Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey is formally demanding the Manhattan DA US attorney probe Mayor de Blasio’s legal representation, describing it as “an arrangement no ordinary person or business entity could secure.”
Massey, a real-estate developer, sent letters to District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and US Attorney Preet Bharara on Friday.
Massey requested the offices “determine whether a thing of value, an illegal campaign contribution, or a failure by the mayor to pay lawfully rendered bills represents a violation of criminal law, the New York City Charter, or New York State ethics laws.”
De Blasio, who’s facing investigations by Vance and Bharara over his fund-raising, is using the law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel to represent him, but has not yet paid any of its bills.
His spokesmen refused to say whether the mayor signed a retainer agreement with the firm last week, but said de Blasio plans to set up a legal-defense fund to pay the bills.
Government watchdogs have also criticized the arrangement because of the relative lack of scrutiny legal defense funds receive.
Unlike a campaign account, such funds are not subject to disclosure requirements.
More than a week ago, de Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips issued a “fact sheet” that offered a vague outline of how payments would be handled.
“No taxpayer dollars will be used to fund the mayor’s individual compliance with these reviews,” it said. “The mayor’s lawyers will be paid with outside funds from an account that has yet to be established or funded.”
Neither the mayor’s office nor Kramer Levin responded to calls for comment.
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