Bogus Bill
Donor: Blaz team told me to fake tab
MAYOR DE Blasio’s staff told a crooked restaurateur to fake a receipt saying his campaign paid for a fund-raiser, according to a new claim in an ongoing Long Island corruption case.
De Blasio’s campaign didn’t initially pay for the event held at a place called Water’s Edge — owned by the now-disgraced campaign donor Harendra Singh.
But the mayor’s office told Singh to make out a receipt stating it was covered by campaign cash — after he learned authorities were eyeing his fund-raising activities, Singh allegedly told investigators.
This latest claim about de Blasio surfaced in a Thursday filing in the case of indicted Long Island pol Edward Mangano.
The ex-Nassau county executive, headed into a federal corruption trial of his own, has argued that he should be allowed to dig into Singh’s dealings with de Blasio.
Mangano, his wife, Linda, and former Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto are set for trial next month, based on their relationship with Singh.
Singh admitted in 2016 that he made campaign contributions to City Hall and Mayor de Blasio to try to get a good lease for a restaurant he owned that sat on city property, according to recently unsealed court records.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy, bribery and other charges in connection to his de Blasio contributions, the papers said.
Singh also pleaded guilty in October 2016 to bribery schemes related to Nassau County politicians — including Mangano — and his businesses there.
Despite Singh’s admissions, de Blasio was never charged with corruption — although he was criticized by federal prosecutors for his fund-raising methods.
Mangano tried to convince the judge in his case that if the feds didn’t have Hizzoner in their sights, he shouldn’t be there either.
But Long Island Federal Judge Joan Azrack shot him down earlier this month, noting that de Blasio’s case dealt with campaign contributions, a tougher legal burden for wrongdoing than a corruption claim.
In Thursday’s filing, Mangano said new prosecution disclosures “reveal that Singh’s misconduct vis-à-vis the mayor goes beyond the bribery conduct to which Mr. Singh pled guilty.”In addition to the allegedly falsified restaurant receipt, Mangano said in his latest filings, the new material showed that Singh sidestepped campaign finance laws by bankrolling “straw donors.”
Mangano’s lawyers said that “Singh told investigators that he disclosed this fact to Mr. de Blasio — informing him that his fund-raising activities were ‘not kosher.’”
De Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips blasted the latest revelations as “an absurd, categorically false accusation from a convicted felon trying to save his own skin — and from a defense attorney trying to save his client from prison.”
Mangano’s lawyers could not be reached for comment.