A republican candidate for New York’s 18th congressional district, Phil Oliva (R/C/REF-Somers) is complaining that he and his family were stalked by a tracker hired by the political party of his opponent, Sean Patrick Maloney (D-Cold Spring) and requested footage the tracker may have taken of his family.
He said in a June 20 press release that the tracker admitted to contacting Oliva’s wife on Facebook and visiting the Oliva residence in Somers, Westchester County, “once startling the candidate’s wife as she peered through the kitchen window.”
While he never said it directly, he implied the tracker may have taken footage of his family.
Oliva reported the tracker to the police, which he said had orders to arrest him if he came near their house again.
The New York Post reported the tracker was fired by his employer, the New York Democratic Party on June 16. By press time, the Party had not responded to Epoch Times request for comment.
Oliva asked the Party to hand over any footage, memos, reports, or other documentation the tracker may have obtained while on the job, and on June 22 said he received it.
A representative for Maloney said they had nothing to do with the tracker and referred all questions to the Party.
“This young man clearly crossed the line,” Maloney said in an emailed statement. “The New York State Democratic Party was right to fire him and they should send whatever they have over to Phil.”
Now Oliva calling for an end to the practice of hiring trackers.
“Instead of trackers let’s just have a series of debates and discuss the real issues in a meaningful way and leave aside the political games and dirty campaign tactics,” he said in a statement.
The Maloney’s representative said the footage collected by the tracker was not of a personal nature. By press times, Oliva had not viewed the footage.
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