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Democratic Council Candidate Admits To Being A Liar, Denies Being An Anti-Semite

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A controversial candidate for New York City Council said he didn't tell the truth.

The average political candidate tries to avoid being caught in a lie, but Thomas Lopez-Pierre is not the average political candidate.

A democrat running in northern Manhattan denied being an anti-Semite, but admitted to being a liar.

As CBS2's Tony Aiello reported, he lied on Twitter and lied to a newspaper, and then admitted it.

"It's one big lie. I lied to the New York Post," he said.

Lopez-Pierre has been making waves and headlines with his rants against what he called 'greedy Jewish landlords' who he claims are driving longtime residents out of gentrifying uptown neighborhoods.

A few days ago, someone created a GoFundMe page to raise money to stop Lopez-Pierre's 'hate campaign.'

On Wednesday, the candidate claimed on Twitter that he was actually behind that Go Fund Me page -- a story he confirmed to the Post.

"Yes, I lied," he said. "My intention was to cause dissension in the ranks, confusion, and discourage people from contributing to a campaign, a Go Fund Me campaign that would basically work against my political interests."

In his campaign bio Lopez-Pierre said he's a Christian 'saved by God's grace.'

When asked if "grace should keep you from lying in such a flagrant way," he responded, "I'm a sinner."

He showed no apparent shame or regret, which was no surprise to Councilman David Greenfield who wants Lopez-Pierre kicked out of the party.

"He lies so much and he's such a con artist you can't even tell whether or not he's lying to you now about having lied," Greenfield (D-Borough Park) said.

"I don't have the big money to run against the powerful real estate interests. I've had to be creative in terms of how to generate public exposure for my campaign, and the rights of tenants," Lopez-Pierre countered.

The Manhattan Democrats said party lawyers are reviewing what to do about Lopez-Pierre.

A spokesman for GoFundMe said the money raised in the online campaign has been frozen while the service investigates.

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