Fast Forward

Jewish Businessman Pleads Guilty To Bribing Public Officials

Satmar vs. Satmar: New York mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio, shown here campaigning at the West Indian carnival in Brooklyn, has won the endorsement of a group of Satmar Hasidic Jews. That sets up a battle for the votes of the Hasidic community, as another group has endorsed Bill Thompson. Image by getty images

By Daniel Hoffman March 24, 2017

Satmar vs. Satmar: New York mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio, shown here campaigning at the West Indian carnival in Brooklyn, has won the endorsement of a group of Satmar Hasidic Jews. That sets up a battle for the votes of the Hasidic community, as another group has endorsed Bill Thompson. Image by getty images

A Jewish real-estate investor and prominent donor to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said he exchanged money for favors from public officials, according to the New York Daily News.

Jona Rechnitz’s admission came up in court papers quietly unsealed earlier this month during a federal investigation of de Blasio for possible illegal fundraising. De Blasio was cleared of charges.

In the court papers, Rechnitz, 33, pleaded guilty to providing “financial and personal benefits and political contributions to public officials including law enforcement officials in exchange for official action.”

Although Rechnitz did not mention any specific name in his statement, he is known to be a major donor to de Blasio, the Daily News reported. Rechnitz collected $41,650 in october 2013 after the mayor won the Democratic primary. In January 2014, he donated $50,000 to de Blasio’s nonprofit, Campaign for One New York.

Rechnitz is the son of Robert Rechnitz, the former chair of a pro-Likud U.S. nonprofit, and the cousin of Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz, a major ultra-Orthodox donor.

Contact Daniel Hoffman at dhoffman@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielHoffman

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