GOP House candidate was blamed after handgun was stolen

NEW YORK — Republican House candidate Alison Esposito’s off-duty firearm, police identification and shield were stolen from her unlocked car in a 2016 incident that led to a reprimand by her superiors at the New York Police Department, according to documents obtained by POLITICO.

It was recommended that Esposito, who is challenging first-year Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan in a crucial House district, be docked 20 vacation days for failing to safeguard the firearm, according to a disciplinary record.

The stolen items — including Esposito’s off-duty handgun, described as a Smith & Wesson 9 mm, her NYPD identification card and police officer’s shield — were not recovered, according to an incident report filed with the Cornwall Police Department.

Esposito also reported credit cards and a Michael Kors handbag — where she had left the gun, according to the report — were missing from the car.

"Like many New Yorkers, Alison fell victim to crime,” Esposito spokesperson Ben Weiner said in a statement. “A criminal, repeat offender, brazenly broke into her vehicle, parked on private property, and stole her bag right from her car, taking with it multiple personal items that were never returned.”

It’s not clear who stole the firearm and other items from Esposito’s car. Weiner in a follow-up conversation said he could not explain how the campaign knows the person is a repeat offender.

He also dismissed the incident and blamed Ryan, a Democrat who was first elected to the House in a 2022 special election.

“This is a non-story and the fact that Pat Ryan is sensationalizing and exploiting a crime victim is just another example of how he is trying to divert attention from his complete lack of accomplishments since being elected to Congress,” Weiner said. “Ryan wants voters to overlook his pro-criminal, radical agenda that has plunged New York and the rest of America into chaos.”

Ryan’s campaign declined to comment.

Party officials said the incident offers Democrats a chance to turn the tables on Republicans, who have successfully run on a public safety and anti-crime message in recent elections.

“The incident speaks for itself,” New York Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs said in an interview. “It’s great to have a lot to say [about crime], but when you make mistakes like that and are sloppy like that it speaks volumes for the seriousness that you take your job. I would just say it’s certainly not something that helps her argument.”

Esposito worked for the NYPD for nearly 25 years. She left the department in 2022 to campaign alongside GOP nominee Rep. Lee Zeldin as his lieutenant governor candidate. Zeldin ran on a tough-on-crime platform and Esposito’s inclusion on the ticket was meant to bolster the message.

And as a House candidate, Esposito has also made public safety a centerpiece of her effort to unseat Ryan.

The theft from her car took place in Cornwall, a Hudson Valley town north of New York City.

The report lists the date of the theft occurring between 3 p.m. on Nov. 20 and 9 a.m. on Nov. 21. Esposito reported the theft on Nov. 22 after 10 a.m.

State law requires gun owners to notify police of firearm thefts within 24 hours. Weiner, the Esposito spokesperson, said she did not learn the gun was missing until the morning she reported it.