Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo better “stay tuned.”
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara issued an executive warning Tuesday, making clear that his push to clean up corruption isn’t limited to the state Legislature.
BUSINESSMEN IN FBI PROB HAD WESTCHESTER POLICE CHAPLIN GIG
“We will keep looking hard at corruption in our legislative branch, as we have been,” Bharara said during a keynote speech at Common Cause New York’s annual gala at the University Club in Midtown. “But not just there: in the executive branch, too, both in city and in state government.
“Executive offices in government are far from immune from the creeping show-me-the-money culture that has been pervading New York for some time now.”
The comments come as Bharara’s office is reportedly looking into the mayor’s campaign fund-raising in connection with a probe of two businessmen ensnared with police brass in a gifts-for-favors probe. Bharara is also reportedly looking into economic development spending in Buffalo under Cuomo.
DE BLASIO SAYS NONE OF HIS DONORS GOT SPECIAL TREATMENT
Earlier Tuesday, Upper Manhattan City Councilman Mark Levine said he was returning $5,500 in donations that he received from Jona Rechnitz, one of the men at the center of the NYPD-focused probe. Mayor de Blasio said Friday he would return money from Rechnitz as well.
The mayor has said he’s unaware of any federal investigation.
Levine received a $2,750 donation from Joan Rechnitz, who is being investigated by US Attorney Preet Bharara’s office, and another $2,750 from his wife.
Both will be returned to “avoid any hint of impropriety and out of an abundance of caution our campaign is in the process of returning those donations,” said a Levine spokesman.The reimbursements were first reported by Politico New York.
The feds are looking at Rechnitz, who lives in Levine’s district, and Jeremy Reichberg who doled out lavish gifts to cops in exchange for perks, like police escorts and security, sources said.
On Tuesday, Cuomo continued to hammer the Moreland Commission, Cuomo’s short-lived corruption probe that has become one of his favorite targets.
“I’m staying tuned,” Bharara said, continuing his TV theme. “I’ve checked the local listings and sadly I don’t see any of this new programming.
“Instead, what we’ve gotten is a lot of reruns and, dare I say it, premature cancellations,” he added, waiting a beat before his biting conclusion. “Yes, that’s a reference to the Moreland Commission. Which didn’t run for even one full season.”