Mayor answers questions about probe involving NYPD, businessmen

Mayor Bill de Blasio answered questions Sunday after some media reports have questioned whether his administration is connected to a federal investigation involving the NYPD and two prominent businessmen.

News 12 Staff

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Apr 11, 2016, 1:44 AM

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Updated 3,176 days ago

Mayor Bill de Blasio answered questions Sunday after some media reports have questioned whether his administration is connected to a federal investigation involving the NYPD and two prominent businessmen.

The mayor answered questions from reporters about the probe during an unrelated event in Mount Eden.

Police Commissioner William Bratton announced last week an internal investigation of four NYPD officers who allegedly took free trips, meals and other perks.

According to multiple media outlets, a local and federal investigation is looking at whether the officers provided favors to two leaders of the Jewish community.

Published reports say both men were a part of de Blasio's inaugural committee in 2013, and one of those men, Jona Rechnitz, reportedly made contributions to de Blasio's campaign.

"I met them around the time of the general election. We are returning the contribution to the 2013 campaign. They did not make contributions to the 2017 campaign," he said.

Mayor de Blasio said the contributions will be returned, except the donations made to the 'One New York' campaign because the work of that campaign is finished.

The mayor also said that the NYPD investigation needed to be completed before passing judgment.

"We have to go through the whole due process, have to define what they did and didn't in terms of the police department and then we can pass fuller judgment," he said.