Unholy ethics rap for a city official

A DEPARTMENT of Transportation official was busted for soliciting $58,500 for a church he leads from two city contractors whose work he oversaw.

Olakunle Ashimi was slapped with a $10,000 fine and agreed to quit his job after investigators found he asked for the donations — and then siphoned off some of the cash for his own personal use, including car payments, cell phone bills and a trip to Africa.

Ashimi, then the assistant director of contracts at DOT’s division of transportation, planning and management, moonlighted as the pastor of God’s Offspring Christian Church on Staten Island, according to documents released by the city Conflicts of Interest Board.

At the same time, he was involved in picking and evaluating contractors for DOT.

In addition to the fine, he resigned from his job in March 2017.

Ashimi’s lawyer Michael Coviello said the violation was “inadvertent,” and the official was not aware it was against the rules to accept donations from the companies.