The Weekly Fix: Pay for Play Is the New York City Way

The fix is in. Donors to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have admitted to major political corruption involving the Mayor’s Office and the New York Police Department.

During a bribery trial involving two policemen and a union chief, Jona Rechnitz admitted to donating $160,000 to Mayor de Blasio’s campaign and political projects in exchange for direct weekly access to the mayor to discuss city issues, political appointments, and potential favors.

Rechnitz admits some of the money was exchanged using straw donors, a practice in which individuals write checks on behalf of another donor who has already reached his/her campaign donation limit. This is an illegal practice.

According to the New York Post, Rechnitz claims he told de Blasio fundraiser Ross Offinger that he expected “a lot of access and influence in the office… and when we call, we want answers. When we reach out for things, we want them to get done.”

Offinger allegedly responded with: “OK. How much do you think you guys can get together?”

This is not the first time Bill de Blasio’s sketchy campaign fundraising practices have raised eyebrows. In March 2017, Mayor de Blasio dodged federal and state charges after getting caught funneling money through Democratic counties to avoid campaign donation caps.

While prosecutors couldn’t determine that Mayor de Blasio “willfully broke the law,” Manhattan district attorney Cy Vance Jr. told the press “the transactions appear contrary to the intent and spirit of the laws that impose candidate contribution limits.”

These unethical activities are textbook corruption. Bill de Blasio and his crooked fundraiser should both be run out of the Mayor’s Office and prosecuted.
Despite these shocking admissions, Mayor de Blasio will continue to serve a second term in office. He was sworn in by self-proclaimed socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders during a ceremony Jan. 1, 2018.

It’s time to take a stand. The American people aren’t being heard by their representatives because the game is rigged. Government isn’t broken. It’s “fixed.”