WASHINGTON — Rep. Tim Bishop (D-LI) committed an “indictable” offense by soliciting a campaign contribution while pulling strings for a Hamptons bar mitvah fireworks display, a leading watchdog group charges.
“It is indictable if you’re getting a gratuity,” said Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “If you’re getting a campaign contribution in direct exchange for an official act, if you get a campaign contribution to thank you for an official act, that’s called a gratuity, and that’s a federal crime.”
Sloan was commenting on a report that Bishop’s daughter Molly hit up hedge-fund manager Eric Semler for a $10,000 campaign contribution on May 23, days before Bishop greased the permitting process to allow a fireworks display to go forward for Semler’s son’s bar mitzvah.
The permit problem eventually got solved, and Semler and his wife gave $5,000 to Bishop’s reelection campaign.
Semler later complained to the fireworks company, Grucci, Inc., that Bishop “didn’t hesitate to solicit me in the heat of battle,” calling the cash request “really gross,” according to an e-mail obtained by Politico.
Bishop said he was troubled by “outrageous, unfounded attacks on my character and my family,” noting Grucci is owned by former Republican Rep. Felix Grucci, whom he defeated.