Long Island neurosurgeon Jeffrey Epstein and a case of mistaken identity

What’s in a name?

If your name is Jeffrey Epstein — and you’re not the deceased convicted pedophile with a private island and a black book of the most powerful men in America — the answer, as it turns out, is quite complicated.

Manhasset’s Jeffrey Epstein found himself the unintended victim of a case of mistaken identity this week when Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) said on the House floor that campaign contributions to former Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin, now the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, came from the notorious financier, when in fact they originated from the retired North Shore neurosurgeon with the same name.

And while Crockett, who is serving her first full term in the House, was roundly mocked on social media and in conservative publications for her error — which was only amplified during a disjointed appearance Wednesday night on CNN — Epstein said he's been barraged with calls and media requests about the bodacious blunder.

Reached by phone on Thursday, Epstein told Newsday he's taking the incident with a grain of salt.

"It's been crazy the last two days," Epstein, 74, told Newsday. ... "Aside from that, I just laugh. I don't care. I could care less."

The classic, 'only on Long Island' tale began Tuesday night when Crockett, who is mulling a run for Senate, took to the House floor to disclose that a host of Republicans, including former President George W. Bush, Mitt Romney and Zeldin had taken campaign contributions "from somebody named Jeffrey Epstein."

Crockett made the remarks in defense of Delegate Stacey Plaskett, a Democrat from the Virgin Islands, who was facing censure by the House after text messages released last week showed she communicated with the convicted sex offender during a 2019 congressional hearing. The censure measure was narrowly defeated — a move that came only hours after the House voted nearly unanimously to release the Epstein files.

Then on Wednesday night, Crockett, questioned about the remarks during an appearance on CNN, said her team had Googled the contributions 20 minutes earlier but that she "never said it was that Jeffrey Epstein."

For his part, Zeldin, who represented Long Island's East End for eight years before running unsuccessfully for governor, and later being appointed as EPA administrator, fired back on X, noting the contributions came from "a physician named Dr. Jeffrey Epstein (who is a totally different person than the other Jeffrey Epstein)."

Manhasset's Epstein, in fact, donated $1,000 to Zeldin's congressional campaign in April and August 2020, nearly a year after the financier's death. Records show Long Island's Epstein, who also contributed $500 to Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, identified his occupation as "physician."

Another Jeffrey Epstein, from New Jersey, donated $500 to Zeldin in February 2020, records show.

With the mix-up now in the rear view mirror, the episode begs the question: What is it like to share a name with one of the country's most reviled and notorious figures? (Long Island actually has at least four Jeffrey Epsteins — the others are in Floral Park, Long Beach and Westbury, records show.)

"I was here before him and I'm still here," Manhasset’s Epstein responded. "I had the name before he did. And I still have the name."

But still, he must get some odd glances when providing his name or identification for a takeout order or when making a doctor's appointment, right?

"When people look at me, I always say, 'What are you talking about?' " Epstein said of his deadpan reply. "I mean, what do you expect? If my name was Jeffrey Dahmer, would they say something also? Of course. But what can you do?"