himself.
AW: On the other hand, he has attempted very sloppily to capitalize on these extreme tragedies by citing that his mother died in 9/11, that his grandparents survived the Holocaust.
MC: He isn’t an immediately sympathetic figure. I write in the book about how there was this veteran, a dog owner, who Santos scammed. People probably heard this story before. I spent a lot of time with that gentleman, Rich. The night after Santos was sort of uncovered, Rich the dog owner called Santos and just kind of like ripped into him. And Santos picks up the call and they have this very bizarre conversation. That just struck me as very sad. Here’s Santos alone, picking up the phone, getting sort of yelled at by one of his victims. It’s almost like The Ghost of Christmas Past.
AW: I wanted to read a quote from the book, on page 111, where you write, “Politics has always provided a cover for alienated people, for those who feel a little like they don’t fully belong. That microphone can be a shield before it is a weapon. And there’s an intoxication that comes from the sound of your voice that commands a total and respectful silence.”
MC: I do think that sometimes we kind of assume that people running for office — well, we either ignore them entirely or we think that they’re so much better than us, so special that we can’t criticize them. I think none of those things are true. They are us. It’s representative democracy and we should be like thinking very critically about these people and think of them as peers. That’s their point as representatives.
AW; Are we as the public culpable of not being more scrutinizing of George Santos before he got as far as he did?
MC: I would not say this is the voters’ fault. I think that there’s a large nexus of reasons for why Santos was able to slip through. There were lots of people who made small mistakes including reporters like myself who like didn’t bring the whole picture to bear. The voters didn’t have the chance to sort of see how sleazy he was at the time. That’s a factor of just the lack of strength of local media now. There’s not as many outlets and reporters as there used to be in a lot of places. There has been a change in the way candidates campaign. It used to be that there would be tons of these debates, there would be lots of in-person interviews where it’s often actually very easy to tell if someone’s lying. And so it’s a shame. I think that the voters didn’t really… they didn’t have all the information in front of them.
AW: He announced today that he’s not going to be running in 2024, so not in the political arena, but in the larger culture, is there a path to redemption, even a sort of like ironic “Dancing with the Stars” redemption for George Santos?
MC: I think for sure, that’s what this country is, you know. There’s always kind of a second act. “Dancing with the Stars” is definitely one I’ve thought of too. I could totally see him doing that. Because again, I mean, barring us finding out new information, he hasn’t been sort of violent in his crimes. I mean, tons of people who have done arguably worse things than he has, have come back into public light. So I think that’s on his mind as well, like “what is my second act?”
To register for this free event go to www.canaancolonial.com
The Canaan Pirates pose as champions after defending the Northwest Connecticut District 6 Majors Little League title.
THOMASTON — The Canaan Pirates are champions once more.
In the Northwest Connecticut District 6 Majors Little League title game Friday, June 13, the Pirates defeated Thomaston JRC Transportation by a score of 6-2.
Brody Ohler pitched a two-hitter for Canaan. Milo Ellison relieved him, facing one batter who flew out to right field where Ben Young secured the final out.
Canaan never trailed in the game against top-ranked Thomaston, which lost one game all season prior to the championship. Both JRC losses came from the Pirates, with players aged 10 to 12 from Cornwall, Falls Village, Kent, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury and Sharon.
Milo Ellison played second base before relieving pitcher Brody Ohler.Photo by Riley Klein
In the title game at Reeves Field in Thomaston, the Pirates started strong with a lead in the top of the first inning. Ohler singled, then stole second base. Liam Downey brought him home with a single, then Sam Hahn doubled to put runners on second and third. Ellison brought them both home with a triple and the Pirates took a 3-0 lead.
The margin held until the sixth inning when the Pirates extended their lead to 6-0. With J.T. Farr and Bentley King on, Ohler sent a deep shot to center field and rounded the bases for an in-the-park home run.
In the bottom of the sixth, Ohler surrendered two runs before reaching his pitch limit. Ellison stepped in to end the game with some help from Young in right field.
The Pirates piled on Young in the outfield chanting “Benny! Benny!” The two sides shook hands in the spirit of sportsmanship before trophies were awarded.
The Pirates rejoice around Ben Young after he secured the final out.Photo by Riley Klein
After winning the District 6 title for the second straight year, Coach Tom Downey said "It feels awesome. Especially this group who worked really hard. Last year we were dominant, this year these guys worked their butts off."
"We definitely earned it," said third baseman Michael Prisco.
Ohler finished with nine strikeouts on the mound, three hits in three at bats, two RBI and a home run. Ellison hit 1-for-2 with two RBI, Liam Downey went 1-for-3 with an RBI, Sam Hahn and J.T. Farr hit 1-for-3 and Sam Hamlin hit 1-for-2.
For Thomaston, Owen H. hit 1-for-2 with two RBI and Lucas K. hit 1-for-2. The pitching trio of Gavin M., Jackson Ether and Brody Conlon combined for 12 strikeouts.
J.T. Farr and Brody Ohler are back-to-back District 6 champions.Photo by Riley Klein
NORTH CANAAN — The Canaan Red Sox ended the season with a thrilling 14-13 win over the Tri-Town Phillies Thursday, June 12.
