I was in prison, now I’m running for Congress

[View in browser]( {NAME}, Growing up I was the oldest of three in a Black single-parent household. Our family didn’t have much and my mom sacrificed every day to instill in us the importance of hard work and service to others. I spent my early years studying and working on political campaigns like the 1991 Clinton-Gore campaign, Hillary Clinton’s initial Senate run, and Congressman Gregory Meeks’ first campaign for city council (which he lost) and his subsequent campaign for state assembly and eventual successful run for Congress. I went on to attend the prestigious New York University (NYU) Schack Institute of Real Estate where I got my Bachelor’s degree and entered into a career in the real estate finance industry. Things were on the up and up. I had learned so much through working campaigns and at NYU. However, some of my most valuable lessons and formative experiences came from my time in prison. It was the early 2000s, I was Vice President of US Mortgage, a national mortgage lender. Through my role as Vice President at US Mortgage I was introduced to a foreign businessman buying a condo from a large real estate broker. The broker asked me if I could help him purchase the property and I said yes. As I would later find out, the man was part of a massive international money laundering operation that was using fake checks to make large financial transactions. Utilizing an inside man at the payroll giant, Paychex, they were printing out fraudulent checks on standard Paychex stock and passing them off as the real thing. Not knowing the checks were fake I accepted them putting them into a client services escrow account and they cleared… I was young, naive, and overly eager to bring in a big deal for my firm. I chose to trust this foreign businessman without doing the proper research into his background. I made a mistake and I would ultimately pay the price for it. 30 days later I got a knock on the door from the Secret Service who were investigating the checks and for the next four years I cooperated with State and Federal investigators as they investigated the businessman and his inside man at Paychex. Because of my cooperation I accepted a deal in which I pled guilty to conspiracy, a catch all charge used by the government to prosecute anyone peripherally involved with something criminal, and in exchange received five months of jail and two years of probation. While at the time it seemed like the end of the world, prison was ultimately the best thing that could have happened to me. Fort Dix - the low security correctional facility where I served my time at. I can’t technically claim that I was behind bars as I served at the facilities work camp. From drug dealers to corporate CEOs I learned so much from the people from every walk of life who I found myself surrounded by. I also saw firsthand how the Black and brown people there had far longer sentences than their white peers. Affluence affects legal representation - some of the guys serving 10 to 15 years there would still probably be doing time but would have likely been doing way less time if they’d had adequate legal representation. From listening to my peers I also learned how in many cases their criminal acts didn’t happen in a vacuum but were instead influenced by many factors like education, poverty, family relationships and more. Prison and the experience of making a mistake and going through the criminal justice system provided me with a foundational learning experience that has made me a better listener, made me more empathetic, and has made me that much hungrier to fight for the voiceless. Now that I am a father it is my life’s mission to set a good example for my son and to give back to my community. When I got out in 2007 I found a vastly different financial landscape than what I had left. The 2008 crash and its leadup was devastating for the real estate and financial world - giant firms in my industry closed their doors, colleagues of mine committed suicide, and it seemed like the economy was on the brink. Despite this I managed to claw my way out and get back onto the track I was on pre-prison. Since then I helped to elect President Obama in 2008 getting out the vote for him across NYC, I worked to help elect Governor Andrew Cuomo, I’ve been appointed to boards by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, became a partner at a real estate investment firm, and most importantly I am a father. My son and I. Now I am proudly launching my campaign for Congress in New York’s 4th Congressional district — one of the most flippable districts in the nation. My GOP opponent, Congressman Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), campaigns about being tough on crime but when he was an officer with the NYPD he received numerous complaints, among them for excessive force, and was let go for abusing his power. Democrats held NY-04 for over 25 years, but that changed last year when we lost big in the district and throughout Long Island. I can flip NY-04 blue because I have the background and life experiences to connect with the moderate and independent voters who we lost last time. [{NAME} - can I count on you to chip in with a donation of $25, $50, $100, or whatever you can spare to help us flip this beyond competitive district and help Democrats take back the house in 2024?]( If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $5]( [Donate $10]( [Donate $25]( [Donate $50]( [Donate $100]( [Donate $250]( [Donate another amount](ormultiply your impact with a monthly contribution!]( Thank you in advance for your support. Gian A Jones Democrat for NY-04 Gian A. Jones Democratic Candidate for US Congress New York - 4th District [DONATE NOW]( Follow us on social [twitter]( [instagram]( [linkedin]( Mail checks to: Gian A. Jones for Congress 132 Franklin Pl #45, Woodmere United States of America [Unsubscribe](