SHAGADELIC!….I sort of buried the big Rudy/Judi story in the middle of my debate blogging last night, and that’s just not right. It deserves a post of its own.
So just in case you missed it, The Politico reported yesterday that back in 1999-2000, when Rudy was carrying on an affair with Judith Nathan (later Mrs. Rudy #3), he tried to hide what was going on by charging the expenses of his security detail to obscure city agencies:
The expenses first surfaced as Giuliani’s two terms as mayor of New York drew to a close in 2001, when a city auditor stumbled across something unusual: $34,000 worth of travel expenses buried in the accounts of the New York City Loft Board.
When the city’s fiscal monitor asked for an explanation, Giuliani’s aides refused, citing “security,” said Jeff Simmons, a spokesman for the city comptroller.
But American Express bills and travel documents obtained by Politico suggest another reason City Hall may have considered the documents sensitive: They detail three summers of visits to Southampton, the Long Island town where Nathan had an apartment.
….Broadening the inquiry, the comptroller wrote, auditors found similar expenses at a range of other unlikely agencies: $10,054 billed to the Office for People With Disabilities and $29,757 to the Procurement Policy Board.
The next year, yet another obscure department, the Assigned Counsel Administrative Office, was billed around $400,000 for travel.
Rudy’s explanation for these odd billing practices? Three so far: (a) it’s just a “hit job,” (b) it’s the police department’s fault, and (c) why, this is just standard operating procedure.
Well, standard operating procedure at Enron, maybe, but probably not for the city of New York. But there’s more. While this was all still percolating, ABC News reported this afternoon that Judi had been getting some additional special treatment:
Well before it was publicly known he was seeing her, then-married New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani provided a police driver and city car for his mistress Judith Nathan, former senior city officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.
“She used the PD as her personal taxi service,” said one former city official who worked for Giuliani.
Former mayor Ed Koch was not amused: “That was bizarre. She’s not the city’s responsibility. Rudy is the city’s responsibility. Your wife and his children get protection, and that’s understood. But certainly not your lady friend.”
And just to jog your memories, remember that this comes on top of all those rumors that Rudy bucked his advisors and insisted on putting his emergency command post in the World Trade Center so that it would be within walking distance of City Hall, and therefore convenient for in-city trysts with Judi. That turned out not to be such a great idea, but what can you do? Love makes fools of us all.
And, hell, as long as we’re piling on Rudy, ABC also reported today that for the past two years Giuliani Security & Safety has been providing security consulting and advice to the Qatar Interior Ministry, “which is currently run by a member of the royal family who has long been accused of supporting al Qaeda, according to security consultants familiar with the area.”
If you want to keep up, TPM (natch) is flooding the zone on all things Rudy. Head over there for the latest.
