Cash is king for Controller John Liu‘s mayoral campaign.
While most campaign contributors write checks to their chosen candidates, records show that Liu has received 895 donations in cash — far more than other candidates.
The donations, totaling $65,000, are worth $121,240 with the city’s generous matching funds program — and the haul is raising red flags for watchdogs.
“With the campaign’s funny money issues, it’s unfathomable that so many contributions are in cash,” said Dick Dadey, of Citizens Union, a government watchdog group. “Cash is not traceable or verifiable.”
Liu is under scrutiny in the wake of the convictions Thursday of two campaign aides charged with funneling illegal contributions through straw donors.
Liu has not been charged in the case but law enforcement sources said Friday that the investigation into Liu’s campaign is continuing.
Liu, who has raised $3 million in campaign funds, defended the cash, saying through a spokesman that he’s “raised millions of dollars from a broad base of support from throughout the city.”
The number of cash donations Liu received was nearly four times higher than City Council speaker Christine Quinn, who had 234 cash donations, the second highest.
Experts said candidates who collect in lower income and immigrant communities often see a higher number of cash contributions, which are capped at $100 but the donations still give cause for concern, Dadey said.
“You don’t want to limit people’s participation but you also want to make sure the candidates are dealing totally above board,” he said. “It would be one thing if his campaign hadn’t been found guilty of corruption.”
The charges against Liu’s ex-campaign treasurer Jia “Jenny” Hou and former fundraiser Xing “Oliver” Wu Pan came amid an undercover FBI investigation of Liu’s fundraising that began in 2009. Prosecutors alleged the pair plotted to circumvent a $4,950 contribution limit by using straw donors, who give donations for other people.
Baruch College public affairs professor Doug Muzzio said the cash might not seem so bad if it wasn’t for the campaign’s legal woes.
“Just the word ‘cash’ sets off bells,” Muzio said. “It sets off these bells particularly in the context of the trial.”
Most of Liu’s cash contributions came between 2011 and 2013, after news of the corruption probe broke, records show.
David Birdsell of Baruch College’s School of Public Affairs said the money is difficult for investigators to follow.
“What’s unmistakable is that cash is harder to track than a check with a person’s name on it,” he said.
Liu supporter Mohammed Ali, 43, of the Bronx, said he gave Liu $50 in cash because that was all he could afford during a fund-raising event last year.
“If he becomes the mayor, it will be good for our Asian community,” said Ali, who’s originally from Bangladesh. “We need a close friend. Maybe he will help us develop our community, get a better job.”
