Thursday, May 26, 2011

Bloomberg: Celebrity Ticket Fixes "Disgraceful"

A day after the Daily News reported Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez was among the celebs and pols who had tickets fixed, Mayor Bloomberg called the practice "disgraceful."

arod jayz.jpgOur Lemire and Deutch report:

"It is wrong," Bloomberg said. "They shouldn't do it. The cops shouldn't do it and the elected officials [shouldn't do it]. And it is really disgraceful if the elected officials asked them to do it."

The News reported that star-struck cops fixed tickets for celebrities including A-Rod and former team owner George Steinbrenner, as well as two City Council members in Manhattan and one in the Bronx, citing sources.

Cops also squashed summonses for Jay-Z's driver and ex-Knicks star Raymond Felton, sources said.

The practice was so rampant, representatives for celebrities or politicians would sometimes call Police Headquarters directly to get their clients off the hook, sources said.

"It is not acceptable," Bloomberg said. "We will not tolerate it."

Bloomberg also said he discussed the scandal with Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly at their weekly meeting Tuesday.

A grand jury hearing evidence in the ticket-fixing probe is expected to hand up indictments next month. As many as 40 cops could be indicted, sources said.

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