Beleaguered city Comptroller John Liu hinted last night he might abandon a run for mayor following the arrest of his campaign treasurer in the mushrooming straw-donor fund-raising scandal. “All options are on the table. We’re moving forward,” Liu said in a vague response to questions about his future before hosting a Black History Month event at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn.
Liu, who has long-laid plans for a 2013 mayoral run, said he’s now focusing on his job as comptroller, after the feds on Tuesday charged his campaign treasurer, Jenny Hou, with helping funnel illegal “straw” donations to her boss’ war chest.
“I continue to be vigorously pursuing the responsibilities of my office…I’ll continue to make preparations for my future,” he said ambiguously.
EDITORIAL: JOHN LIU’S ‘GENEROSITY’
Last night, Liu, long a union supporter, drew warm welcomes at a series of labor events.
District Council 37 honcho Lillian Roberts staunchly defended him, saying, “When you do your job and you go all the way, some people will have a lot of enemies.”
“I’m not going to judge what I don’t know,” said TWU Local 100 veep Maurice Jenkins. “John has been a supporter of mine [and] I’ll continue to support those who support me.”
But earlier in the day, Liu got a vote of no-confidence from demoralized Comptroller’s Office staffers, who think he’s toast following Hou’s arrest.
“People in the office in general think that it’s over for him,” said one employee, referring to Liu’s dream of running for mayor next year.
Glum staffers worry that Hou will turn on the comptroller, forcing his resignation — or even provide prosecutors with information that could lead to charges against Liu.
“She’s going to bring him down,” said the Liu staffer, who requested anonymity.
Hou, 25, who faces a maximum of 60 years if convicted of three counts that include wire fraud and obstruction of justice, has an incentive to cop a plea deal with prosecutors to save her hide. But her legal representation is unclear. Up until her arrest, the Liu campaign paid for her lawyer, Martin Adelman. But that could change now that Hou is a criminal defendant.
“What happens going forward, we’ll see,” Adelman said. “Every client has a right to undivided loyalty. I’m about providing undivided loyalty.”
The charges against Hou followed November’s arrest of key Liu fund-raiser Xing Wu “Oliver” Pan, who allegedly got snagged in a sting operation in which he used straw donors to illegally plow $16,000 from an undercover FBI agent posing as a businessman into Liu’s campaign.
Sources in political circles doubt that Hou, a relative neophyte, acted on her own. They wonder whether his campaign chairwoman/consultant, Chung Seto, or former campaign treasurer, Mei Hua Ru, will be next on the dock.
Additional reporting by Chuck Bennett, Carl Campanile and Dan MacLeod