Metro

Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney has history of employing convicts

Powerful Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney has welcomed at least three hard-core criminals on to his campaign and office staffs in recent years, shelling out over $100,000 in compensation to them, courtesy of taxpayers and campaign donors, records show.

Sean Doyle was employed by the upstate Democrat’s congressional office as a “special assistant” between December 2016 and March 2018. He brutally attacked his wife, News 12 reporter Blaise Gomez, in November 2017 and March 2019 — punching her, choking her and dragging her by her hair so violently it ripped from Gomez’s scalp, Mid Hudson News and other outlets reported. The 2017 incident was not made public until March 2019.

In a deal with prosecutors, Doyle pled guilty in 2021 to charges of coercion, criminal obstruction of breathing, and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, and is currently incarcerated at the Groveland Correctional Facility in upstate Sonyea.

Federal election commission records show that Maloney’s campaign paid Doyle $29,064 during his time of employment. The congressman’s House office paid him another $30,632, according to House disbursement records.

Alvarez worked for Maloney between January and July 2019.
Former Maloney Congressional fellow Jonathan Alvarez served a 12-year stint in prison for manslaughter.

“Sean Doyle was no longer employed by Rep. Maloney when the office became
aware of his criminal conduct. We didn’t know about any accusations or charges against Mr. Doyle before or during his work for Rep. Maloney, and he would not have been hired had we known,” a rep for Maloney told The Post.

Maloney is the boss of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee whose newly-drawn 17th district will represent parts of Rockland, Westchester, Putnam County and Dutchess Counties.

Theodore Bickley, an alleged member of the upstate Original Gangsta Killas street gang, already had past convictions for felony assault and possessing stolen property when he was busted by the feds in 2011 with $900 in counterfeit money. He was sentenced to six years in prison and paroled in December 2015, records show.

He went to work for Maloney. Between March 2018 and February 2020, Bickley was paid $35,619 from Maloney’s congressional campaign. The congressman paid him more than $47,000 from his House office, where he also worked as a “special assistant,” records show.

When Jonathan Alvarez finished a 12-year stint in prison for manslaughter in 2018, one of his first stops was to Maloney’s office, where he worked as a “Congressional fellow” and “constituent advocate” for seven months between January 2019 and July 2019, according to his LinkedIn.

Sean Doyle was employed by the upstate Democrat's congressional office as a "special assistant" between December 2016 and March 2018.
Former Maloney employee Sean Doyle was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Orange County Police

Alvarez wrote that he “served as liaison with federal agencies on behalf of constituents regarding issues with student loans providers and the USPS, including payment assistance and rectifying loss,” and “addressed constituent concerns and drafted timely correspondence from the Congressman to constituents regarding outcomes.”

Maloney paid him $12,750 during this period, records show.

Alvarez — who began dealing drugs at 13 — beat a man to death in Yonkers with a baseball bat in June 2006, according to records and a Journal News profile. He graduated from the Bard Prison Initiative, which helps violent cons reenter society. Maloney has long been a champion of the program and spoke at their 2014 commencement ceremony.

“Like all New York Democrats, Sean Patrick Maloney favors violent criminals over the safety of hardworking New York families — not just in his support of far left policies like failed bail reform, but in his office’s personnel choices of hard-core criminals as well,” said Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Schuylerville), who represents a nearby district.

Maloney previously hired Bard Prison Initiative grads to top leadership positions. Dyjuan Tatro, a former “triggerman” for the Original Gangsta Killas, was named senior adviser for diversity and inclusion for the DCCC, The Post reported last February.

Reps for Maloney called The Post’s reporting “racist.”

“Rep. Maloney believes individuals who have served their time deserve a second
chance. Rep. Maloney has always tried to live by those values and has proudly hired individuals through programs like the Bard Prison Initiative to help them get that second chance and turn their lives around. The Post should be ashamed of itself for trying
to paint these rehabilitative programs and opportunities in a negative light,” his office said.