The disabled Navy veteran who claims embattled Rep. George Santos ripped him off for $3,000 meant for the vet’s sick service dog asked the Long Island Republican Thursday if he has a “soul.”
“Do you will have a heart? Do you will have a soul?” Richard Osthoff told “CNN This Morning”. “He probably would lie about that. I mean, I don’t want you to ever hurt anybody such as you hurt me again, George. And no person else should ever must undergo that. I almost killed myself when that dog died.
“That’s why I’m here. I don’t want him to have the ability to do that again.”
Osthoff said he was living in a tent on the side of a road in Howell, NJ, along with his dog Sapphire in 2016 when he heard a few pet charity, Friends of Pets United, run by Anthony Devolder, an alias utilized by Santos.
Sapphire had a life-threatening stomach tumor, her condition was worsening, and a veterinarian told Osthoff that the dog would want surgery that would cost about $3,000.
Osthoff, who was honorably discharged from the Navy in 2002, said a veterinary technician referred him to Santos and the charity, saying she “gave me glowing reviews about him.”
“Supposedly, he gave the look of he was on the up and up. She showed me other pictures of other animals that he supposedly had these GoFundMes for,” he told CNN. “I used to be in a desperate situation. I used to be living in a tent. I didn’t have the cash to get the dog taken care of myself. So, I used to be ready for the assistance.”
Eventually, he met up with Santos and so they arrange a GoFundMe page for Sapphire.
The account raised $3,000, none of which Osthoff said he ever got because Santos closed it and deleted the page.
He said he became “frustrated” and confronted Santos.
“I knew that I wasn’t going to get any money out of this guy. So, I irked him a bit of bit once I told him that I didn’t think that he was legitimate after which I believed he was, such as you mentioned before, mining my dog and my friends’ and families’ hearts for money,” he said.
Osthoff, 47, said he believes Santos created the conflict on purpose.
“He wanted me to get mad at him and storm off and hand over on it. And it just devolved from there. He wouldn’t answer calls anymore,” Osthoff said.
Sapphire died on Jan. 15, 2017.
Santos, who was elected Nov. 8 to represent a district that covers parts of Nassau County and Queens, has denied Osthoff’s claims and has said he doesn’t know the Navy vet.
CNN’s Don Lemon said that Santos told him in response to Osthoff that he would “go to hell and back for a dog.”
“Then go to hell. He said, he’d ‘go to hell and back.’ Well, then, go to hell, George,” Osthoff fired back.
The veteran said he didn’t make the connection between Santos and Devolder until last week.
“I began seeing his face,” Osthoff said. “And I knew his voice. And that was the one thing I knew about him. And I saw him on TV and I used to be like, ’I got a sense within the pit of my stomach about this guy. Who’s he and why do I recognize him?’” Osthoff told CNN’s Erin Burnett Wednesday.
“After which, that was in December right around Christmastime. Nearly per week ago, he was within the Capitol and there was a bunch of reporters following him around asking questions. That’s in regards to the only thing you see of him anymore. And one in every of them said, ‘What’s your name today? Is it Anthony Devolder or is it George Santos?’” he said.
“I used to be sick.”
“To see that someone like that who could do something that dastardly could raise to such a high position isn’t right. That shouldn’t occur,” Osthoff added.
The freshman legislator has admitted to fabricating whole portions of his resume, including his work history, educational background, his religion and his mother’s whereabouts on Sept. 11, 2001.
A report on Wednesday found that Fatima A.C.H. Devolder was in her native Brazil for the whole lot of 2001, contrary to claims on Santos’ campaign website that she was within the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
The newly minted congressman is facing increasing calls from top Republicans to step down, including from members of the Latest York House delegation and the Nassau County Republican Committee.
Osthoff was also asked Thursday about Santos claiming that he was Jewish — he later claimed he said he was “Jew-ish” — and his mother’s death was brought on by 9/11.
“It’s horrible. How do you lie about that? How do you lie about being Jewish? How do you lie. … I mean, this guy, he doesn’t should be where he’s at, he doesn’t deserve a government pension,” Osthoff said.
”I’m a really personal, private person. I don’t have very many friends. I stay at home with my dogs for probably the most [part] and I’m tremendous. I don’t need to be out here doing this. I don’t just like the media attention. I don’t like my phone blowing up and stuff,” he went on.
“But once I saw him on the news as Anthony Devolder, I put two and two together, I ripped the scab off and it felt like my dog died yesterday. It hurt me that much all yet again.”
