New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s top legal counsel Maya Wiley is the latest staffer to leave the administration this month amid an ongoing corruption scandal.
“(My departure) will raise eyebrows, and I regret that,” Wiley told reporters. “I still feel strongly this administration adhered to the law, and I’m confident there will be a resolution of the investigation.”
Wiley follows the departures of former press secretary Karen Hinton and social media director Scott Kleinberg earlier this month. Hinton left before she completed her first year with the administration.
“I tried to stick it out, but it was impossible, I don’t even know the word quit, but for the sake of my health and my sanity, I decided I needed to do just that,” Kleinberg wrote in a Facebook post discussing his departure.
Kleinberg added in his post, “I ended up with political hacks plus a boss who just couldn’t get it, It was a bad combination for sure.”
“New York City government is a tough, fast-paced job that is not for everyone. We wish him well,” mayoral spokesperson Andrea Hagelgans told reporters.
Wiley moved to a government watchdog agency that investigates complaints about police officers in New York.
De Blasio faces multiple corruption charges for breaking a New York law that bars state officials from seeking donations from people who have active business with the city.
In one case, de Blasio personally called New York developer Dan Peeples and asked him for a donation. Peeples told reporters that he was already scheduled to appear before the Landmarks Preservation Commission to gain approval for his proposal to turn an old building into a condominium. Shortly after he made the donation, his proposal was approved.
De Blasio promised last month to give reporters a list of all of the donors who gave to his campaign who didn’t get what they wanted. The list never emerged. Since simply acknowledging that he knew what his donors wanted is enough to convict under state law, it’s no surprise that the list never came to light.
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