HUNGER GAMES
DA made cops buy his meals
Brooklyn District Attorney Ke n Thompson has been f ined $ 1 5,0 0 0 by the city ethics board because he made his security detail buy his lunch every day — then reimbursed them with taxpaye r money.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch — unless you’re Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson.
The food-grubbing district attorney has agreed to pay a $15,000 fine to settle charges that his security detail bought him lunch weekdays for five months after he took office and then had taxpayers reimburse them, the city Conflicts of Interest Board revealed on Wednesday.
Thompson, who took over as DA in 2014, made members of his security detail dip into their own pockets to buy him $2,043 worth of meals between January 2014 and May 2014, the board said.
The dishes they fetched included sandwiches, bagels, burgers, chicken and salmon, according to a source familiar with his preferences.
“They didn’t know if they were going to get the money back,” said one source.
Thompson admitted in a settlement statement that his cops were eventually paid back with taxpayer funds with “authorization” by his fiscal office.
When someone pointed out that might violate city regulations, the DA came up with a new policy — from that point on, the DA’s Office would buy him meals only on nights and weekends. Those bills came to $1,489 between January 2014 and February 2015.
The officers on his security detail — including skilled NYPD detectives — also spent another $1,992 on food for the hungry DA.
They were later reimbursed by the DA’s Office but “sometimes after a delay,” the ethics board said.
Thompson said he personally reimbursed all the costs when he finally “learned this practice violated city rules.”
But the ethics board still fined him $15,000, saying it was taking into account the “high level of accountability required of the chief prosecutor of Brooklyn.”
It is among the highest fines the board has leveled.
“I accept complete responsibility for this violation and regret that it occurred,” Thompson said in a statement. “As Brooklyn district attorney, I am committed to maintaining the integrity of my office.
“I fully reimbursed the office over a year ago,” he added.
In May, Thompson’s chief of security resigned after being scolded by the DA, who allegedly accused him of not doing enough to protect him against protestors angry over ex-cop Peter Liang not getting jail time for killing innocent Akai Gurley while on housing patrol in November 2014.
Amid the outcry, Thompson installed bulletproof glass on his home’s windows.
“This guy has a problem,” said a source. “He has a big personality issue. He runs through staff.”