City Council Speaker To Pay $7,000 Fine To Settle Ethics Investigation
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has agreed to pay thousands of dollars following an investigation by the city's Conflict of Interest Board.
The Democrat will pay a $7,000 fine to settle a non-criminal investigation into free political consulting services she accepted during her speaker bid in 2013.
The fine is much smaller compared to the $25,000 statutory maximum the speaker faced at the start of the inquiry.
The ethics board investigated Mark-Viverito for improperly accepting assistance from the Advance Group, a lobbying firm that does business with the city.
Elected officials are barred from accepting anything of value from registered lobbyists, including free services. The Conflict of Interest Board estimated Advance Group improperly donated $3,700 in services to Mark-Viverito.
A spokesman for Mark-Viverito said it was "a positive resolution'' and the speaker looked forward to getting back to work.
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