In the Matter of Elizabeth Holtzman

IN THE MATTER OF ELIZABETH HOLTZMAN

COIB Case No. 93-121

April 3, 1996

SUMMARY: In April of 1996, in the case of the former City Comptroller, Elizabeth Holtzman, after a full trial on the merits, the Board fined Ms. Holtzman $7,500 (of a maximum $10,000) for violating section 2604(b)(3) of the City Charter (prohibiting use of public office for private gain). The Board also found that she had violated section 2604(b)(2) (prohibiting conduct that conflicts with the proper discharge of official duties) with respect to her participation in the selection of a Fleet Bank affiliate as a co-manager of a City bond issue when she had a $450,000 loan from Fleet Bank to her United States Senate campaign, a loan she had personally guaranteed. Significantly, in a landmark ruling, the Court of Appeals, New York State’s highest court, upheld the Board’s reading of the high standard of care applicable to public officials and rejected the asserted lack of actual knowledge of business dealings as a defense to ethics charges: “A City official is chargeable with knowledge of those business dealings that create a conflict of interest about which the official ‘should have known.’” The Court also found that Ms. Holtzman had used her official position for personal gain by encouraging a “quiet period” that had the effect of preventing Fleet Bank from discussing repayment of her Senate campaign loan. The Court held: “Thus, she exhibited, if not actual awareness that she was obtaining a personal advantage from the application of the quiet period to Fleet Bank, at least a studied indifference to the open and obvious signs that she had been insulated from Fleet’s collection efforts.” Finally, the Court held that the Federal Election Campaign Act does not pre-empt local ethics laws. This was the Board’s first full-blown trial, and it took eleven days. There were 2,000 pages of testimony, 150 trial exhibits, and more than 15 witnesses. COIB v. Elizabeth Holtzman, COIB Case No. 93-121 (1996), aff'd, 240 A.D.2d 254, 659 N.Y.S.2d 732 (1st Dep’t 1997), aff’d, 91 N.Y.2d 488, 673 N.Y.S.2d 23, 695 N.E.2d 1104 (1998).

STIPULATION AND DISPOSITION

DECISION AND ORDER

Introduction

This proceeding concerns the conduct of Elizabeth Holtzman while serving as Comptroller of the City of New York. While Ms. Holtzman was Comptroller, she personally guaranteed a $450,000 loan to her campaign for the United States Senate (the Loan" and the "Guaranty") from Fleet Bank ("Fleet Bank" or the "Bank"). The Loan went into default. At the time of these events, Fleet Securities, an affiliate of the Bank, applied to be a co-manager of a City bond issue. Rather than recuse herself from the selection process, Ms. Holtzman participated in selecting Fleet Securities as a co-manager. Further, during the selection process she countenanced an office policy, called a "quiet period," barring communications with firms that had responded to the City's Request for Proposals ("RFPs") issued in connection with the proposed bond offering. The application of the "quiet period" to Fleet Bank enabled her to avoid discussions with the Bank concerning repayment of the Loan, thereby obtaining an advantage from the Bank by virtue of her position as Comptroller. These acts violated sections 2604(b)(2) and 2604(b)(3) of Chapter 68 of the New York City Charter, which define prohibited conflicts of interest on the part of public officials.

The Board's findings are based on 11 days of testimony at which over 150 exhibits were introduced and over 2,000 pages of testimony were taken.

Findings of Fact

1. Ms. Holtzman's Duties as Comptroller

Ms. Holtzman served as the New York City Comptroller from January 1, 1990 through December 31, 1993. As Comptroller, Ms. Holtzman was the City's chief financial officer and was responsible for advising the Mayor, the City Council and the public of the City's financial condition, and making recommendations on the City's operations, fiscal policies and financial transactions. See 5 N.Y.C. Charter Section 93. Ms. Holtzman also kept the accounts of the City; audited and investigated all matters relating to the City's finances; conducted performance analyses of City agencies and programs to eliminate waste and fraud; settled and adjusted all claims for or against the City; and issued and sold City obligations. Ibid. Among Ms. Holtzman's primary duties was the management of the Bureau of Debt Management, which is responsible for issuing municipal bonds and notes to support the City's capital expenditures. Ms. Holtzman, jointly with the Mayor, selected the management team of senior managers and co-managers to underwrite the City's bonds and notes. In addition, as Comptroller, Ms. Holtzman was a trustee of five municipal pension systems and was the custodian of the funds' approximately $52 billion in assets. The Bureau of Asset Management within the Comptroller's Office is responsible for managing these pension fund assets.

