By Dan Whitcomb
June 15 (Reuters) - A New York ethics board on Thursday
ordered former Mayor Bill de Blasio to pay a record $474,794 for
using city funds for a security detail during his long-shot 2019
presidential campaign, finding that he violated conflict of
interest laws.
The city's Conflicts of Interest Board said de Blasio had
required the city to pay travel expenses for a New York Police
Department security detail for him and his wife while mounting a
failed run for the Democratic nomination for president between
May and September 2019, while still mayor of New York.
It said it had advised de Blasio, who served eight years as
New York's mayor from 2013 to 2021, against using city resources
before he launched the campaign, but he disregarded that advice.
The board ruled that de Blasio should repay $319,794 spent
on salaries, travel costs and overtime for the security detail
for 31 campaign trips outside the state. It fined him an
additional $155,000.
"When a public servant uses city resources for private
purposes, it erodes the public's trust and makes city government
less efficient," the board said in its three-page written
decision, which followed a lengthy investigation and hearings
into the matter.
De Blasio's "conduct plainly violates this prohibition," the
board wrote.
The former mayor was given 30 days to pay the full amount,
which according to the board included the largest such fine it
had ever imposed.
Andrew Celli, a lawyer for de Blasio, said in a written
statement posted to Twitter that the former mayor had sued to
overturn the board's ruling.
"In a time of unprecedented threats of political violence,
the COIB's reckless and arbitrary ruling threatens the safety
and security of our democratically elected public servants,"
Celli said.
Celli cited the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol as
an example of threats faced by political leaders.
Three of the board's five members are appointed to six-year
terms by the mayor, one by the city's comptroller and one by the
public advocate.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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