Billy the moocher
DeB begged for dough: Singh
Bill de Blasio repeatedly begged for campaign cash from a crooked restaurant owner who claims he bribed the mayor with political contributions, the donor testified Wednesday.
“He was always looking for money for himself,” Harendra Singh told jurors in federal court in Central Islip, LI.
Singh, the prosecution’s star witness at the corruption trial of former Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, said de Blasio was the city’s public advocate at the time, but told Singh he was running for mayor.
Singh testified that he joined de Blasio’s finance committee and attended “maybe a dozen” meetings at a Manhattan law office, adding that after one, he and de Blasio spoke privately in the lobby afterward.
Singh said de Blaiso pressured him to raise money, adding, “I explained to him it is hard to the come up with $4,950 check, because that’s what he was looking for, so I had to find, you know, a strong donor.”
“My conversation with Bill de Blasio was, you know, I have to find from someone,” Singh added.
Singh said he was introduced to de Blasio by Tom Garry, a Long Island lawyer who helped raise money for de Blasio’s successful 2013 mayoral bid.
Singh said he wanted to cozy up to de Blasio because Singh was “having issues” extending his lease on the Water’s Edge restaurant, which sat on a city-owned barge on the Queens side of the East River, and was paying for re- pairs to an adjacent pier.
During his 11th day on the stand, Singh testified under cross-examination that he met de Blasio during a lunch Garry had arranged in August 2010.
Singh said he and de Blasio later had “many, many, many conversations” — including some that were “face to face” — about the lease and pier repairs, both before and after de Blasio became mayor.
At one point during the questioning, Singh was asked whether he and lobbyist Neal Kwatra dis- cussed getting de Blasio to put pressure on Stacey Cumberbatch, then commissioner of the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, to resolve the issues. “We may have,” Singh said. “I wanted to get my lease extended . . . The key was to have Commissioner Cumberbatch comply with the mayor’s request.”
Defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo, who represents co-defendant and former Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto, also introduced into evidence a series of e-mails from Singh to various de Blasio mayoral aides.
In one, dated March 22, 2014, Singh touted his relationship with the mayor to Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Emma Wolfe, who later met with Singh, Kwatra and Cumberbatch at City Hall.
“I am a very loyal and early friend of Bill and not be[ing] able to get in touch with anyone is little heart wrenching. Please have some one call me. . .” Singh wrote.
De Blasio has staunchly denied being bribed by Singh.