By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-16 23:37:15 | Updated at 2024-11-17 02:02:35
2 hours ago
nfvUJo6m
A Brooklyn pol arrested after infamously chomping on a cop’s arm during a homeless shelter protest pulled out the tin cup Saturday and bizarrely raised money on a public sidewalk to help pay off her legal fees.
Reps for City Councilwoman Susan Zhuang, a conservative Democrat, were spotted openly soliciting money and collecting checks for the pol’s “legal defense trust” at the corner of 86th Street and 25th Avenue in Bensonhurst.
The political panhandling occurred near the same site eyed for a shelter that many neighborhood residents and Zhuang have been protesting daily for more than four straight months.
And Zhuang appeared to be making a killing with prospective donors.
A Post reporter watched 20 people over a half-hour period midday Saturday fill out paperwork before cutting checks. Dozens of others had signed in earlier.
It was unclear how much she raised, but The Post spied a $200 check made to the “Susan Zhuang Legal Defense Trust.” Others holding hundred-dollar bills were told organizers were taking checks only.
Besides Zhuang, indicted Mayor Eric Adams – who is fighting federal bribery charges – is the only other NYC pol ever to create a legal defense trust, a controversial mechanism allowing elected officials to accept donations in a manner similar to political campaigns to pay off legal fees.
Zhuang’s staff declined comment, and she didn’t return messages.
The embattled pol has said funds received will be used to cover her legal expenses from the myriad of criminal charges she’s facing, including assault and resisting arrest, after allegedly sinking her teeth into NYPD Deputy Chief Frank DiGiacomo’s arm during the July 17 protest.
Zhuang, who set up the defense fund in September, had yet to report raising money for it as of her latest disclosure filing last month, records show.
However, she did shell out $25,000 from her re-election campaign fund in August to the high-profile spin shop, Actum, to help rehab her image.
