Mayor de Blasio will return campaign donations from one of the businessmen at the center of a federal corruption probe that has rocked the top brass of the NYPD.
The mayor’s move comes as the FBI investigation into top cops trading favors for lavish gifts expands to include an inquiry into the fund-raising activities of a pair of Brooklyn businessmen on behalf of de Blasio, a knowledgeable source told the Daily News Friday.
The probe revolves around Jeremy Reichberg and Jona Rechnitz, who both raised money for de Blasio’s 2013 campaign. Rechnitz, who heads a Manhattan-based real estate investment firm, and his wife donated $9,900 to the campaign, which will be returned.
“We are fully confident that the campaign has conducted itself legally and appropriately at all times,” spokesman Dan Levitan said in a statement.
The FBI is questioning real estate industry executives regarding campaign contributions, the source said, but cautioned that it has not risen to a full-blown investigation.
Federal investigators been questioning top cops ensnared in the controversy mostly about Reichberg and Rechnitz — who were both named to de Blasio’s 73-member inauguration committee.
As mayor, De Blasio attended a dinner in Borough Park with Reichberg.
Rechnitz, aside from the $9,900 donation that is being returned, ponied up $50,000 to the Mayor’s outside money operation, the Campaign for One New York.
Amid criticism and a formal complaint from the good government group Common Cause, the mayor announced last month that the group would be shut down.
Rechnitz further dropped $102,000 when de Blasio asked for help to get Democrats to take control of the New York State Senate, CBS-2 reported.
“We will see what the investigation yields,” the Mayor said earlier this week. “But I have no intention of accepting any donations from them while they are still being investigated.”
The wide-ranging probe traces its roots to Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s investigation into Norman Seabrook, the powerful boss of the city correction officers union, sources said.
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton announced Thursday that four high-ranking NYPD officers were disciplined in relation to the investigation.
Two of the cops — Deputy Chief Michael Harrington, commanding officer of Manhattan North, and Deputy Inspector James Grant, head of the Upper East Side’s 19th Precinct — were transferred and stripped of their guns and badges. Two others — Deputy Chief Eric Rodriguez, second in command of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, and Deputy Chief David Colon, executive officer of the Housing Bureau — were transferred to desk duty.
The feds, in questioning the cops, were looking for leverage against the two businessmen, a source said.
The source added that the cops would likely end up facing only departmental charges or fines from the Conflicts of Interest Board.
Another insider, however, said there is still the possibility of criminal charges “depending on what else might be learned.”
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