TWEET REVENGE
Conflicts Board zings mayor
Mayor de Blasio got schooled on Twitter Tuesday — in both ethics and trolling.
In a series of tweets, the city Conflicts of Interest Board used the social-media platform to needle the mayor for defending his jail chief ’s use of a public vehicle to take long private trips.
The “COIB Daily Dose” Twitter feed began its cyber attack on de Blasio just after noon, by tweeting: “Okay! here we go . . .”
It then launched into a series of tweets detailing other city workers who paid a heavy price for the same kind of infraction for which de Blasio recently let Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte slide.
After listing incidents of the other workers being fined and suspended for conducting private business with a city car, the COIB ended the tweetstorm with a caustic coda.
“So yeah, don’t use a City vehicle for a non-City purpose,” the tweet read.
Another tweet linked to rules on the misuse of city resources — just in case the powers that be in City Hall hadn’t already gotten the message.
The postings came four days after de Blasio defended Ponte for running up 18,500 miles of personal use on his official vehicle last year in jaunts to Maine and elsewhere, claiming he had gotten poor advice about when to use a city car.
Ponte on Monday agreed to reimburse the city for $1,043 in gas charges as well as $746 in tolls. But he has suffered no other consequences, thus far.
De Blasio defended Ponte as an outstanding commissioner and said he did nothing wrong because he was advised he could use an official vehicle at will.
“I have absolute faith in Commissioner Ponte,” de Blasio told WNYC radio on Friday.
The lower-level city workers whose misdeeds were spotlighted by the COIB weren’t as fortunate to have a friend in a high place.
Joel Lemaitre, a fleet coordinator with the New York City Housing Authority, was slapped with a 10day suspension that will cost him $2,222, the COIB announced Tuesday.
Lemaitre’s offense: He used a Housing Authority car to travel to Pier 1 Imports in Freeport, LI, on a single occasion in 2015 so he and his mom could buy a chair.
He then drove his mother home with the new chair.
The ethics board also penalized two Sanitation Department workers for taking their truck off route last year so one of them could meet a contractor at his home.
Desmond Darmalingum and Terry Hooks, both employed by the city since 1993, were suspended for 10 days and seven days, respectively, costing each more than $2,000 in pay.
In a fourth case that involved the misuse of computer equipment, not cars, Susan Patterson, a Department of Youth and Community Development contract specialist was suspended four days and fined $1,000 for using a city-owned device to perform work on her personal retail business last year.
A COIB spokeswoman declined comment. Three of the five members of the board were appointed by de Blasio.