The former mayor of New York was fined $ 500,000 for carrying a policeman on private trips

Former New York Mayor Bill de Blazio has to pay a $ 155,000 fine and transfer more than $ 319,000 to the city's account for using the police department during propaganda prior to the 2020 presidential election. 

According to the document, de Blazio paid the travel expenses of a city police security guard he carried with him on his 31 out-of-state trips as part of his campaign from the city budget. According to COIB data, the employee who accompanied de Blazio and his wife in may-September 2019 is expected to receive $ 319,794 from the former mayor, excluding the salary and additional salary of the New York police officer.

Council President Milton Williams said that the city was not obliged to pay from its budget for the mayor's campaigns. COIB gave de Blazio 30 days to pay the fines. His attorney, Andrew Chelley, said that the board's decision was “unintentional and arbitrary”, which was contrary to the United States Constitution.

De Blazio was running for president of the United States in may 2019. It was then that he claimed to have unique abilities to defeat Donald Trump. The Wall Street Journal wrote that there were few supporters of the former mayor, both in the country and among New Yorkers.