2. Fleet Financial Group and its Affiliates

Fleet Financial Group, Inc. ("FFG") is a holding company based in Providence, Rhode Island, that consists of seven banks and several other financial subsidiaries. FFG is the parent company of both Fleet Bank and Fleet Securities, Inc. ("Fleet Securities"). Fleet Bank handles Fleet's downstate-New York banking operations, including those in New York City. Fleet Securities is FFG's bond trading and public finance unit and was known as Fleet/Norstar Securities. [FN1] FFG was formed in 1988 as a result of a merger between Fleet Financial Group and Norstar Bancorp. Between 1988 and 1992, FFG was known as Fleet/Norstar Financial Group, Inc.

3. FFG's Efforts to Obtain City Business

In the late 1980s, FFG realized that, in order to compete effectively in the financial market, it needed to focus its attention on negotiated sales of municipal bonds, which had become the primary method of selling such securities. Fleet Securities adopted a corporate strategy of expanding its public finance capabilities in New York. Part of this strategy was to seek business with the City of New York, since the City had historically been one of the largest sellers of municipal bonds on a negotiated basis. In particular, Fleet wanted to secure a role in managing the City's $52 billion in pension funds and the City's several billion dollar municipal bond offerings. Underwriters compete for positions on the City's management team because of the profits to be earned from bond sales, the management fees paid by the City and the prestige of underwriting the debt of the largest issuer of municipal bonds in the nation.

The management team consists of both senior managers and co-managers. Senior managers actually manage the sale of bonds to other firms and institutions and are chosen for their ability to structure bond issues and advise the City on market conditions, including the optimal time for an issue to be offered. Co- managers are contractually bound to the City to purchase a portion of the bonds issued by the City. Although not part of the City's management team, various financial institutions constitute the City's "selling group," which also participates in selling the City's debt.

In 1989, as part of its efforts to pursue City business, FFG hired James Murphy as executive vice president in charge of government lobbying and inter-governmental relations. Mr. Murphy was also made a member of the Board of Directors of Fleet Securities. Mr. Murphy coordinated FFG's contacts with State, City and Federal officials and, among other things, was responsible for the activities of FFG's Political Action Committee ("PAC") and for managing the solicitation of political contributions from other Fleet entities.

Mr. Murphy also became involved in FFG's efforts to obtain additional business from the City of New York, including Fleet Securities' efforts to become a co-manager on a City bond offering. Starting in June 1990, Mr. Murphy sought meetings with senior members of Ms. Holtzman's staff in order to promote FFG's abilities. Through a friend who worked in the Comptroller's Office, Mr. Murphy was able to schedule a meeting on June 7, 1990, with Edward O'Malley, then Ms. Holtzman's Senior Assistant Comptroller. During the meeting, Mr. Murphy told Mr. O'Malley that FFG was expanding its public finance division and wanted to talk to the individuals in the Comptroller's Office handling that business. Mr. Murphy also promoted FFG's qualifications to manage the City's pension funds and told Mr. O'Malley he wanted to meet with representatives of the Comptroller's Office responsible for asset management. Later, meetings were held between FFG and the asset management and underwriting departments of the Comptroller's office.

