(JTA) — A former fundraiser for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was convicted of bribery and fraud in federal court in Manhattan.
Jeremy Reichberg, 44, of Brooklyn, was accused of giving gifts to police officers, including dinners, presents and a trip to Las Vegas with a prostitute, in exchange for favors from the police such as ticket fixing and parking permits.
On Christmas Day 2013, Reichberg and an associate, Jona Rechnitz, dressed up as Santa to deliver gifts to high-ranking police officials, including a co-defendant, former NYPD Deputy Inspector Jimmy Grant. Both Reichberg and Rechnitz are Jewish; the former lives in the Orthodox stronghold of Borough Park.
Prosecutors said Reichberg was a “fix-it guy” who used his relationships with police officials to help people, for a fee, with arrests and traffic violations, The New York Times reported.
He faces up to 65 years in prison, according to the New York Post. Sentencing is scheduled for April 4.
Grant was acquitted on charges of receiving the gifts in return for favors.
Rechnitz, another De Blasio donor who was arrested at the same time as Reichberg, turned government witness and in March 2017 pleaded guilty to making contributions in exchange for favors. He has not yet been sentenced.
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