The federal investigation into corruption at the New York Police Department – which tied up JSR Capital’s Jona Rechnitz – is actually part of a larger probe, into Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign financing.
The inquiry, led by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, which has centered on consultant Jeremy Reichberg and restaurateur and alleged Ponzi scheme operator Hamlet Peralta, has also resulted in censure for four high-ranking NYPD officers, the New York Times reported.
Rechnitz and Reichberg and worked with de Blasio’s election campaign, and and contributed $50,000 to the Campaign for One New York, a nonprofit supporting the mayor.
De Blasio said Sunday he had “no evidence” that federal authorities were looking into his campaign finances, and had only a cursory relationship with the two men, Politico reported.
“It’s not a particularly close relationship,” de Blasio told the news service. “I met them first around the time of the [2013] general election. I hadn’t known them previously and really haven’t seen them in the last year or more.”
He’s also said the two men haven’t donated to his 2017 re-election campaign. Bharara has not commented publicly.
The Campaign for One New York, which has accepted $3.87 million from real estate developers and others, announced last month it would shut down after various good government groups criticized its ties to the mayor’s office. [NYT, Politico] – Ariel Stulberg