In August 1990, the Comptroller's Office, the Mayor's Office and the New York City Employees Retirement System ("NYCERS") announced the selection of Norstar Mortgage Company ("Norstar"), an FFG affiliate, to participate in the HOME project, which was designed to provide mortgages to moderate and middle income families. Norstar's participation in the HOME project was announced at a ceremony at City Hall on August 14, 1990. At that ceremony, Ms. Holtzman made a statement about the program and specifically commented on Fleet/Norstar's participation in the program. Mr. Murphy was introduced to Ms. Holtzman at the ceremony. Ms. Holtzman has testified that she was "not sure whether at the time of the NYCERS press conference announcing Project Home [she] knew who Jim Murphy was or had made the connection, but [she] might have."

In September 1990, Fleet Bank was selected to participate in a small business loan program, a $50 million credit facility administered by the Comptroller's Bureau of Asset Management and sponsored by the Police Pension Fund. Comptroller Holtzman's Office issued a press release on September 26, 1990, announcing the participation of Fleet Bank (then Norstar Bank) in this program. Ms. Holtzman has testified that it was "possibl[e]'' she saw this press release.

As part of its effort to enhance its standing with the Comptroller, FFG also made contributions to Ms. Holtzman's political fund. In November 1990, Mr. Murphy attended a fundraising dinner for Ms. Holtzman at which he again met the Comptroller. That month the FFG PAC made a $4,000 contribution to the Friends of Liz Holtzman.

In 1991, FFG and its affiliates continued to correspond and meet with high-level officials in the Comptroller's Office in an effort to obtain business from the City. On August 29, 1991, Fleet Securities responded to a RFP issued by the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation ("HHC") to select its bond underwriting management team. As required by the RFP, Fleet Securities submitted its response to the Comptroller's Office for consideration, and officials of the Comptroller's Office participated in the selection process. On December 23, 1991, HHC announced that Fleet Securities had been selected as co- manager of its bond underwriting.

4. Ms. Holtzman's Candidacy for the United States Senate and FFG's Involvement with Ms. Holtzman and the Campaign

On July 29, 1991, Ms. Holtzman filed a Statement of Candidacy with the Secretary of the Senate in Washington, D.C., indicating that she would be a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate from New York State in 1992. The Liz Holtzman for Senate Committee (the "Committee") was designated as the principal campaign committee. Edward O'Malley, Senior Assistant Comptroller and one of Ms. Holtzman's principal political advisors, took a leave of absence from the Comptroller's office to become Ms. Holtzman's campaign manager.

FFG and its affiliates were early financial supporters of Ms. Holtzman's Senate campaign, and Ms. Holtzman had personal contact with FFG executives in this connection. At a breakfast meeting at the Mayfair Regent Hotel on October 21, 1991, Ms. Holtzman and the finance director of her Senate campaign discussed a number of issues, including Ms. Holtzman's Senate campaign, with Mr. Murphy and Terrence Murray, the President and Chief Executive Officer of FFG. Ms. Holtzman remembers this meeting and testified that "it was a kind of getting-to-know-you meeting." She hoped that this meeting would lead to fundraising support by Mr. Murray. As Ms. Holtzman had hoped, FFG and its affiliates, both through its PAC and its employees, donated money to her Senate campaign.

Mr. Murphy also served on Ms. Holtzman's Finance Committee. Mr. Murphy invited Ms. Holtzman to a Fleet holiday party scheduled for December 9, 1991. This event appears on Ms. Holtzman's official calendar indicating that the party was hosted by "FLEET/NORSTAR FINANCIAL GROUP." The calendar bears the notation "Sheila to speak with EH and decision made if EH to attend." Ms. Holtzman testified that to the best of her recollection she did not attend this function. That month the FFG PAC and Fleet Securities' executives made contributions to Ms. Holtzman's Senate campaign in the amount of $2,000.

Mr. Murphy also agreed to co-host a fundraising event to support Ms. Holtzman's candidacy for the Senate and invited a few FFG employees to the event. Ms. Holtzman attended the fundraiser on May 18, 1992, met Mr. Murphy and expressed her appreciation for his support. Ms. Holtzman sent a letter to Mr. Murphy, addressed "Dear Jim," thanking him for "hosting a wonderful fundraiser" for her Senate campaign. Later that month, the FFG PAC made a $1,000 contribution to Ms. Holtzman's Senate campaign.

