Santos campaign treasurer also worked for Zeldin, other Republicans

ALBANY — As federal officials probe embattled Rep. George Santos' campaign finances, records show he used the same Shirley-based campaign company as nearly 200 other Republican organizations since 2009, including former congressman and gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin.

The company is Campaigns Unlimited. Its principal, Nancy Marks, also has served as treasurer of the campaigns of Santos and Zeldin, who lives in Shirley, state and federal records show.

Last week, the Federal Election Commission sent Marks a letter asking the Devolder Santos Nassau Victory Committee, a political action committee that supported Santos’ campaign, about what appears to be a failure to fully identify some campaign contributors. The FEC also said three supporters apparently exceeded contribution limits.

Marks is listed as the treasurer of the political action committee as well as treasurer of Santos' “principal campaign committee” — called Devolder-Santos for Congress. Both committees share the same Shirley address in federal records.

FEC and state Board of Elections records detail a number of connections between Santos and New York Republicans, many of whom are now distancing themselves from him after he admitted fabricating parts of his resume dealing with his education, family and work history before winning the 3rd Congressional District in November. Discrepancies in Santos’ background, including an unresolved criminal matter in Brazil, were first reported by The New York Times after Santos was elected.

The records show Campaigns Unlimited worked for more than 190 Republicans, GOP parties and political action committees that funded and supported candidates at the state and congressional levels.

The vast majority of services provided by Campaigns Unlimited are listed as “professional services” or “office” work, such as bookkeeping and administration, but also included consulting, campaign ads and fundraising, the records showed.

Marks and Santos declined comment. Zeldin and his spokeswoman, as well as the state Republican Committee, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Federal records show Campaigns Unlimited worked in more than 30 congressional campaigns since 2015 and was paid more than $849,000. During that period, the company was paid more than $371,000 by the campaigns for Zeldin and $121,334 from Santos campaigns.

Hiring campaign veterans and their firms to do part-time administrative work or short-term contracts is often done by candidates of both parties, records show. Political observers said the records don’t appear to show anything illegal about the multiple roles of Campaigns Unlimited.

David M. Primo, political science professor at the University of Rochester and co-author of “Campaign Finance and American Democracy,” said he didn't find anything "particularly unusual" about Campaign Unlimited working for numerous groups because campaign finance compliance is complex.

"Campaigns need to hire outside firms to help manage campaign finance and other campaign management tasks," he said, "and these firms often become identified as Republican or Democratic based on their client base. They may also have a regional focus.”

John Kaehny, executive director of the Reinvent Albany good-government group, said such political operators are "like the spider at the central web" of many campaigns of the same party.

“It shouldn’t be, but it’s not unusual,” Kaehny said. “How they avoid conflicts of interest, I don’t know.”

Veteran good-government advocate Blair Horner said he was struck by the interconnections.

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.