A state lawmaker from Queens was slapped with a $15,000 fine for accepting free meals and trips from a nonprofit that he boosted during his time on the City Council — all of which were paid for by Big Apple taxpayers, according to the city’s ethics watchdog.
State Sen. James Sanders Jr. (D-Queens) scored five stays in luxury accommodations at a resort in the Poconos and five swank Hudson River dinner cruises for himself and family members from the Margert Community Corporation, a non-profit that provides rent assistance and other social services to low-income families.
All told, Sanders cashed in on gifts worth at least $4,000 from the MCC as he doled out more than $840,000 in city funds to the group, the Conflict of Interest Board said in its report, which was released Tuesday.
COIB determined that Sanders broke ethics rules an astonishing 18 times between 2008 and 2012 as he represented Far Rockaway and adjacent neighborhoods as a city lawmaker.
