Former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio settles over NYPD use during presidential campaign
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has reached a settlement with the city for using NYPD officers as his security detail on trips during his 2020 presidential campaign.
The city's Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB) announced the settlement Wednesday after years of litigation.
"Today, I settled an outstanding case with the NYC COIB. I acknowledge that I made a mistake, and I deeply regret it. Now it's time to move forward," de Blasio .
De Blasio made history in June 2023 when the COIB served him its largest fine ever -- $155,000 -- and ordered him to reimburse the city $320,000 for violating the City Charter.
In response, the former mayor's lawyers filed a suit to stop the board from collecting the money.
The COIB said in a statement Wednesday that de Blasio had already paid $100,000, and will pay a total of $329,794.20 in restitution and fines.
What is de Blasio accused of doing?
Before he announced his presidential run in September 2019, the COIB told de Blasio it would be a "misuse of City resources" to pay for his NYPD detail to join him on the campaign trail, including travel, hotel and overtime costs.
Nonetheless, de Blasio took his security detail on 31 out-of-state trips between May 2019 and September 2019.
The historic fine came after the Department of Investigation criticized de Blasio for his use of the security detail even when he was in New York City. That report said he used his detail to run errands, pick up coffee and food, and cart his family and friends around like Uber drivers.
"It's not security. It's essentially concierge service," former Department of Investigation Commissioner Margaret Garnet said in October 2021.
De Blasio served as mayor from 2014 to 2021 and later ran for the state's newly redrawn 10th Congressional District but dropped out.
In recent months, de Blasio publicly defended Mayor Eric Adams during his federal corruption investigation, and appeared alongside the mayor to announce $167 million toward early childhood education.
