Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio didn't see this coming…
New York City's Conflicts of Interest Board ordered de Blasio to pay $474,794 for using an NYPD security detail for his unsuccessful presidential run in 2019.
According to POLITICO, the historic fine includes compensating the city for police officers' travel expenses and a $155,000 fine, the largest ever issued by COIB.
“Although there is a City purpose in the City paying for an NYPD security detail for the City's Mayor, including the security detail's salary and overtime, there is no City purpose in paying for the extra expenses incurred by that NYPD security detail to travel at a distance from the City to accompany the Mayor or his family on trips for his campaign for President of the United States,” board members wrote in a Thursday order. “The Board advised Respondent to this effect prior to his campaign; Respondent disregarded the Board's advice.”
In response, de Blasio filed a lawsuit, calling the move “illegal.”
“With today's decision, the COIB has broken with decades of NYPD policy and precedent, ignored the professional expertise of the greatest law enforcement agency in the world, and violated the Constitution to boot,” said Andrew Celli, Jr., an attorney with Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel. “In the wake of the January 6th insurrection, the shootings of Congressmembers [Gabby] Giffords and [Steve] Scalise, and almost daily threats directed at local leaders around the country, the COIB's action — which seeks to saddle elected officials with security costs that the City has properly borne for decades — is dangerous, beyond the scope of their powers, and illegal.”
Prior to launching his unsuccessful presidential campaign de Blasio requested the city pay for his out-of-state security detail costs. However, the board rejected de Blasio's request saying billing the city for travel costs would be a “misuse of city resources” and taxpayer funds.
De Blasio subsequently went on 31 out-of-state campaign trips through September, racking up $319,794 in costs the board had warned against before ultimately dropping out of the race in September 2019.
In response to the ruling, the Department of Investigation said that COIB's conclusions mirrored its own report on the security detail released in 2021.
“The Conflicts of Interest Board's conclusions regarding former Mayor Bill de Blasio's misuse of his security detail reaffirms DOI's investigative findings, and shows that public officials — including the most senior — will be held accountable when they violate the rules,” DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber said in a statement Thursday.
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Hooray Yes awesome
Good. Scumbag.
This mayor admitted he loves how Cuba treats their people. He wanted total control over the people in NYC. He has never gone by the law. The mayor now is the same way. You would think the people NYC would had voted in a Republican to clean up the mess this unamerican man left. But as always voters have become so stupid they are looking for free anything but they didn’t get it. They voted for a nazi woman governor taking their gas stoves away. But she still has her. Stupidity is in New York City and state.
When you provide enough free money to people, they will follow you anywhere, and give you their vote in return. I’ve seen that to be true since I watched FDR start the democratic party down the path towards socialism. We are slowly but surely still heading that way.
Let`s hear it = Blah – blah – blah for de Blasio.
de Blasio? What a douche! Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
I thank the Good Lord I left NY State, a haven for greedy parasites who scream gimme-gimme-gimme and sap off the public treasury constructed by honest citizens. The Peoples Socialist Republic of New York.