COUNCIL-RACE LOSER SPENT TAXPAYERS' MONEY LIKE A WINNER

By DAVID SEIFMAN, NY Post

Mike Roth didn't get very far in his 2005 race for the City Council, collecting a pitiful 477 votes out of the 18,180 cast.

But the airport security screener from Brooklyn did land in the record books as the first candidate ever penalized for spending taxpayer-supplied campaign funds while touring Florida.

Roth, who ran on the Independence Party line for the Sheepshead Bay seat held by Democrat Mike Nelson, tore through $5,188 in food and liquor, $1,392 for gas and other car-related expenses, and $456 for MetroCards in his long-shot campaign.

Two $76 monthly MetroCards were purchased on Nov. 7, 2005, the day before the election.

In April 2006 - five months after the polls closed - Roth submitted $336 worth of bills bearing Florida addresses. Among the items he claimed as campaign related were $29 for a stop at a Burger King in Orlando, $43 for gas in West Palm Lake, and $15 for parking in Miami Beach.

On Thursday, the Campaign Finance Board slapped Roth with a $20,000 fine. That was just about equal to the $20,392 he collected in taxpayer-supplied matching funds in 2005.

Roth pleaded ignorance, saying he didn't realize he had to return unused funds to the Campaign Finance Board. Roth offered to "reimburse all CFB matching funds [used] after the [2005] Election Day."