The state Senate’s top fat cat lives like a king off his campaign cash, tapping donations to pay for his meals, car, hotel rooms, phone, computers — even flowers, candy and iTunes, records show.
Brooklyn Democrat Carl Kruger, who’s being probed by the FBI in an alleged shakedown scheme, has amassed a $2.1 million war chest, the biggest in the Senate, although he hardly needs it to stay in office. He won 93 percent of the vote in 2008.
Since 2008, he has dropped $13,800 in election funds on meals, dining at Manhattan hot spots like The Palm ($193) along with everyday favorites such as Sammy’s Noodle Shop in the West Village ($1,685 for 29 trips), campaign filings show.
He favors Manhattan hotels — spending $3,303 at the five-star Loews Regency and $270 at the Tribeca Grand, helping push his hotel tab to $8,630.
Kruger drives a 2008 Cadillac, which soaked up $8,959 in gas, tolls, insurance and repairs over the past two years.
There’s also the $90,851 he spent renovating his district office on Avenue U — a modest storefront with a dozen desks.
Two sides of the HQ are floor-to-ceiling windows, but the other two walls apparently needed $4,700 in paint.
He shelled out $545 for landscaping, despite the office’s lack of lawn or shrubs, and $4,844 on tile, though the entire floor is carpeted.
He also charged $180 for candy, $302 for online music from iTunes, and $513 for Russian language tapes. His flower bill was $2,060.
Campaign cash paid for $43,479 charged on Kruger’s Bank of America credit card — but his filings don’t indicate what was purchased. There are also $15,839 in “unitemized” expenditures since 2008.
Dick Dadey, executive director of the government watchdog Citizens Union, called for a criminal investigation into Kruger’s campaign spending.
“He’s abusing the law, even if he’s not necessarily violating it” Dadey said. “But he is violating the public’s trust.”
State law allows wide latitude in campaign spending, though pols are prohibited from using contributions for personal use. .
The FBI probe began in 2008 and led to the indictment of Brooklyn lawyer and restaurant owner Michael Levites, who was charged on June 24 with lying to the feds. He allegedly acted as a go-between to help Kruger raise money in exchange for political favors.
Asked about the spending and the probe, Kruger teared up. “I am hurt, I am really hurt,” he said. He denied any wrongdoing.
As for the war chest, he said, “Look at it as accumulated over the years. I’m so careful how I spend it. I never went on a junket.”
He later issued a statement saying: “Each senator receives an allocation for staff and office expenses. I use funds from my campaign account rather than using taxpayer dollars to pay for additional expenses because of my personal commitment to providing the highest quality services to my constituents.”