Prostitute Named Candi Was Paid $10K For Vegas Trip With NYPD Officials

MANHATTAN — A prostitute was paid $10,000 to accompany NYPD officials and two of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s fundraisers on a private jet sojourn to Las Vegas over a Super Bowl weekend, DNAinfo New York has learned.

Sources said the sultry "high-end" lady of the evening who goes by the name of “Candi” was hired by Jona Rechnitz, the wealthy real estate mogul who has secretly pleaded guilty to bribing NYPD officials and is cooperating with federal investigations into police corruption and some of the mayor’s fundraising activities.

Candi was on board the rented jet when Rechnitz, Deputy Inspector James Grant and Rechnitz's pal and business ally Jeremy Reichberg took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on Feb. 2, 2013, for a Sin City jaunt over Super Bowl XLVII weekend, according to sources and a federal criminal complaint.

Rechnitz allegedly knew Candi before that weekend and told people he gave her $10,000 to spend the two nights with him and his pals, according to sources and court documents.

The FBI has interviewed Candi, and she has confirmed that people on the trip “took advantage of her services,” according to federal criminal complaints, which also reported that the private jet flights cost $59,000, which was also paid for by Rechnitz along with the hotel and meal tabs.

On Monday, Grant, Deputy Chief Michael Harrington and Reichberg were arrested on bribery-related charges stemming from a three-year investigation into whether high-level NYPD officers were accepting money and lavish gifts such as free travel, meals and jewelry in exchange for favors.

The feds say Rechnitz spent at least $100,000 greasing Grant and Harrington at the NYPD, for which Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said he and Reichberg in return had "cops on call."

In fact, Rechnitz and Reichberg were so close that the feds claim they dressed up as elves on Christmas Day 2013 and drove initially to Grant's home where they gave video game consoles and jewelry to his family before heading off to Harrington's home, where they handed out another console to his kids.

Sources and records show Rechnitz became a cooperating witness for the feds after he was snared in yet another bribery case involving Norman Seabrook, the head of the city Correction Officers union, who allegedly received $65,000 in bribes in exchange for funneling $20 million in union funds into a hedge fund operated by a friend of Rechnitz's, according to sources and court documents.

Rechnitz and Reichberg were also donors to de Blasio’s 2013 election campaign and served on his Inauguration Committee.

Rechnitz also gave the maximum $102,300 to de Blasio’s unsuccessful effort to unseat Republican lawmakers in Albany during the 2014 elections to gain control of the Legislature for the Democrats.

Also Monday, the feds arrested Sgt. David Villanueva and Officer Richard Ochetal of the NYPD License Division for allegedly taking cash bribes from Brooklyn businessman, Alex Lichtenstein, who wanted gun permits for undeserving applicants paying him as much as $18,000 each.

Lichtenstein was also arrested by the feds. And Ochetal has already pleaded guilty and is cooperating with authorities.

The arrest of the four NYPD officers on Monday was viewed as a black eye for the department.

Another half dozen present and former high ranking NYPD officials remain in the cross hairs of the feds.