By Nicole Bode
DNAinfo Senior Editor
MANHATTAN — NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has been accepting a free ride for his $1,500-per-year membership at the Harvard Club for the past eight years, according to the blog NYPD Confidential.
The city’s top law enforcement officer has reportedly been charging his club dues to the nonprofit organization the New York City Police Foundation, which has also been picking up the tab for food and drink for Kelly and his guests at the club since 2002, according to the blog.
But when the organization asked for the names of Kelly’s associates whose meals they’ve been sponsoring, he refused to provide them, NYPD Confidential reported.
The foundation was created in 1971 to raise funds for the NYPD to pay for training, education and projects, according to their website. They’re also designed to provide police with financial support so they are less inclined to accept gifts, which are banned under NYPD guidelines, NYPD Confidential reported.
Kelly is the first NYPD Commissioner to ask the foundation to pick up private club fees, according to the blog.
NYPD spokesman Paul J. Browne defended Kelly's actions to the New York Times, and said the visits were for official business.
Browne admitted to the Times that Kelly failed to disclose the gifts to the city's Conflicts of Interest Board. He added that Kelly would now add the fees for membership and other amounts onto his financial filings, the Times reported. Browne did not say how much Kelly had spent on food and drink.
Kelly graduated from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government with a Masters in Public Administration, NYPD Confidential reported.
The Harvard Club recently made headlines after rejecting disgraced Governor Eliot Spitzer’s application for membership.
