Pride Photo Was Like Child Porn To Embattled Lawmaker: Panel

NEW YORK — Embattled City Council Member Andy King once likened a photo from an LGBT pride parade to child porn, according to a council report documenting the Bronx Democrat's myriad ethics violations.

The 48-page report from the council's Standards and Ethics Committee also describes in detail how King repeatedly intimidated his staffers, let his wife partly run his government office and spent taxpayer money on a "retreat" to the Virgin Islands.

The committee's months-long investigation found King reprimanded a staffer in June 2015 for accidentally posting a picture from the New York City Pride March to the council member's Twitter account instead of the staffer's personal page.

"I don't approve of this behavior...to me, this is the same as child pornography," King said in front of his staffers at a meeting, according to the panel's report. The committee found the "egregious statement" constituted harassment that violated council policy.

The council released the wide-ranging report Wednesday after the ethics committee recommended King be suspended and face other sanctions for committing harassment, disorderly conduct, retaliation and conflicts-of-interest violations.

The report contains more details of King's abuse of his staff and his efforts to obstruct the ethics probe that Council Member Steven Matteo, the committee chairman, disclosed Tuesday. King failed to cooperate with the panel's investigation and put the squeeze on staffers who did, Matteo said.

But the document also includes new revelations of King's abuse of council resources to benefit himself and his wife — including the tropical excursion.

King let his wife — Neva Shillingford-King, an executive with the 1199 SEIU labor union — play a role in whom his office hired, give instructions to his staffers, and use his office to promote her image through a newsletter and social media posts, according to the report.

King also used council money, staff and other resources to help plan the 2017 Virgin Islands retreat, which included the wedding of King's wife's daughter, the committee found. The trip prominently featured Shillingford-King and her employer, according to the report.

The committee says the council should suspend King from his position for 30 days, fine him $15,000, install an independent monitor to oversee his office, and remove him from all council committees for at least a year, among other sanctions. The council is expected to hold a meeting on King's punishments next week.

King's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated whose wedding was included in the Virgin Islands retreat. It was the daughter of King's wife, not King's daughter.