On June 12, 1992, Fleet Securities senior executives, including its president, John O'Brien, and two senior vice presidents, met with Ms. Holtzman at the Vista Hotel's Greenhouse Restaurant. These Fleet Securities executives made it clear that their firm wanted to be selected as co-manager for the City's municipal bond offering. Mr. O'Brien discussed the firm's recent record of expansion, its commitment to New York City, and its enhanced abilities to assist the City in municipal finance matters. Mr. O'Brien and other Fleet Securities executives presented a number of arguments why Fleet Securities was a "credible candidate to be at a different [management] level." Ms. Holtzman was told that Fleet Securities had recently been appointed as a co-manager on the HHC bond issue. Mr. O'Brien told Ms. Holtzman, who had been informed six months earlier that the City would issue a new RFP in late 1992, that "we were hopeful that an RFP would come out that we could respond to."

Ms. Holtzman appeared to listen "attentively" to each of Fleet Securities' arguments. At the end of the meeting, after Ms. Holtzman had left, a Fleet Securities executive handed the Campaign's finance director an envelope containing at least $2,000 in checks from Fleet employees.

Ms. Holtzman testified that she has absolutely no recollection of this meeting, but does not dispute that the meeting occurred.

5. Fleet Bank's Loan to the Holtzman Senate Campaign

In early August 1992, Ms. Holtzman's Senate campaign was faltering. Primary election polls showed that Ms. Holtzman was running third in a field of four candidates. The Committee had only approximately $80,000 available in primary eligible funds, and the next major fundraiser was not scheduled until September 9, 1992, six days before the primary. The Committee concluded that if Ms. Holtzman had any chance of winning the Senate primary race, she needed to run a media campaign. As Ms. Holtzman explained, without the media campaign, her bid for the Senate would fail "for sure."

On August 11, 1992, a consulting firm submitted a media plan that would begin on August 27, 1992, with a projected cost of $450,000. The broadcasters, however, had to be paid before the campaign could begin. Thus, the Committee needed to obtain a significant loan quickly. At Mr. O'Malley's suggestion, and with Ms. Holtzman's express approval, the Committee approached Fleet Bank to obtain the financing for the media campaign.

In mid-August 1992, Mr. O'Malley called Mr. Murphy to inquire about whether Fleet Bank could make a loan to the Committee. At a meeting on August 20, 1992, arranged by Mr. Murphy, between FFG officials, Fleet Bank officials and representatives of the Committee, the Committee represented to the Bank that it had "commitments" for ticket sales to a fundraising dinner, scheduled for September 9, 1992, totaling approximately $373,500. In addition, the Committee gave the Bank a balance sheet, showing $544,163 in available cash (including $500,000 to be raised at the September 9, 1992, dinner). The Bank told the Committee that, "in order to proceed with any consideration [of] this loan, the Committee needed to be aware that it would require a personal guarantee from Ms. Holtzman."

On August 28, 1992, Ms. Holtzman entered into a letter agreement with Fleet Bank for a $450,000 loan to the Committee (the "Loan Agreement"). Ms. Holtzman signed the required promissory note on behalf of the Committee and executed a personal guaranty. The Loan Agreement provided that the Bank granted the Committee a loan in the amount of $450,000, repayable on September 30, 1992, at an interest rate of prime plus one with a $4,500 back-end fee. Although the Loan was unsecured, it was provided on the basis of the personal guaranty of Ms. Holtzman. The Loan Agreement further provided for the establishment of a pledge account at Fleet Bank "into which [the] Committee [would] deposit, on a daily basis, all proceeds from the ticket sales to a fundraising dinner to be held on September 9, 1992 at the Tavern on the Green." The Loan Agreement also provided that, in the event of a shortfall from the September 9 dinner, the Bank, "in its sole discretion," could require the Committee to hold additional fundraisers to pay down the debt.