Toronto police are investigating Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti and the city has retained an external law firm in connection with a May 2013 fundraiser when the councillor accepted an $80,000 gift.

Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash confirmed that the police service’s Financial Crimes Unit is investigating the case following a referral from the city to investigate the matter.

Mammoliti threatened to sue the city after council voted in July to dock the councillor three months’ pay, or approximately $26,000. The vote followed a ruling from Janet Leiper, the city’s integrity commissioner at the time, that found Mammoliti violated the city’s code of conduct rules.

At the same time, council also voted to request the city’s solicitor to retain outside counsel to determine if there were further grounds to refer the matter to police.

On Monday, Wynna Brown, a spokesperson for the city, told CP24 that Stockwoods Law Firm had been retained to provide advice, and that the “matter has been referred to the police for such action as the police deem appropriate.”

Mammoliti told CP24 that he is not aware that the city had hired an outside lawyer.

The investigation into Mammoliti’s actions began with a citizen’s complaint in August 2013 alleging the councillor received an improper gift at a fundraiser held in his honour. Article IV of the city’s code of conduct says councillors may not accept a “fee, advance, gift or personal benefit” connected directly or indirectly with the performance of their office duties.

The dinner-and-dance fundraiser with a silent auction was $500 per plate, or $5,000 for a table of 10. More than 200 people, including lobbyists and companies doing business with city, attended the event.

The integrity commissioner’s report found that Mammoliti’s staff spent time organizing the event during city work hours to send out invitations, design tickets, contact musicians and generate invoices. In some cases, staff revised invoices to remove references to the actual fundraiser and advised at least one contractor that the councillor’s name should not appear “anywhere.”

Those who attended the event include representatives from architectural firms interested in discussing potential partnerships with the city, businesses that had bid and received contracts from the city and an individual providing services to the Business Improvement Association in Mammoliti’s ward.

After the event, Mammoliti accepted two cheques of $40,000 each as a “gift” from the Event Company from the profit generated by the event’s ticket sales.

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