The Mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, met with federal prosecutors this morning, as part of an ongoing investigation surrounding fundraising for the 55-year old's successful 2013 election campaign. The investigation is looking into whether or not parties involved in the fundraising for De Blasio's campaign broke anti-corruption laws, something that the New York City Mayor has denied. Stating that his campaign team "did everything right".
De Blasio questioned over fundraising
A spokesman for De Blasio refused to answer any questions regarding the ongoing investigation but The New York Times has reported that prosecutors and FBI agents are expected to question the mayor for about 4 hours at his lawyer's office in Manhattan today.
According to the report, prosecutors from Manhattan's Public Corruption Unit will be looking to assess if people involved in the fundraising for the mayor's campaign received favorable treatment once De Blasio took his seat as the Mayor of New York.
De Blasio confirmed last month that he had been interviewed by prosecutors from the District Attorney's office in relation to the allegations and claimed that he had given them his full cooperation. The New York Times has also reported that although the mayor is no longer seen as a suspect in the enquiries, several of his associates are still in the Public Corruption Unit's line of fire. De Blasio's defence team for the case is reportedly costing the state of New York more than $11.6 million.
Mayor De Blasio and campaign donations
De Blasio, who is set to run for re-election this November, also has another investigation surrounding City Hall looming over his head, as a probe continues into why a restriction was lifted at a Lower East Side nursing home which is now being converted into luxury housing. The FBI began looking into De Blasio and his staff after they subpoenaed thousands of emails and documents relating to a nonprofit organization associated with the mayor.
The non-profit organization which could take unlimited contributions from donors thanks to its status, is suspected to have taken money from wealthy contributors and deposited it into the mayor's campaign fund. Donors who had pending business with the City Council prior to De Blasio's appointment attributed to $3 million of the $4.3 million the New York City Mayor raised for the nonprofit 'the Campaign for One New York'.
