Monday’s allegations were much more sweeping and were the result of what the committee chairman, Steven Matteo, a Staten Island councilman, said were the result of a “preliminary inquiry.” Mr. Matteo spoke during the brief public portion of a committee hearing that mostly took place behind closed doors. Mr. King did not immediately respond to a text message sent to his cellphone. Mr. Matteo, a Republican, said that the allegations included a new sexual harassment claim and “numerous instances of misuse of city resources.” He said that Mr. King was also accused of allowing his wife, Neva Shillingford-King, “to perform Council business” in violation of nepotism rules, and of “creating a work environment where his spouse was permitted to engage in harassment of a council employee.” The harassment allegation involving Mr. King’s wife did not appear, from Mr. Matteo’s comments, to be of a sexual nature. Ms. Shillingford-King identifies herself on a LinkedIn account as being an executive at Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union. A union spokesman said that he could not immediately confirm whether Ms. Shillingford-King was currently employed by the union.

Source: International New York Times April 30, 2019 00:22 UTC