Staten Island Spelling Bee Bloodbath

Tabacco-Reilly GOP Civil War Turns South Shore Assembly Primary Into Wine, Cheese, SWALT, and Ballot-War Theater

LUTHMANN NOTE: This is not a primary. It’s a purge. Staten Island GOP insiders thought they could manage the narrative. Tabacco lit the match anyway. Reilly is holding the line, but the battlefield is shifting from voters to technical knockouts. That’s the dirty truth of New York politics—ballots don’t decide races, paperwork does. The spelling bee joke isn’t just funny—it’s accurate. SWALT is the weapon. And everybody knows it. The only real question now is whether voters get a say or whether the machine ends this fight before it ever begins. Either way, this war isn’t cooling off. It’s just getting started. This piece is “Staten Island Spelling Bee Bloodbath.”

By Rick LaRivière and Richard Luthmann

(STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK) – Staten Island politics has officially entered spelling bee season. Not because the borough’s Republican Party suddenly discovered grammar, civics, or basic conflict resolution.

No. This is a spelling bee because the Tabacco-Reilly Assembly primary fight has become so absurd, so local, so Staten Island, and so politically combustible that the only fair way to settle it may be to put the combatants on stage, hand them a microphone, and ask them to spell their grievances.

The flashpoint is the 62nd Assembly District, where John A. Tabacco, son of media and political personality John Tabacco, is challenging incumbent Assemblyman Mike Reilly for the South Shore seat. Reilly is the incumbent, the retired NYPD lieutenant, and the establishment Republican with the ballot-line advantage. Tabacco is the insurgent, the young challenger, and the spear point of a broader anti-machine revolt.

This is not just about one Assembly race. This is MAGA versus machine. This is the clubhouse versus the flamethrower. This is the Staten Island GOP asking whether it is still a conservative party or just a wine-and-cheese social club with petition lawyers and some very dark rumors.

That is why this fight has moved so quickly from ordinary primary chatter to political combat. The Tabacco camp wants the race framed as a referendum on the local Republican establishment. The Reilly camp wants the challenger treated as a noisy amateur who wandered into New York election law without enough armor. Both sides are calling the other side unserious. But nobody is laughing too hard. The stakes are real. Control of the borough’s GOP narrative is on the table.

Staten Island Spelling Bee: Petitions, Pressure, and Midland Beach

The younger Tabacco filed 657 signatures. The legal requirement is 500. On paper, that sounds like enough. In New York politics, it can be a suicide note. Ballot access here is not a formality. It is trench warfare with clipboards, objections, specifications, lawyers, party loyalists, and procedural land mines buried under every signature line.

Reilly’s side challenged the petitions. Tabacco’s side says that proves the RINO establishment would rather knock a young MAGA challenger off the ballot than let Republican voters decide. Reilly’s side has its own answer: amateur hour. Too few signatures. Too much noise. Too much drama. Too much Tabacco.

Then came Midland Beach.

Tabacco alleges Reilly put his hands on him during a confrontation at a public rally and confronted him over Reilly’s wife being dragged into the petition fight. Reilly’s camp sees things differently and believes Tabacco crossed a line by making family part of the political battlefield. That is where the whole feud changed temperature. It was no longer just a fight over paper. It became personal.

That is the Staten Island political cocktail: petitions, pride, family names, old grudges, police résumés, clubhouse whispers, and the constant suspicion that somebody is cutting a deal behind a closed door. Tabacco says the local GOP has become a protected RINO establishment. Reilly’s defenders say Tabacco is dressing up a thin ballot operation as a populist revolution. Each side thinks the other is exposing itself. Both may be right.

Now the whole thing has gone from ballot objections to borough theater. From paperwork to personalities. From signatures to showdowns. From “let the voters decide” to “let the Board of Elections decide whether the voters even get the chance.”

Staten Island Spelling Bee: The Human Costs Behind the County War

Sources close to the Staten Island GOP fight say the Tabacco-Reilly clash is not just playing out on petitions, Facebook posts, and courthouse calendars. They say it is weighing on Assemblyman Mike Reilly, his wife, and his personal life. That matters. Politics is a blood sport, but it is still fought by human beings with families, histories, weaknesses, and private burdens the public rarely sees until the pressure gets ugly.

