He\u2019s far from an angel.<\/p>\n
While Guardian Angels <\/a>founder Curtis Sliwa<\/a> has been enjoying the limelight on the campaign trail, his colorful past is catching up to him.<\/p>\n Former independent mayoral candidate Jim Walden<\/a>, who dropped his own long-shot campaign and backed ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo\u2019s bid, rehashed a slew of scandals, allegations and sagas from Sliwa\u2019s decades in Big Apple politics Monday.<\/p>\n NYC mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa\u2019s past has resurfaced as he refuses to drop out of the race. Matthew McDermott<\/p>\n Curtis Sliwa and other Guardian Angels on the Coney Island boardwalk back in 2021. Stephen Yang<\/p>\n Walden\u2019s \u201copposition research\u201d dump came as Republican nominee Sliwa continued to buck the crescendo of calls for him to ditch his mayoral bid in an effort to unite voters behind Cuomo\u2019s independent campaign \u2014 and against far-left Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to unify to defeat @ZohranKMamdani,\u201d Walden wrote on X. \u201cFor all the Curtis supporters likely to attack me, understand I am still trying to be gentle. I don\u2019t enjoy this. But I am putting NYC first.\u201d<\/p>\n The thread included pointing out that Sliwa\u2019s red beret-wearing vigilante group allegedly lost its tax exempt status years ago, but was still soliciting donations on its website, a possible violation of federal law.<\/p>\n The thread continued to highlight parts of the feline-loving founder\u2019s checkered history, including infamous hoax crimes Sliwa admitted he made up to get increased publicity for the Guardian Angels.<\/p>\n Sliwa\u2019s thus far resisted cries for him to drop out. Sliwa campaign<\/p>\n Sliwa admitted to the New York Times in 1992<\/a> that six of his group\u2019s early \u201ccrimefighting\u201d ventures were nothing more than stunts, including faking the rescue of a subway mugging \u201cvictim\u201d who simply fell and lying about getting injured while fighting \u201cseveral rapists\u201d at a Brooklyn subway station.<\/p>\n Online IRS records show that the organization lost both its federal and state tax-exempt status in November 2022 due to an apparent failure to file federal tax forms since 2019.<\/p>\n Reached for comment by The Post, Sliwa\u2019s campaign argued the discrepancy was due to faulty records handled by Rafael Alvarez, the group\u2019s former treasurer who pleaded guilty last year to filing thousands of faulty tax returns totaling $145 million.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s old news. The Guardian Angels were defrauded years ago by a former accountant who didn\u2019t file the paperwork. It\u2019s all been corrected, the organizing is full up to date and in good standing,\u201d Sliwa campaign spokesman Daniel Kurzyna said in a statement.<\/p>\n Beyond controversies tied to his crime-fighting group, Sliwa has also been accused of making antisemitic and sexist comments<\/a> and has faced heat over his personal life, too, as recalled by Walden.<\/p>\n Resurfaced video <\/a>shows Sliwa ranting about Orthodox Jews, stating that they are \u201cable bodied men who study Torah and Talmud all day and we\u2019re subsidizing them,\u00a0and all they do is make babies like there is no tomorrow. And who is subsidizing them? We are!\u201d<\/p>\n NYC mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa with his wife Nancy beside him during a press conference. Matthew McDermott<\/p>\n Curtis Sliwa for Mayor poster on a tree in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Paul Martinka<\/p>\n When the issue was raised during his failed 2021 mayoral bid<\/a> against Eric Adams, Sliwa failed to disavow his comment, but offered to meet with Orthodox Jews to \u201cresolve our differences.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCurtis apologized and met with Orthodox leaders long ago,\u201d Kurzyna said, claiming that Sliwa has worked with Jewish communities, including in Crown Heights, for decades. <\/p>\n \u201cWhile Cuomo was sipping wine at the Governor\u2019s Mansion, Curtis was walking the streets keeping people safe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But Sliwa has also landed himself in hot water over other controversial remarks about Jewish people.<\/p>\n While talking about antisemitism in an interview with an Israeli broadcaster, he said, \u201cI\u2019m a gentile, it\u2019s in our DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n NYC mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa and his wife Nancy walk along a city street. Matthew McDermott<\/p>\n Sliwa, who has two Jewish children with Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz,\u00a0later told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency<\/a> that he \u201cused the wrong term\u201d and meant to say that antisemitism was often \u201cfed into the minds\u201d of non-Jews.<\/p>\n