Media Firestorm: WPIX11 covers DeFusco AirBNB (VIDEO)

Full article: https://pix11.com/news/local-news/new-jersey/hoboken-councilman-accused-of-fleeing-city-during-pandemic-renting-out-apartment-on-airbnb/

There is a simple way for Councilman DeFusco to put this controversy to rest, once and for all.  

The issue is not his right to earn supplemental income.  Fisher was on WPIX last night lamenting the plight of Hoboken singles-- like herself and DeFusco-- to pay their bills, from what looked like a multi-million dollar Adirondack  Camp.  It's a straw man argument; singles without kids and families with childcare and college expenses are all struggling. All of us, whether single or married, with or without children, public official or private citizen,  have the right to earn money. 

Defending DeFusco: it's tough making ends meet!

The issue and the controversy in this case is his absence from Hoboken during the pandemic, and the length and frequency of his overseas travel.  

Obfuscation with straw man arguments will not make these questions go away. Because of a trail of reviews left by "Michael, Hoboken NJ" on AirBNB listings in Croatia, Belgium and Colombia, that span from August 2020 through March 2021.   Another news outlet, The Daily Voice, reported a claim from public officials that DeFusco's AirBNB listing had been cohosted by his public relations person. The Daily Voice wrote: "since the recent publications in Tap Into and Hudson County View, [redacted] was removed as a co-host, officials said."  

DeFusco did not confirm nor deny this published claim that his listing had been cohosted. Instead, he told reporter John Heinis that "the listing is a shared account with my childhood best friend who has lived in Europe for the last ten years and was permitted to travel within the European Union.”  

Cohosted? Shared? Unidentified childhood friend? Reviews from his registered account in Croatia, Belgium and Colombia... 

The appearance that the First Ward Councilman spent extended periods of time away from the First Ward during the pandemic will haunt his political life, unless he can dispel it.    As I began this post...

There is a simple way for Councilman DeFusco to put this controversy to rest, once and for all. 

Councilman DeFusco, show us your Passport. 

DeFusco's U.S. Passport has date-stamps.  When he came and left the United States. When he came and left Colombia. If he was traveling in Croatia and Belgium (which he claims is untrue) and when.  

Easy peasy. If Councilman DeFusco really wants the truth out there, it's all in that little blue book issued by the United States Government.  He simply needs to hand it over to the press for review. 

The whole book, not selected pages.   

The truth is not hard to find.