Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has agreed to pay the city nearly $330,000 to repay taxpayers for misusing his police department security detail during his short-lived campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2020 election.
The repayment includes covering the costs for his detail to accompany him to a Red Sox game in Los Angeles during a campaign trip, reports The New York Post on Wednesday.
De Blasio, under the terms of the agreement, admitted he did not follow the Conflicts of Interest Board's (COIB) guidance when he used $319,794 in taxpayer dollars to fund the details expenses during 31 trips outside the city during his four-month race for the nomination in 2019.
The settlement's terms call for de Blasio to stop all litigation against the COIB and repay the cost for the security detail, plus a $10,000 fine.
He was ordered to pay $100,000 immediately and to repay the remaining $229,794 in installments of $14,000 every three months over the next four years.
The COIB had initially sought nearly $475,000 from de Blasio, but lowered its figures after the former mayor said he could not afford to pay that much. However, if he defaults on any of his payments, he will be required to pay back that full amount.
"I acknowledge that, by having the city pay for the travel expenses incurred as a result of my security detail traveling with my wife and me during my presidential campaign, and by failing to reimburse the city for these expenses, I acted in conflict with my official duties," he wrote in the settlement agreement, reports Politico.
The COIB wrote in a press release that "This settlement brings to a successful conclusion the first ever enforcement action brought by the Board against a Mayor of the City of New York."
The former mayor also responded in a social media post, announcing that "Today I settled an outstanding case with the NYC COIB. I acknowledge that I made a mistake, and I deeply regret it. Now it’s time to move forward."