De Blasio Donor Says He Bought Favors From Mayor: Reports

NEW YORK, NY — A big donor to Mayor Bill de Blasio's campaigns said under oath Thursday that he was promised a return on his investments from City Hall, according to news reports. Testifying in the federal corruption trial of corrections union chief Norman Seabrook, Brooklyn businessman Jona Rechnitz said one of the mayor's top campaign aides promised him favors and access in exchange for top-dollar donations, news reports say.

Rechnitz said Ross Offinger, the top fundraiser for de Blasio's 2013 campaign, promised him sway with top city officials, according to POLITICO New York. Rechnitz is cooperating with federal prosecutors and said he's pleaded guilty to giving campaign gifts in exchange for favors.

"We expect a lot of access and influence in the office," Rechnitz recalled telling Offinger, according to the New York Daily News. "We're going to become significant contributors, but we want access. And when we call, we want answers. When we reach out for things, we want them to get done. It was very important and specifically stated at that meeting."

De Blasio even gave Rechnitz his personal cellphone number before the 2013 election, reports say.

Rechnitz gave more than $100,000 to de Blasio's 2013 campaign and $50,000 to his nonprofit, the Campaign for One New York, according to POLITICO. Later, he testified, City Hall went easy on him when there was an illegal Airbnb operation in a Manhattan building he owned, according to the Daily News.

Rechnitz described the behavior for which local and federal prosecutors were investigating de Blasio until earlier this year. Prosecutors brought no criminal charges but had stern words for de Blasio; Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said the mayor violated "the intent and spirit of the law."

The mayor's office continues to deny any wrongdoing.

"These are nothing but re-heated, re-packaged accusations that have been extensively reviewed and passed on by authorities at multiple levels," de Blasio Press Secretary Eric Phillips told POLITICO and the Daily News. "The administration has never and will never make government decisions based on campaign contributions."

Rechnitz was a witness for prosecutors in the trial of Seabrook, the head of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association. Seabrook is accused of investing $20 million of union pension money in a hedge fund run by Murray Huberfeld — who is also on trial — in exchange for a $60,000 kickback, according to POLITICO.

(Lead image by Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images)