Reilly’s long-term sobriety, by all accounts, is real and commendable. Anyone who has watched people fight addiction knows that sustained sobriety is not a slogan. It is a daily discipline. It is humility. It is maintenance. It is choosing health over chaos again and again. That makes the current political scrum more than a tabloid side note. It raises a hard question about what this fight is doing to the man at the center of it.

Because Assemblyman Michael Reilly previously indicated he would not speak with this outlet, we reached out to his wife, Mary Reilly, who is listed as the legal objector on John A. Tabacco’s petitions. Her name appears on the public Board of Elections objection paperwork, making her a direct participant in the ballot-access fight, not merely a political spouse. We sent Mary Reilly a comprehensive set of questions about the petition challenge, the Midland Beach confrontation allegations, the stress the episode may be placing on the Reilly household, Reilly’s commendable long-term sobriety, and rumors of a possible move to Waxhaw, North Carolina.

As of press time, Mary Reilly had not responded. Here is what we asked:

From: Rick LaRivière <RickLaRiviere@proton.me>
Date: On Sunday, April 26th, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Subject: Media Inquiry — Staten Island GOP Petition War, Reilly Household Stress, and Waxhaw Rumors
To: maryreilly0408@gmail.com <maryreilly0408@gmail.com>
CC: RALafontaine@protonmail.com <ralafontaine@protonmail.com>, Frankie Pressman <frankiepressman@protonmail.com>, Richard Luthmann <richard.luthmann@protonmail.com>, Modern Thomas Nast <mthomasnast@protonmail.com>

Dear Mrs. Reilly,

Staten Island politics has officially entered the “everybody knows everybody” phase of the Tabacco-Reilly Assembly war.

Your name is now on the public paperwork. You are listed as the objector on the Board of Elections filing challenging John A. Tabacco’s petitions. That makes you more than Assemblyman Mike Reilly’s wife in this story. It makes you a direct legal actor in the ballot-access fight now consuming the Staten Island GOP.

Since Assemblyman Reilly has previously declined to speak with our outlet, we are giving you a full and fair opportunity to answer questions before publication.

First, did you personally authorize the objection to John A. Tabacco’s petitions, or was your name used as part of a broader Reilly campaign or Staten Island GOP strategy?

Second, did you personally review the petitions and alleged defects, or were the objections prepared by political operatives, election lawyers, party personnel, or campaign allies?

Third, why did you become the named objector? Was there concern that using the Assemblyman’s wife would look like a family-backed political hit rather than a neutral petition challenge?

Fourth, does the Reilly camp believe John A. Tabacco should be removed from the ballot on technical grounds, or would Assemblyman Reilly prefer to defeat him in a Republican primary before actual voters?

Fifth, John Tabacco and his allies are framing this as proof that the Staten Island GOP establishment is terrified of a young MAGA challenger. What is your response to the charge that this petition challenge is not about election law, but about protecting an incumbent from a real primary?

Sixth, Mr. Tabacco alleges that Assemblyman Reilly became physically aggressive toward him at the Midland Beach rally and confronted him about your role in the petition fight. Do you deny that account? Did your husband put his hands on Mr. Tabacco? Did he tell him to “leave my wife out of it,” or words to that effect?

Seventh, sources in Staten Island political circles say this whole episode is weighing heavily on Assemblyman Reilly, on you, and on your household. Is that true?

Eighth, Assemblyman Reilly’s long-term sobriety has been described by many as commendable. Sustained sobriety is a serious achievement. But political warfare is ugly, stressful, and relentless. Has this primary fight created pressure on his recovery or personal well-being?

Ninth, John Tabacco has raised a pointed question: whether the fog of political war is worth a person’s sobriety. He said people committed to AA and 12-step recovery would often sacrifice almost anything rather than return to drinking or using. Do you believe that comment is a fair concern, a political attack, or out of bounds?

Tenth, are there any current concerns among family, friends, or political allies that Assemblyman Reilly should step back from the daily scrum of politics for his health, sobriety, or family life?

Eleventh, there are rumors that you and Assemblyman Reilly may be considering a move to Waxhaw, North Carolina, a community reportedly popular with retired NYPD personnel and other New York transplants. Are those rumors true?

Twelfth, has Assemblyman Reilly discussed leaving Staten Island, retiring from public office, or relocating after this term?

