It’s not Watergate, but when it comes to the hotly contested fight for the 33rd Council District, you never know.
Cops from the 84th Precinct were alerted that someone slipped into City Council candidate Joanne Simon’s law office on Fulton Street near Adams Street last Thursday afternoon and swiped an employee’s purse.
The employee told police that she had hidden the purse in a desk drawer as she attended an hour-long meeting on the afternoon of August 13.
When she returned to the drawer, her purse was gone along with her engagement ring, wedding ring, some cash, a MetroCard and a Swiss Army knife, cops were told.
Officials from Simon’s campaign office said that the victim has nothing to do with the campaign to replace City Councilmember David Yassky. She works for the candidate’s legal practice, which is shared with attorney Josh Horowitz, they said.
The theft is being chalked up to a simple crime, and a tragedy for the victimized employee.
“It’s horrible when bad things happen to good people,” a campaign spokesperson said, adding that as far as they know, the police have no leads on the theft.
Campaign staffers refrained from comparing this theft to the break-in at the Watergate Hotel, which ultimately brought down Richard Nixon’s presidency.
The ongoing fight for the 33rd District is a expected to be less of a landslide than Nixon’s 1972 re-election bid.
Simon is currently in a bare-knuckle brawl for the Democratic line with challengers Evan Thies, Isaac Abraham, Ken Baer, Ken Diamondstone, Steve Levin and Doug Biviano.
