EXCLUSIVE: Bill Thompson received $4,000 from Bernie Madoff-tainted financier in current bid for mayor
Thompson’s donor, Seymour Zises, also gave in $4,950 in 2009 – which the former controller promised to donate to charity after it was revealed that Zises had invested clients’ money with Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff. But Thompson has yet to make the charitable contribution.
Comments (3)BY JENNIFER FERMINO / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
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| Bill Thompson |
The last time William Thompson ran for mayor, he promised to donate thousands of dollars from his campaign war chest to charity after the Daily News discovered that one of his biggest longtime donors was linked to Bernie Madoff.
But four years later, Thompson not only hasn’t donated the money — he’s also pocketed even more campaign contributions from the Madoff-tainted financier Seymour Zises.
Zises — who was sued by victims of the Ponzi schemer for secretly investing the majority of their money with Madoff — has given more than $21,000 to Thompson’s various campaigns over the years. When The News uncovered Zises’ link to Madoff four years ago, Thompson promised to give $4,950 from his campaign coffers to charity.
That’s the amount Zises donated to Thompson’s 2009 mayoral run.
But despite the vow — given four months after the reviled Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison — Thompson has not doled out the money.
Meanwhile, two years later, Thompson — with his eyes still on City Hall — accepted the first of what would be four donations from Zises for his 2013 run.
A financier linked to Ponzi schemer Bernie Madof (right) has donated money to Bill Thompson's mayoral campaign, as well as given to Joe Lhota and Anthony Weiner.
In total, Zises has given $4,000 for Thompson’s latest bid for the mayor’s office.
Thompson declined to comment.
A group of Madoff victims sued Zises and his firm Family Management Corp. in 2008.
The victims claim Zises told them their $25 million was diversified over various funds, when the majority of it was secretly stashed in a Madoff-feeder fund.
They also claimed Zises grossly mismanaged their money by conducting no due diligence into Madoff’s too-good-to-be-true returns.
Some of the lawsuits against Zises were dismissed or dropped, but one of the victims — David Newman — has appealed the ruling in his case, which is pending in the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
The deep-pocketed Zises has also donated $1,000 Joe Lhota and another $1,000 to Anthony Weiner in this year’s mayoral race.
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