NEW YORK, NY April 24, 2008 —More questions are being raised about city councilmembers and their relationships to non-profit groups. This as the feds continue their investigation into the phony non-profits the council created to hide money. WNYC's Bob Hennelly looks at the rules that cover the Council.
Consider the case of Brooklyn City Councilman Erik Dilan. He secured over $180,000 dollars in discretionary funding for the North Brooklyn Community Council, a youth development non-profit. Dilan's wife, Jannitza Luna, is the non-profit's paid executive director and a Democratic district leader in Brooklyn.
Sounds like potential self-dealing but Dilan says it is all above board because he made full disclosure of his relationship to the non-profit before a dime was spent. A Council spokesperson confirms that Dilan did comply with Council disclosure requirements. As it turns out under the City Charter, conflict of interest rules are very different for the 51 member Council.
For the rest of the municipal workforce winning city money for the employers of immediate family members most likely be would be prohibited. For WNYC I am Bob Hennelly.
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