Johnny's last campaign being audited

From NY1:

City Comptroller John Liu may be limiting campaign contributions to $800 for his 2013 campaign, but that definitely is not the case for his 2009 campaign account.

Since taking office almost two years ago, Liu has raised more than $250,000 to pay off debt from his run for comptroller.

As a result, he has accepted thousands of dollars in contributions that are over the legal limit set by the city's Campaign Finance Board.

The firefighters' union gave nearly $10,000, twice the limit, as did the plumbers' union and a state construction union.

The general manager at SMC Stone, a Brooklyn contractor, gave Liu nearly $7,400, more than $2,000 over the limit. The president of the company did the same thing.

Candidates often keep old campaign accounts open, as the finance board audits them. It sometimes takes years to retire a debt; Liu's 2009 account is nearly $8,000 in the hole.

Using his old account, Liu bought an airline ticket to a speaking event in Texas last year. He has paid his campaign consultant Chung Seto, spent thousands on a volunteer dinner, and bought print ads.

Some government watchdogs say the spending is questionable.

Hey, no problem! Now that he's been caught, Johnny says he'll give back the shady donations.

And he's lifted the $800 limit on his campaign contributions, no doubt so he can go after big developer money.