Regular dinners at his favourite Italian restaurant in his hometown of Queens, New York. A delicious meal at Miami Diner. A keep on the glitzy, star-studded W South Beach resort in Miami Beach.
Wait, what?
Santos, the newly elected Republican from New York, has admitted to fabricating a lot of his life story and resume, together with claims that he labored on Wall Street at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, was a star volleyball participant for Baruch College, and is Jewish (“I mentioned I used to be Jew-ish,” he later insisted).
In the most recent chapter within the congressman’s ongoing saga, a watchdog group referred to as Campaign Legal Center has filed a grievance with the Federal Election Commission accusing Santos of a slew of marketing campaign finance violations.
The grievance claims the Santos marketing campaign filed 37 disbursements within the 2022 election cycle for precisely $199.99, which suspiciously fell one cent under the quantity at which campaigns should maintain receipts or invoices. Among the $199.99 disbursements was a cost for a keep on the W South Beach resort on October 13, 2021.
As the grievance (connected on the backside of this story) notes, the maths does not fairly add up.
“Simply put, barring some kind of personal insider charge that might elevate different critical violations of federal marketing campaign finance legislation, the Santos marketing campaign couldn’t have paid $199.99 for a ‘Hotel Stay’ on the W Hotel South Beach,” it reads.
Is it doable to drop solely $200 on a one-night keep on the resort, because the Santos marketing campaign claims to have finished?
New Times set out on a quest to seek out out.
On Collins Avenue in Miami Beach’s Art Deco District, the up to date landmark resort boasts rooftop basketball and tennis courts, two-onsite swimming pools, a luxurious spa, and panoramic ocean views. It has a penchant for attracting celebrities, together with the likes of Justin Bieber, Bono, and the rapper Drake, who even name-dropped the resort in a music years in the past.
It’s secure to say that spending solely $200 for evening on the property can be a hell of deal.
New Times not too long ago phoned up the resort’s toll-free reservation middle to inquire about room charges: notably, how one may probably obtain the Santos particular charge.
A consultant defined that the most affordable room on the W is the “Splendid Studio” — a spacious suite with a king mattress and balcony — which goes for as little as $799 an evening in late January. In October, when Santos reportedly spent a number of nights on the ritzy property, it may well price as a lot as $999 per evening.
When requested whether or not it will be doable to get a $200 room at any level throughout the 12 months, the consultant laughed into the cellphone.
“No,” she mentioned. “Maybe with like, an worker charge.”
She defined that there’s the “Explore Rate,” however it will solely decrease the associated fee to round $300. (The promotion additionally seems to be solely out there to staff and rapid relations of Marriott, which owns W Hotel South Beach.)
On the morning of January 30, Expedia provided a base room on the W South Beach for $699, which jumped to greater than $840 together with taxes and charges. The subsequent tier up is the Wonderful Studio with an ocean view, at a $819 charge, or $984 with taxes and charges.
Breakfast for 2? Add $76.
Evidently, luxurious comes at a price. And it quantities to greater than $199.99 nowadays.