Embattled Comptroller John Liu, the city’s chief fiscal officer, took an $800 campaign contribution from a man who was convicted of bank fraud along with Liu’s father, The Post has learned.
Lung Fong Chen, a disbarred lawyer, gave Liu the contribution last December for his 2013 campaign.
Joanne Chen, of the same Flushing address, also gave Liu an $800 contribution on the same date last year, and previously gave $7,000 for Liu’s 2009 comptroller’s race.
Liu had returned a donation from Chen during his 2001 race for City Council, after Chen and Liu’s dad, Joseph Liu, were convicted of bank fraud. Chen was chairman of Flushing-based Great Eastern Bank. Joseph Liu was the bank president.
The two were also business partners in a real-estate company that provided land for the bank’s headquarters. They were convicted of conspiracy for improperly steering $1 million to their real-estate business and creating false entries in bank records.
Chen served an eight-month sentence, and Liu’s dad was sentenced to one month.
Critics said it’s just another case of Liu, whose campaign fund-raising operation is under federal investigation, showing poor judgment.
“The perception is bad. The city’s chief fiscal officer should be more careful,” said political consultant Hank Sheinkopf. “It is inappropriate for the comptroller to have his judgment called into question.”
Julia Harrison, a Queens district leader, said Liu should clean up his act.
“You don’t take money from someone like that. It’s not appropriate. Liu doesn’t care where he gets his money from — as long as he gets it,” she said.
But Liu said he has no intention of refunding Chen’s donation.
“Mr. Chen served his debt to society and his civil rights have long been restored,’’ said Liu’s campaign spokesman, George Arzt.
He said Liu returned Chen’s money in 2001 because “that was the year he was convicted’’ — and before serving his sentence.
Liu’s political operation has come under scrutiny after the feds last month charged one of his fund-raisers — Xing Wu “Oliver” Pan — with illegally using “straw donors” to funnel money to the comptroller’s campaign account.
Additional reporting by Josh Margolin