NYC Mayor's Nonprofit Group Stops Cooperating With ‘Political' Ethics Probe

The state commission for a year had been investigating whether the nonprofit engaged in prohibited lobbying

A lawyer for a nonprofit group affiliated with Mayor de Blasio says it'll no longer cooperate with a state ethics probe because it has become a "blatantly political exercise," just as two former donors told NBC 4 New York they hadn't contributed to the mayor's causes.

An attorney for the Campaign for One New York sent a letter Friday to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics announcing the decision.

The commission for a year had been investigating whether the nonprofit engaged in prohibited lobbying.

The letter was obtained by The Associated Press and the Daily News. In it attorney Laurence Laufer says commission investigators are asking for records on subjects they have no jurisdiction to examine, including fundraising.

The commission's executive director says it has a legal obligation to look into whether the nonprofit's activities constitute lobbying.

Created to promote Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio's agenda, the nonprofit is shutting down.

The letter from the group's lawyer said the group would continue to "fully cooperate with investigations by the U.S. Attorney and New York County District Attorney" because they are "politically independent," according to the News.

Meanwhile, businessmen Joh Catsimatidis and Don Peebles told NBC 4 New York they wish they hadn't contributed to the mayor's causes.

"I am going to be more careful to who I donate to and how the money is gonna," Catsimatidis said. 

Catsimatidis, who ran for mayor as a Republican in 2013, said that the investigation has left him with unwanted publicity and other headaches.

"A lot of people around are having concerns that they'd rather not contribute," he said. 

Peebles, who is considering running against de Blasio as a Democrat in the next election cycle. Peebles said the mayora asked for $20,000 for the city's pre-K programs, and wasn't transparent about where that money went.

"His failure to do that has made me and others feel conned and cheated," he said. 

The latest development comes after FBI agents showed up unannounced at the city’s Parks Department headquarters last week to question workers about a contract awarded to a company that makes so-called rat-proof trash bags. The owner of the company had donated $100,000 to the Campaign for One New York.

Sources familiar with the investigation said they were looking into whether Mayor de Blasio himself called Parks Department workers and asked them to meet with company officials about their trash bag pitch. In the past, the company officials had complained they were having problems getting a contract with the city.

FBI agents questioned were questioning several city workers without advanced notice to try to get candid, unrehearsed answers. But lawyers for the city soon stepped in and stopped the questioning, several sources familiar with the federal investigation said. FBI agents were then told to leave the building.

The mayor has repeatedly promised his team would cooperate fully with investigators.

”We are open to working with anyone doing investigation because we are confident we have done things right,” de Blasio has said.

And the Corporation Counsel’s office, headed by former U.S. Attorney Zachary Carter, said the city is cooperating fully and will make any worker available for questioning in an orderly way. He also said that the FBI should contact them in advance before agents just show up at city offices.

Two days after the standoff, FBI agents were invited back to question workers in a conference room at parks department officers in Central Park.

“We are working cooperatively with the FBI to enable them to interview city employees and to ensure they have access to attorneys,” said Corporation Counsel spokesman Nick Paolucci.

Spokesmen for U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and the FBI both declined to comment.

The controversy over the mint-scented anti-rat garbage bag contract is just one of several avenues of the fundraising investigation. From the awarding of some city contracts, to efforts to raise money to help certain Democrats win state senate races, the feds and the Manhattan DA are looking into whether the de Blasio-related fundraising efforts violated any state or federal laws.

City Hall announced Thursday it was hiring two additional law firms to help handle the growing investigation.

De Blasio has hired attorney Barry Berke to represent him and his 2013 campaign.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us