Why NYC Slapped Former Mayor Bill de Blasio With a $500,000 Fine

Matt Vespa | June 19, 2023 8:30 AM

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ran for president in 2020. It was a flash-in-the-pan situation, as he never had a shot at winning the nomination. The man was term-limited and wanted a voice in the larger public discourse—what better way to do that than by running for president? De Blasio’s tenure as mayor was controversial, specifically for his antagonistic relationship with New York’s finest.

There were rumors that he would speak to aides out of earshot of his security detail due to the level of distrust. Ironically, that detail is what got him in trouble. New York City slapped the former mayor with a hefty fine for improperly using that security detail when he ran for president. It’s not cheap at $500,000 (via Daily Caller):

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was fined nearly $500,000 by the city for improperly using NYPD officers as security detail during his brief Democratic presidential campaign.
De Blasio ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination from May to September 2019 and had the city pay for the travel expenses for his NYPD security detail, according to a report by the NYC Conflicts of Interest Board. The former mayor was ordered to pay $155,000 as punishment and just under $320,000 to reimburse the expenses incurred by the NYPD.
“Although there is a City purpose in the City paying for an NYPD security detail for the City’s Mayor, including the security detail’s salary and overtime, there is no City purpose in paying for the extra expenses incurred by that NYPD security detail to travel at a distance from the City to accompany the Mayor or his family on trips for his campaign for President of the United States,” the Conflict of Interest board’s report states.
The New York City Department of Investigations (DOI) released a report in October 2021 concluding that the city had not been reimbursed by the de Blasio campaign for his travel expenses. The investigation also found that NYPD resources were used improperly during his daughter’s move into the mayor’s Gracie Mansion.
“In the course of this investigation, DOI identified several vulnerabilities concerning the operation of Mayor de Blasio’s security detail, particularly regarding official communications, compliance with record retention protocols, and a culture susceptible to abuse,” the DOI concluded.