Even as he was getting cozy with the mayor publicly, he was criticizing him privately.
Mayor de Blasio donor Jona Rechnitz admitted at trial on Tuesday that he once sent his friends a photo of himself and Hizzoner with the caption “desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Rechnitz admitted to the snarky comment at the trial of Jeremy Reichberg, who is accused of teaming up with Rechnitz to bribe high-ranking NYPD cops.
Reichberg’s lawyer raised the insult in an effort to raise doubts about Rechnitz’s claims that he had grown close to Hizzoner after he and Reichberg raised big money for de Blasio’s 2013 election.
Rechnitz insisted, however, that his donations and other fundraising bought him and Reichberg special privileges that other New Yorkers couldn’t get, including the mayor’s ear on issues.
“I got access. I got a very quick response. If you look at some of the e-mails, you see he responds within minutes,” Rechnitz said.
Reichberg is on trial for corrupting cops, including his co-defendant, ex-NYPD Deputy Inspector James Grant. Reichberg has not been charged with bribing or attempting to bribe public officials, but Rechnitz testified to it anyway.