A city councilman who put his wife on his campaign payroll and used campaign funds to cover his home phone bill was slapped with a $17,000 fine Thursday.
Council member Andy King (D-Bronx) was also forced to pay back $26,971 in public matching funds under a ruling by the Campaign Finance Board, which dispensed the money.
The board said King’s campaign paid $7,000 to his wife, Neva Shillingford-King — a high-ranking member of the powerful SEIU Local 1199 union — without providing paperwork to justify it.
The only documentation provided was a one-page contract dated Aug. 21, 2014 — 10 months after the November 2013 election.
King also charged his campaign $3,568.70 for a Verizon phone line at his home address, despite billing a separate office phone line to the campaign.
King did not respond to multiple requests for comment.