De Blasio Donor Says He Steered Thousands in Bribes to Mayors Campaigns
Source: New York Times
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. A Long Island restaurateur testified under oath on Thursday that he steered tens of thousands of dollars to Mayor Bill de Blasios political campaigns in return for favorable treatment by the city.
It was the first time that the restaurateur, Harendra Singh, has publicly detailed his efforts to use campaign contributions as much as $80,000 raised from others, and much more personally by using straw donors to skirt contribution limits to gain better terms during lease negotiations for one of his restaurants.
Mr. Singh also suggested for the first time that Mr. de Blasio not only knew of the illegal arrangement, but that the mayor encouraged it and actively helped the restaurateur.
He made many phone calls, Mr. Singh said of the mayor. His office was working very hard, from his deputy mayor to his assistant to his intergovernmental affairs person. Everyone was working.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/22/nyregion/de-blasio-campaign-bribes-harenda-signh.html
It is my opinion that De Blasio's second term is not off to a rip-roaring start...
oberliner
(58,724 posts)brooklynite
(93,629 posts)Singh ultimately pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge. The man he admitted to bribing, Mayor Bill de Blasio, was not prosecuted.
That incongruity dogged de Blasio anew over the past week after Singh's guilty plea, made in secret in 2016, became public for the first time. Reporters peppered the Democrat with questions about how someone could be guilty of giving him a bribe, but him not being guilty of accepting it.
"Everything we did on that matter and everything else we've done in this administration was legal, was appropriate. We hold ourselves to high ethical standards," the mayor said. "The federal government looked at this exhaustively. I've got nothing else to say about it. We handled things in the appropriate manner."
The mayor also suggested that Singh pleaded guilty only because he was in trouble for a variety of corrupt acts, many related to his dealings with political figures on Long Island.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/When-is-a-bribe-not-a-bribe-NYC-Mayor-Bill-de-Blasio-says-he-did-no-wrong--472500623.html
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)If someone gives me $100 to do something or vote a certain way and I don't follow through, the "briber" is still guilty of paying for play but if I don't follow through, am I still guilty even if I took the money?
brooklynite
(93,629 posts)...your ability to state that you DIDN'T go through with the quid-pro-quo maty be hard to prove.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)but is it a legal requirement? Can you be charged is really what I'm asking.
thesquanderer
(11,937 posts)leftynyc
(26,060 posts)Yes, that would likely result in some kind of fine.
FreeStateDemocrat
(2,654 posts)Blasio may or may not be dirty, but this shit bag should not miss going up the river for creating and being involved in a criminal enterprise. Doing a crime and then selling people out to beat jail time is a violation of the intent of the criminal justice system. Fuck him, he knew he was breaking the law and that is why he was so fucking sneaky about doing it. A snitch is often a necessity to find justice but they shouldn't walk away without being held responsible for the problems they have caused society.