Former Mayor Invoice de Blasio pays a $330,000 settlement for violating metropolis guidelines by utilizing his NYPD element throughout his long-shot 2020 presidential bid — the biggest settlement within the historical past of New York’s Battle of Pursuits Board.
The settlement, the primary time the board has introduced an enforcement motion in opposition to a mayor, marks an finish to the three-year authorized saga centering on de Blasio’s transfer to have his NYPD element accompany him on 31 out-of-state journeys throughout his failed 2020 presidential marketing campaign.
In Wednesday’s settlement, the mayor admitted to taking the safety element together with him regardless of prior warning from the board.
“In contradiction of the written guidance I received from the Board, I did not reimburse the City for these expenses,” de Blasio wrote within the settlement.
De Blasio has already payed $100,000 of the settlement, and has agreed to repay the remaining in quarterly funds over the subsequent 4 years, in keeping with the settlement settlement. If he defaults a cost, he should fork up a whooping $475,000.
“Today I settled an outstanding case with the NYC COIB,” de Blasio stated in a social media put up. “I acknowledge that I made a mistake, and I deeply regret it. Now it’s time to move forward.”
Reached over the telephone, de Blasio declined to elaborate: “That’s all I have to say.”
The historic settlement comes though de Blasio for years maintained he had accomplished nothing mistaken. The ex-mayor additionally sued the board in 2023, in search of to overturn the town ethics watchdog’s order. That lawsuit was unsuccessful, with a Manhattan Supreme Courtroom choose rejecting it earlier this 12 months and ruling de Blasio was on the hook to repay the total quantity.
De Blasio and his lawyer, Andrew Celli, argued after the effective was first imposed in 2023 that the board’s determination was “perilous” and set a typical underneath which the safety of sitting mayors might be in danger.
“Every mayor faces threats, and all mayors are entitled to protection,” Celli stated on the time.
Queens Councilman Bob Holden, a centrist Democrat and frequent de Blasio critic, lauded the settlement announcement.
“While the city hasn’t yet been made whole, this settlement ends years of litigation and requires de Blasio to begin paying back nearly $330,000 in taxpayer funds,” Holden stated. “His arrogance and misuse of public resources caused lasting damage to this city—but at long last, justice is catching up.”
