NEW YORK (AP) -- A city councilman resigned Tuesday after authorities signaled he may be close to pleading guilty in an investigation of a council slush fund.
Stan Brooks reports
Miguel Martinez wrote a one-line letter to the council speaker on Tuesday announcing his immediate resignation. He gave no explanation for leaving.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan had notified the court on Monday that they intend to bring unspecified charges against Martinez by filing a legal document that usually indicates a plea deal is in the works.
It also suggests the councilman could be cooperating in an investigation of the council's once-hidden practice of stashing away millions of dollars in "reserve funds'' for nonprofit groups and pet projects.
Prosecutors and the city Department of Investigation, conducting a joint inquiry into the slush fund scandal, declined comment on Tuesday.
But a person familiar with the investigation said Martinez was a target. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the probe was ongoing.
Martinez, representing parts of northern Manhattan, was elected to the 51-member council in 2001.
Authorities raided the office of a nonprofit group connected to Martinez in March; he had steered hundreds of thousands in council funding to the group.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn said in a statement that his resignation was a "sad day for the City Council'' and his district.
She added that the council will continue to cooperate with authorities on the council funding probe.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he believes the integrity of the council as a whole remains intact.
"You're never going to have a group of people without a bad apple,'' he said when asked about the resignation.
In June, two former council aides, including the former chief of staff to Councilman Kendall Stewart, pleaded guilty in federal court to skimming at least $145,000 in taxpayer money from the slush fund. Stewart, who wasn't charged, has denied any wrongdoing.
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