Jona Rechnitz, a major donor to New York City Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio, told prosecutors he had "many" talks with a fund-raiser about receiving "official acts" as a result of his donation.
There are letters that detail Rechnitz's cooperation with prosecutors in the investigation into de Blasio’s fund-raising tactics, New York Daily News reported Friday.
Rechnitz raised nearly $200,000 for de Blasio. In October 2013, Rechnitz bundled more than $40,000 for the mayor and gave $50,000 to the mayor’s nonprofit, Campaign for One New York, in January 2014. Another $102,000 was donated to the New York Democratic Senate Committee in October 2014, in a failed effort by de Blasio to swing the Senate away from Republican control.
A letter on July 20 revealed prosecutors were, "actively investigating a fund-raiser for an elected official in connection with promises of official acts made to donors to that elected official."
The prosecutors noted that the unnamed fund-raiser, now known to be Rechnitz, held multiple discussions over the desired "official actions" that would result after the official received donations.
While the letters hid the names of the elected official and the fund-raiser, the mayor's office did confirm Manhattan U.S. Attorney subpoenaed de Blasio’s key fund-raiser, Ross Offinger.
According to the Daily News,
In his statement last week revealing the decision not to charge de Blasio, acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim specifically stated that de Blasio and his representatives solicited donations from entities seeking favors from City Hall, and that de Blasio and his minions in turn intervened on those donors’ behalf.
"With respect to political contributions, I expected for my conversations with the fundraiser that I would receive favorable municipal treatment," Rechnitz said on June 6 during his plea.
Rechnitz secretly pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy on depriving the public of its right to honest services, the Daily News revealed.
Eric Phillips, the mayor’s press secretary, gave a statement regarding Rechnitz.
"The conduct described in the plea has nothing to do with the mayor or his administration," the statement reads. "No amount of sensationalized, misleading reporting will change the fact that two independent prosecutors confirmed that the mayor and our administration acted within the law."