Thirteenth, if there are plans to move, should Staten Island voters know that before they decide whether Assemblyman Reilly should continue representing the South Shore?

Fourteenth, does Assemblyman Reilly intend to serve a full term if re-elected?

Fifteenth, is the Reilly family prepared for this primary fight to become more public, more personal, and more politically brutal if John A. Tabacco survives the petition challenge?

This story is no longer a quiet ballot-access dispute. It has become a full Staten Island GOP civil war: Reilly versus Tabacco, machine versus insurgency, clubhouse versus MAGA, petitions versus voters.

You are invited to respond on the record. You may also provide background, but please clearly mark any statement you do not want attributed. If we do not receive a response, we will note that you were given an opportunity to comment and declined. Mr. Tabacco (the elder) provided a comment. If we receive your comments after press time, we will incorporate them into a follow-up.

Thanks,

John Tabacco (the elder) did speak with this outlet and offered an extended response to the controversy, framing the dispute as part of a broader fight against what he characterizes as a Staten Island GOP “RINO establishment.”

In addition to his broader political criticisms, John Tabacco struck a more personal and reflective tone when discussing the potential toll this escalating fight may be taking on Assemblyman Reilly. Independently verified converations reveal that the intensity of the current political climate raises serious questions about personal well-being and priorities beyond the campaign trail. Tabacco framed his comments not as a political attack, but as a matter of human consequence in the midst of a high-pressure public battle.

“If this is true, it begs the question whether the fog of political war is worth a person’s sobriety,” Tabacco said. “I know many people who are devoutly committed to their AA and 12-step programs, and to a person, they would sacrifice almost anything rather than return to drinking or using. If true, I hope the Assemblyman chooses greener pastures and a clean life over the daily scrum of political battles and empty bottles.”

That is a sharp line. It is also a serious one. Many politicians, even some from Staten Island, are in recovery. But if the people around Reilly are worried, then this civil war has already crossed from politics into something darker. The question is no longer only who wins the primary. It is what this machine fight costs before the ballots are even counted.

Staten Island Spelling Bee: Wine & Cheese, and the word “SWALT”

Enter Bobby Zahn, a longtime Staten Island right-wing political force, Sam Pirozzolo adviser, and 9/11 responder who has bravely battled serious health conditions. He’s been a fixture on the borough’s political scene long enough to know when a clubhouse fight is turning into a full-blown county war.

Rather than an all-out Staten Island political street fight, maybe a comic solution is simpler: settle it with a spelling bee. No lawsuits or objections. No shouting match at Midland Beach and escalating, dueling allegations. Just a microphone, a moderator, and a room full of Republicans pretending they remember fourth grade.

That is the imagined satirical video above. Tabacco steps up and says: “Spell wine and cheese,” to county clerk Steve Fiala. It is a loaded phrase. It is a jab at the alleged clubhouse culture. It is a swipe at the private political circuit. It is shorthand for everything the insurgents think is wrong with the Staten Island GOP: too much comfort, too much access, too many insiders, and not enough real Republican fight.

It’s the nuclear option—alleged information that Tabacco and many connected Staten Island politicos are privvy to. But certain revelations have never been aired.

Then Zahn hits the comic buzzer: “SWALT. S-W-A-L-T.”

That is the joke. That is the dagger. Because SWALT means “Subscribing Witness Altered Signature.” It’s a code for petition invalidation, aprocedural kill shot every New York political operative understands. It is the thing that turns a campaign into a ghost before voters ever enter the booth.

Tabacco’s petitions this time, and in past years, have had defects. Zahn didnt let him forget it.

That is why the satire lands. Staten Island politics is not always about persuading voters. Sometimes it is about making sure voters never get a choice. The battlefield is not just the ballot box. It is the Board of Elections. The objection filings. The technicalities. The traps. The invisible hand moving behind the visible names.

Tabacco wants this to be a referendum on the GOP establishment. Reilly wants to survive the challenge and prove he still owns the district. The machine wants order. The insurgents want blood. The voters may want a primary.

Who will get the last word? Can you spell civil war? S-W-A-L-T.

About The Author

Richard Luthmann

Richard Luthmann is a thinker, investigative journalist, and consultant with degrees from Columbia University (B.A., Philosophy), NY Law School (J.D.), and the University of Miami (LL.M). Tips: richard.luthmann@protonmail.com or (239) 631-5957.

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