TORONTO – Toronto city council will discuss Thursday whether or not taxpayers will foot the bill for councillor Giorgio Mammoliti’s legal costs to fight a decision that docked him three months pay for breaching the city’s code of conduct.
So far, more than $48,000 in legal bills have been accumulated by the Ward 7 councillor to try to overturn city council’s vote earlier this summer to punish him for violating conflict of interest rules by pocketing $80,000 from a fundraising event last year.
Mammoliti lost $26,000 in pay as a result of the ruling that stems from a May 22, 2013 fundraiser in which the integrity commissioner revealed over 200 people attended at $500 a piece.
READ MORE: Giorgio Mammoliti violated code of conduct, integrity commissioner finds
City policy allows councillors to have up to $20,000 in legal costs covered for judicial review of code of conduct investigations.
“I’ve always thought that when there were rules and policies put in place by the city council, that was a good place to start,” Tory told reporters Tuesday. “My understanding is that policy has a limit of $20,000 on it and I think that’s a good place to start.”
A report in the Toronto Sun says Mammoliti has already had $14,831 in costs paid with just over $33,000 remaining.
The councillor has maintained that the fundraiser was of a “personal nature” and felt he did not violate any rules.
Mammoliti underwent brain surgery in March 2013 for a rare condition called a dural fistula that causes a miscommunication between the veins and arteries.
He said the fundraiser was held to celebrate his recovery and was organized with the help of staff on their personal time.
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