Briber’s ties to candidate
Rep. Espaillat got early election info
Harlem Rep. Adriano Espaillat received real-time election results in 2014 thanks to a notorious Mayor de Blasio donor’s connections at NYPD headquarters, evidence obtained by the Daily News shows.
The previously undisclosed episode involving Jona Rechnitz and Espaillat, who was then a state senator, is yet another example of how the City Hall insider quickly developed unique access to New York politicos by throwing around money.
Emails obtained by The News show Rechnitz got Espaillat to do him a big favor in the midst of the competitive race — and then swapped numerous emails with his chief of staff on primary night.
A source with direct knowledge said Rechnitz’s ties to Espaillat were investigated by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. That office brought charges against high-ranking cops, members of the NYPD’s gun license division and former jails union boss Norman Seabrook, thanks to the aspiring real estate power player’s cooperation.
The News reported last month on an episode involving de Blasio, the then-landlord of Grand Central Terminal and Rechnitz as part of the federal probe of Hizzoner’s fund-raising practices.
On the evening of June 24, 2014, Rechnitz received election returns for House District 13 from then-Deputy Chief Michael Harrington, emails show. Rechnitz then forwarded the data to Espaillat’s Chief of Staff Aneiry Batista. Harrington sent along data with 5%, 14% and 87% of election districts reporting.
“We r up by 800,” Batista wrote Rechnitz on primary night at 10:28 p.m.
The value of the data Rechnitz received from the NYPD was unclear. The source said it was likely exclusive only for mere minutes — similar data is routinely published in the press on election nights. Rechnitz testified for the government in federal corruption trials that he rarely missed an opportunity to make himself look like a big shot.
Still, the emails show Rechnitz’s high level of access to Espaillat. Batista asked Rechnitz to call Espaillat on his cellphone. Batista also hit up Rechnitz for money on the eve of the primary, even after the insider exceeded the legal limit with a $2,600 donation to Espaillat’s campaign.
“You already maxed out (which is an amazing thing) but you already donated enough for the general and the primary. I just voided this transaction, you could get fined and so could we for going over the max. If you have a family member who could donate instead, it will be greatly appreciated,” Batista wrote.
Records show Rechnitz and his wife donated more than $20,000 to Espaillat’s state Senate and congressional committees.
Espaillat lost the 2014 election to Charlie Rangel, a one-time congressional powerhouse whose influence in Washington, D.C., diminished in his final years due to ethics scandals. Rangel retired and Espaillat won the seat on his third try in 2016.
Harrington, the highranking cop who provided the inside info to Rechnitz, was sentenced to two years of probation in 2018 for providing an array of favors for Rechnitz and his partner-in-bribes, Jeremy Reichberg.
Harrington’s attorney did not respond to an inquiry. The NYPD declined to respond to questions about whether police brass has special access to election returns.
Only a week before election night, Espaillat did an unusual favor for Rechnitz, who lived in his state Senate district on the Upper West Side.
Espaillat wrote a letter asking the Suffolk County chief medical examiner to release the body of Hanan Shoshany, who crashed his small plane into an East Patchogue backyard. Shoshany’s family friend had enlisted Rechnitz’s help quickly getting his remains to Israel for burial per Jewish custom, according to the source.
Rechnitz asked for Espaillat’s assistance and within hours the state senator fired off a letter, the source said.
“It is imperative that family has access to victim’s remains and can offer their loved ones a burial in accordance with their religious customs. Given the rapidly approaching deadline for this obvious right to occur, I ask that you take all possible steps to expedite this resolution,” Espaillat wrote Medical Examiner Yvonne Milewski on state Senate letterhead.
Espaillat’s district, which covered Washington Heights and neighborhoods along the Hudson River, is roughly 40 miles from Suffolk County.
A spokesman for Espaillat said the letter was the type of routine assistance his office provides.