ICYMI: Pat Ryan Aide Caught in Illegal Grant Funneling Scheme

A top aide to Rep. Pat Ryan (NY-18) was busted for illegally routing taxpayer grants to his friends and family. How did Pat Ryan reward him? By hiring him again, this time for his Congressional office. 

In case you missed it…

‘Top aide to Rep. Pat Ryan mismanaged COVID relief funds: audit” 
New York Post 
Jon Levine
09/23/2023
https://nypost.com/2023/09/23/top-aide-to-rep-pat-ryan-mismanaged-covid-relief-funds-audit/

A top aide to Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan has been accused of mismanaging roughly $400,000 in COVID-19 relief funds — resulting in about half the grants going to ineligible businesses.

Tim Weidemann, a former president of the Ulster County Economic Development Alliance, “either misunderstood or intentionally miscommunicated to the public,” the program requirements, resulting in many applicants believing they were eligible when they weren’t, an audit from the county comptroller’s office found last month.

There were “significant failures in governance, inadequate internal controls, and poor oversight within the Ulster County Economic Development Alliance,” under Weidemann’s leadership, auditors found….

In April the freshman congressman brought Weidemann to Washington as his director of economic development and special projects, noting in a statement at the time that he “couldn’t be happier” with his performance as the county’s economic czar.

…

“Pat Ryan is followed by controversy and scandal wherever he goes – and it’s his constituents who pay the price,” said Rep. Richard Hudson, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Read more here.