Canaan trailed for most of the game but kept it close. Ultimately, the Red Sox secured the victory with a final-inning comeback in front of the home crowd at Steve Blass Field.
The Red Sox rejoiced as victors. Reflecting on the season, Coach Nikki Blass stated, “My boys continue to come off the field smiling and doing better than the game before.”
The Red Sox are part of the Northwest Connecticut Steve Blass Little League AAA program, consisting of players aged 9 to 11 from Cornwall, Falls Village, Kent, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury and Sharon. Tri-Town includes players from Goshen, Litchfield, Morris and Warren.
Berkley Karcheski connects for a Red Sox hit June 12.Photo by Simon Markow
The result June 12 marked the first win of the season for the Red Sox. The night before, Coach Nikki Blass reassured her team with a letter, writing, “You should keep your heads high and know that you are all an asset to this team. Tomorrow we are clearing the slate and we will win.” She continued, “I hear in addition if you put a bat under your bed you get an amazing hit on game day.”
The bat trick paid off and many Red Sox logged hits in the game. “Everyone was on fire,” exclaimed Blass after the game.
Quinn McKniff pitched the majority of the match for Canaan with reliever Myles Shippa taking the mound for the final inning.
Blaze Freund heads for home.Photo by Simon Markow
Offensively, Blaze Freund logged his first hit of the season. His twin brother Roan scored after sliding head-first into home “Pete Rose-style.” Myles Shippa recorded an RBI double in the game.
The Red Sox gathered beneath the scoreboard for a team photo after the win. With wide smiles and baseballs held high, the players ended another joyous Little League season.
Written by Riley Klein with reporting from Simon Markow.
The Red Sox conclude the 2025 season with a win.Photo provided
State Rep. Maria Horn (D-64) was treated for her injuries at Sharon Hospital.
The day after concluding what has been described as a grueling legislative session, State Rep. Maria Horn (D-64) had a running accident, leaving her with a broken pelvis and collarbone among other more minor bruises and abrasions. Despite the injuries, she is in good spirits and recuperating at home, eager to get back on her feet.
Horn said after spending weeks in the assembly hall, she was eager to get some outdoor exercise in, but perhaps pushed a little too hard too soon. She said she was excited to get a run in on the morning of Friday, June 6, but was still exhausted from her time in Hartford and in the final stretch of recovering from a meniscus repair surgery in December.
Before the run, she told friends she was hoping for a “hard reset for [her] health,” she said with a rueful laugh.
Nearing the end of the loop, Horn said her leg was fatigued and gave out, causing her to fall on the pavement. She is grateful for the community members who helped during the ordeal, including an unknown motorist who waited with her until her husband arrived, and the staff at Sharon Hospital who she said were “wonderful.”
She was directed to keep weight off her hip for 4 to 6 weeks, and since her collarbone is also fractured, cannot use crutches so she’s partially wheelchair-bound for the time being. While she’s disappointed to be missing out on the start of hiking, biking and running season, she’s keeping her sights forward and focusing on recovery.
In the meantime, she said she’s grateful for the video and photo updates from her son, who is hiking the Connecticut portion of the Appalachian Trail: “I’m living vicariously through him.”
Milo Ellison sends a fly ball to left field, bringing home Brody Ohler and Sam Hahn in a walk-off win for the Canaan Pirates June 11.
NORTH CANAAN — The Canaan Pirates advanced to the league championship after a comeback victory over the Tri-Town Red Sox Wednesday, June 11.
Down 3-2 with two outs and two on in the bottom of the 6th inning, "Mighty" Milo Ellison stepped up to the plate and launched a fly ball deep to left field. The single brought home Brody Ohler and Sam Hahn for a walk-off Pirates win.
"Milo did it," shouted a teammate. "Let's hear it for Milo!"
Elite pitching from both sides kept the game close. Starter Sam Hahn pitched five and one-third innings for the Pirates and recorded 10 strikeouts. For the Red Sox, Joey B. struck out 11 batters over five innings.
Sam Hahn threw 10 strikeouts for the Pirates against the Tri-Town Red Sox June 11.Photo by Riley Klein
Milo Ellison led the Pirates offensively, batting 2-for-3 with one run and three RBI. Sam Norbit logged an RBI and went 1-for-2 at the plate for Canaan.
"Nothing like a walk-off," said a spectator after the Pirates won 4-3.
Canaan, which includes players aged 10-12 from the six Region One towns and Norfolk, will face top-ranked JRC Transportation in the Northwest Connecticut District 6 Little League title game.
The Pirates rejoice after winning the Northwest Connecticut District 6 Little League semifinal game.Photo by Riley Klein
The Pirates are the reigning champs of District 6 and have a 10-2 record this season. Brody Ohler, who pitched the win in last year's championship, is expected to start on the mound once again for Canaan.
JRC Transportation led the league this season with a record of 11-1. Canaan delivered JRC its lone loss 1-0 on May 27, but JRC defeated Canaan 15-4 in the June 6 rematch.
The championship will be played at Reeves Field in Thomaston Friday, June 13, at 6 p.m.
The Northwest Connecticut Steve Blass Little League Majors Pirates have a chance to go back-to-back in District 6.Photo by Riley Klein