De Blasio donor pleads guilty to bribery and will likely go to prison. But De Blasio who is likely going to run for president gets off scot free. Perhaps voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, or Nevada will hold him to account-Washington Examiner, NY Times

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"Mr. Singh, who owed the city millions of dollars in back rent and charges for the rebuilding of a nearby pier."

1/25/18, "Campaign donor pleads guilty to bribery--so why does Bill de Blasio get off scot-free?" Washington Examiner, Philip Wegmann, opinion

"The quid pro quo definitely occurred. But while one of Bill de Blasio’s earliest and most generous donors will probably head to prison for a very long time, the New York City mayor will get off scot-free. Why?

The facts are damnable on their face. A restaurateur named Harendra Singh was trying to renegotiate the terms of his lease with the city. He owed millions in back rent for his restaurant, but rather than scrape that money together, Singh tried swindling the mayor instead. By all accounts, it worked.

Singh and his associates not only contributed more than $33,000 to the de Blasio campaign in 2015, they held a fundraiser for the mayor at the fancy restaurant on city property. In return, a De Blasio aide set up a July 30 meeting with Singh, a lobbyist, and the head of the administrative services department. According to court documents reviewed by the  New York Times, the city was in the process of finalizing a favorable settlement.

Had the investigation continued, it might have revealed even more corruption. But the campaign donations and the arranged meeting were enough to convince law enforcement to nab Singh. In recently unsealed testimony, he confesses to everything.

“I gave these donations to the elected official in exchange for efforts by that official and other city officials to obtain a lease renewal from the city agency for my restaurant on terms that were favorable to me,” Singh admitted.

To recap quickly, a donor gave money for the express purpose of garnering favor with an elected official. Said elected official turned around and was in the process of delivering said special favors. But only the briber will face legal consequences. The bribed is more than likely going to run for president. 

Last March, federal prosecutors gave up on the idea of bringing criminal charges against de Blasio, citing that difficulty of meeting a higher legal standard of “evidence of personal profit.” But the mayor won’t get off so easily. Next time he makes the rounds in Iowa or New Hampshire or Nevada, the Democrat will have to explain to voters about that one time one of his donors tried bribing him."

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Added: NY Times

"Mr. Singh, who owed the city millions of dollars in back rent and charges for the rebuilding of a nearby pier." 

1/24/18, "Campaign Donor Pleaded Guilty to Trying to Bribe Mayor de Blasio," NY Times, William K. Rashbaum, William Neuman

"The newly disclosed documents stem from a separate case against Mr. Singh in the Eastern District of New York, where prosecutors there had charged him in September 2015 in a political corruption case in Nassau County.

Mr. Singh pleaded guilty in October 2016 to six counts stemming from bribery schemes involving local government officials on Long Island and several businesses he owned there.

He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy, bribery and honest services wire fraud, in connection with campaign contributions to Mr. de Blasio, according to the records. Those charges were not previously made public.

The federal information describes Mr. Singh’s negotiations with an unnamed New York City agency to renew a lease for one of his businesses. The details in the indictment match Mr. Singh’s efforts to renew a lease with the Department of Citywide Administrative Services for his Water’s Edge restaurant, which operated on city property in Queens.

Mr. Singh started raising campaign contributions for the unnamed official in 2010, ultimately raising tens of thousands of dollars, according to the records. Mr. Singh was one of the earliest large donors when Mr. de Blasio began his mayoral campaign in 2010, and he, his family members and other associates ultimately raised a total of about $33,000 for the mayor....

Eric F. Phillips, Mr. de Blasio’s press secretary, characterized the allegations as “never proven because they are not true.”

“They are old news that’s been widely reported and reviewed extensively by federal prosecutors before they closed their investigation. We make decisions on the merits. Period,” Mr. Phillips said....

Mr. Singh, who owed the city millions of dollars in back rent and charges for the rebuilding of a nearby pier, had been involved in a long-running dispute with the city over his lease. The negotiations in 2015 were to settle those disputes, which he hoped would lead to a renewal of the lease.

Mr. de Blasio had intervened on behalf of Mr. Singh on various occasions. He attended a meeting with administrative services department officials and Mr. Singh in 2011, when he was still public advocate; after Mr. de Blasio was elected mayor, he telephoned the head of the agency to ask her to help Mr. Singh and ordered a top city official to monitor the negotiations.

The court documents said that Mr. Singh’s contributions were made “in exchange for efforts by Official #2 and other city officials” that benefited Mr. Singh.

Mr. de Blasio has said that Mr. Singh got the same treatment that any other constituent would have received and that he was not influenced by the donations."...

 

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