Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has been mandated by a court ruling to pay a fine totaling $475,000 due to the improper use of public funds for a police security detail during his unsuccessful presidential campaign. The judge dismissed de Blasio’s challenge against the fine, describing it as “perplexing” and “entirely baseless.”
The ruling halts de Blasio’s attempts to overturn the sizeable penalty imposed by the city’s ethics board earlier in 2023. In his request for the dismissal of the case, de Blasio claimed that the board provided unclear guidance regarding the use of public funds for security, and that it exceeded its authority by imposing the fine.
Judge Shahabuddeen Ally thoroughly dismissed de Blasio’s claims in an extensive 80-page decision issued Monday. He determined that the former mayor had been explicitly informed that the city would not cover security travel expenses related to his campaign, yet he still opted to take his police detail with him.
The judge noted that de Blasio’s stance effectively undermined his own decision-making authority, stating that there was no validity to his argument that he was somehow exempt from the city’s conflict-of-interest regulations.
Consequently, de Blasio is now responsible for $320,000 in flight and travel expenses accrued by his security team during the four-month campaign, which commenced in 2019 while he was still in office. Additionally, he faces a $5,000 penalty for each of the 31 out-of-state trips made by his security detail, which totals $155,000.
This fine marks the largest ever imposed by New York’s Conflicts of Interest Board, an independent agency that oversees ethical conduct among local officials. Carolyn Lisa Miller, the board’s executive director, remarked that the judge’s ruling “speaks for itself.” De Blasio’s attorney, Andrew G. Celli Jr., opted not to comment on the matter, and de Blasio has not responded to inquiries.
In court documents, de Blasio’s legal team contended that the demand to reimburse the costs associated with his security detail infringed upon his First Amendment rights, alleging it created an “unequal burden” between affluent candidates and dedicated public servants. They further argued that reimbursing the costs would not significantly impact the NYPD’s budget.
De Blasio has faced previous scrutiny regarding the misappropriation of security services. A report from the city’s Department of Investigation, published shortly before he exited office in 2021, accused him of using police officers as a “concierge service,” including for personal tasks such as helping his daughter relocate and transporting his son to college.
Since his tenure, de Blasio has participated as a lecturer at various universities, most recently at the University of Michigan, and has engaged in delivering paid speeches in Italy.
