Ex-city Comptroller John Liu has let his legal challenge of $525,000 in fines against his prior campaign languish for at least 18 months — as he sits on a new campaign war chest of $444,000, his opponent charged Tuesday.
So the city should simply make him pay up, said state Sen. Tony Avella.
Avella, who’s battling Liu in the Democratic primary in the 11th District in Queens, said his rival hasn’t submitted a single court filing since getting his case moved from Brooklyn Supreme Court to Manhattan in February 2013.
Liu was hit with the fines for illegally hanging more than 7,000 posters during his successful 2009 race for comptroller.
With the court case stalled, the city should take steps, like placing liens on Liu’s current accounts, to collect the huge debt, Avella suggested.
Liu campaign spokesman Austin Shafran insisted the legal case against the city was still pending.
“Democrat John Liu was the loudest opponent against unfair sanitation fines that hit homeowners during the 2006 blizzard, and now do-nothing Republican darling Tony Avella wants him to single him out to distract from his long record of failure,” Shafran said.
City officials said Liu’s current campaign isn’t liable for his previous debts, but the agency is in talks with Liu’s lawyers about paying up.