Controversial Businessman is U.S. Consul General to Bermuda

HAMILTON, Bermuda — Businessman Lee Rizzuto Jr. has taken up his post as the new United States consul general to Bermuda without fanfare.

The choice of Rizzuto was controversial, sparking protests on the Caribbean island. He succeeds Constance Dierman, a professional diplomat, who left Bermuda in June after only two years of a three-year appointment. No reason was given for her early departure.

The U.S. Consulate said 58-year-old Rizzuto would lead a team with a mission to protect U.S. citizens in Bermuda and deepen the strong economic and cultural ties between the U.S. and Bermuda.

However, more than 93,000 people signed a petition in June protesting the appointment of Rizzuto, a controversial contributor to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Campaign group Social Justice Bermuda also organized two demonstrations against the move outside the U.S. Consulate in Devonshire parish.

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Bermuda’s British Governor John Rankin, who received the petition, tried to ease rising tensions.

“So the decision to appoint Mr. Rizzuto as U.S.consul general is one that is made by the United States government,” Rankin said.

Rizzuto, who gave $449,000 to Trump’s presidential campaign political action committee, made headlines in the U.S. after he shared “conspiracy theories and unfounded attacks” about the president’s political opponents on Twitter in the run-in to the 2016 election.

The fallout resulted in Trump not gaining U.S. Senate confirmation when he nominated Rizzuto as ambassador to Barbados in 2018.