July 14, 2022
Statement From Max Della Pia Campaign For Congress:
Max Della Pia, Candidate for NY-23 Congressional District condemned Carl Paladino for employing a high-level staffer on his 2022 congressional campaign despite knowledge of the employee watching child pornography on a company computer in 2013 and later being convicted.
“Carl Paladino, the supposed tough-on-crime Republican, employs a sex offender who not only still works for the company he founded, but also works for his campaign as his Assistant Treasurer. Paladino has again shown he is unfit for office; going so far as to defend the sex offenders actions as being “a wonderful employee”. We have seen his prior comments praising Hitler and his racist remarks about Black Americans, now we see the actions he takes as well as the choices he makes when faced with a situation like this.
Is Joe Sempolinski so extremely partisan that he supports Carl Paladino’s employment of a kiddie porn sex offender? We need a leader in Congress who at the very least can serve for the right reasons and display common decency. Special Election Republican Joe Sempolinski is intentionally paving the way for Carl by running as his placeholder,” Della Pia stated.
Response From Republican Joe Sempolinski:
“Well I disagree with the premise that I’m running to be anyone’s placeholder. I’m running to serve the people. My opponent (Max Della Pia) is running in the special election to run in November, in a (new) district that he doesn’t even live in. I’m running to do a job. I’m running to serve the people of the old 23rd distict. That’s a very separate election, and whoever wins after the new district takes hold, it won’t be Max Della Pia.”
Spectrum News reports that the Paladino campaign denies that the Paladino company employee accused of possession of child pornography, works in the Paladino campaign.
“He has no affiliation with Mr. Paladino’s campaign for Congress,” Vish Burra continued. “He has been removed from the campaign document. Mr. Paladino strongly condemns the atrocity of child pornography.”
