An ex-con who spent more than three years in federal prison for defrauding investors of at least $1 million for a make-believe water park for upstate foster children is now running for a seat on the Bronx City Council — even though she can hold no office under the city. law.
Liliana Trafficante, 58, announced her campaign earlier this month on Instagramin which she writes that her sudden call for public service was prompted by the fact that there was “no help” for her “hurt community.”
The Country Club native’s longest-running candidacy comes just over a decade after she pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy after inducing investors in a fictitious scheme to build a water park on 120 acres in Goshen. Justice Department officials said.
Trafficante was sentenced to nearly three years in prison and ordered to pay $750,000 in restitution to her victims, of which she only coughed up $118, according to Manhattan federal court records.
“Any consideration of running her for a job in the city is a joke,” real estate investor Welby Accely, one of Trafficante’s victims, told The Post.
The political neophyte claims she is pursuing a seat in the Bronx’s 13th District, which is currently represented by Republican freshman Kristy Marmorato and covers Country Club and Throggs Neck, even though she incorrectly filed paperwork for Manhattan’s 3rd District.
However, if Trafficante somehow outranks the incumbent president, she will be ineligible to serve on the council due to a 2021 law that bars people convicted of fraud or public corruption crimes from holding office. The law faced with one challenge in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Trafficante has not received any donations, according to city campaign financial records.
The wannabe pol, who currently works for government services company Maximus, emphasized that her time in the ring makes her the ideal representative for her nabe.
“I just want to serve this community and make it better, and I think if you’ve experienced the problem, you’re better suited,” she said.
