De Blasio’s never-ending racket

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s drive to sell City Hall was even more naked than you knew.Kudos to The City for forcing disclosure of fresh and damning details from the explosive Department of Investigation report on de Blasio’s use of his old pocket nonprofit, the Campaign for One New York, to collect hefty payoffs from fat cats seeking favors from city government.
Douglaston Development LLC, for example, inked a $12 million deal with the city and secured a transfer of city-owned property in The Bronx — then proceeded to give $25,000 to CONY after receiving a pointed phone call from the mayor himself.
On Feb. 15, 2015, de Blasio had a 10-minute chat with the developer, the DOI report notes. “Near the end of the conversation, Mayor de Blasio mentioned CONY and informed [the caller] that he would receive a follow-up call” from fundraiser Ross Offinger. De Blasio supposedly doesn’t remember the call, but the check came in soon after.
The mayor insists his fundraising for CONY was all done “lawfully and ethically.” But the DOI report shows how untrue that is, naming three other apparent pay-to-play donors — though in those cases, the “gift” came before the favor.
In a preening pretense of purity, de Blasio has announced that his presidential campaign won’t take donations from the carbon-based fuel industry. Hah! Just ignore the news that, with CONY shut down, his national PAC has been collecting from companies looking for City Hall favors.