Washington social climber Nelson Lewis — recently arrested for wearing a congressional pin while claiming to be Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston — has tried other ruses before, sources told Page Six.
The 26-year-old former Fox News booker and “Laura Ingraham Show” producer was arrested by Capitol police on Nov. 17 wearing a congressional pin, which allows members to bypass security. Lewis could face up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Kingston said Lewis merely worked for him as an intern five years ago. Lewis is a Savannah, Ga., native who rubbed elbows with Washington’s powerful for more than six years and once claimed to be related to ousted Bank of America honcho Ken Lewis.
A source told us, “He would parade around parties, telling tall stories and bringing fake business cards. He’s a ‘Talented Mr. Ripley’-type, except he didn’t kill anyone.”
Lewis also said he was a diplomat to the Bahamas but “he said he didn’t have to be called his excellency,” New York Social Diary columnist Carol Joynt told us.
Lewis — who once falsely told friends he was dating one of this column’s reporters — handed Joynt a business card with the title, “Minister Plenipotentiary for Artistic Endeavors at the Embassy of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.” The Bahamian Embassy denied any connection to Lewis. He also claimed to be a confidant of Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren, who recently wrote on her blog that he “has a big problem with the truth.”
The DC-based Friends of the Art Museum of the Americas last week asked Lewis to resign as a board member. “His grasp of reality is so flawed that his presence is a real liability,” another board member said in an e-mail seen by Page Six.
Lewis’ friend, CNN regular Dr. Marty Makary, said, “There is some basis for some of the stuff . . . his uncle was a senator . . . it was his uncle’s pins. I know he spends time in the Bahamas and he knows the embassy people.” Lewis’ lawyer said, “No comment.”