De Blasio again claims NYC Department of Investigation report inaccurate - cites one example

After days of criticizing a city Department of Investigation probe into his use of a police security detail, Mayor de Blasio on Wednesday finally cited exactly one example of how he believes that agency’s findings were inaccurate.

But after he did, DOI offered a stiff comeback, suggesting that the mayor’s latest comments “do not align” with a sworn statement provided to the watchdog.

The DOI report, which was issued two weeks ago, revealed that de Blasio misused his NYPD protective unit by allowing it to ferry his son Dante back and forth to college, commanding it to give rides to friends and family and using it for his failed 2019 presidential primary bid, which took him to Iowa and South Carolina.

Since then, Hizzoner has claimed that the investigation — which was spearheaded by a commissioner he appointed, Margaret Garnett — is riddled with inaccuracies. But until recently, he hadn’t cited a single specific example to back up that claim.

On Wednesday, de Blasio pointed to what he claims is one example. He was asked to justify one of many incidents the DOI report cited as problematic — this one involved the mayor having his protective unit take his brother to New Jersey to pick up a rental car.

“I have no evidence that ever happened. The only time my brother went to that place in New Jersey was with me in my car,” he said. “I asked him, I said, ‘Did that ever happen? He said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘I went with you to New Jersey.’ And I said, ‘Of course. I remember going there — old family friend there that we visited.’”

According to the DOI report, the mayor’s detail is there to provide around-the-clock protection for the mayor, the first lady and their immediate family, but the report also notes that, while the City Charter doesn’t directly address security details, “it prohibits public servants from using their city positions for personal advantage, such as by having a subordinate perform personal tasks unrelated to city work.”

As far as the mayor’s brother is concerned, DOI found that in 2019 de Blasio’s detail drove him “to pick up a Zipcar in Palmyra, New Jersey.”

“It is unclear whether the mayor was present for this excursion,” the report noted. “Subsequently, the security detail drove the mayor’s brother to an Alamo rental car location without the mayor present.”

Diane Struzzi, a DOI spokeswoman, addressed de Blasio’s claims of inaccuracy, noting that “a mayor who valued independent oversight would not try to diminish DOI’s integrity and reputation solely because its oversight is aimed at him.”

“Text messages from the mayor’s security detail confirmed they drove the mayor’s brother on another occasion to an Alamo rental car location without the mayor present. The mayor was asked by DOI, under oath, about these events and the report accurately reflects his responses: (a) that he believed he was typically present when his brother was driven in detail vehicles; and (b) that there may have been occasions when his brother was driven by the detail without him present due to a ‘last minute change’ in his schedule,” she continued.

“If the mayor now has other facts regarding that situation, DOI would be interested in them, since they do not align with the sworn testimony that was provided to DOI and included in the report.”