George Santos: Wanted on two continents

At a federal courthouse Wednesday on Long Island, Santos relinquished his passports and was released on $500,000 bond. He will need permission for any travel beyond New York and Washington.

[...]

Rep. George Santos signed a deal with Brazilian prosecutors Thursday in which the New York Republican confessed to theft and agreed to pay restitution and fines if prosecutors agree to drop the criminal case against him, bringing a likely resolution in a case that has tailed the embattled politician for more than a decade.

[...]

“The case ended today,” Santos lawyer Jonymar Vasconcelos said in a brief interview. “My client is no longer facing any charges in Brazil.”

  WaPo

Well, not exactly.

[H]e was given 30 days to pay around $2,000 in fines and $2,800 to the victim. The case won’t be dismissed until the payments are made, court officials said.

[...]

According to authorities, Santos, then 19, entered a small clothing store in Niterói called the Salt in 2008 and wrote two bad checks worth $430 for clothing and shoes, court documents show. The merchant soon after went to the police and reported it, leading to a criminal embezzlement charge against Santos.

“I remember because I had to pay that value out of my own pocket,” merchant Carlos Bruno Simões told Folha de S.Paulo last year.

Simões attended the Thursday hearing, which lasted less than a half-hour. He said he was disappointed in how little Santos will be forced to pay him.

“He got off super cheap,” he said.

[...]

[Santos] was indicted Wednesday in the Eastern District of New York.

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Wire fraud, the most serious charge, carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, though experts said a penalty that severe was unlikely.

[...]

At a federal courthouse Wednesday on Long Island, Santos relinquished his passports and was released on $500,000 bond. He will need permission for any travel beyond New York and Washington.

Well, there goes his chance to abscond back to Brazil.

In addition to his federal case in New York, Santos also faces a probe by the House Ethics Committee. The panel announced in March that it was investigating a host of claims about the Republican lawmaker involving his past business practices, campaign finance expenditures and an allegation of sexual misconduct.

But he's not resigning. If Trump can do it, so can he.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.