‘As Long As He’s Controller,' Mayor Bloomberg Continues to Support John Liu

Mayor Bloomberg publicly supported John Liu at a Bronx event on Tuesday, saying As long as he's controller, we'll continue to work well with him, according to New York Daily News. Meanwhile the feds are continuing their investigation of the fund-raising scandal involving Liu's campaign treasurer, who was busted for funneling large, illegal donations from straw donors to Liu's campaign.

I don't know about his legal problems. I see them in the paper, said Bloomberg. Liu maintains that he did not know about the scheme. At the end of the day, I am fully responsible, but the campaign team ran the day-to-day operations of the campaign, Liu said. Jenny Hou, Liu's campaign treasurer, faces a maximum of 60 years if convicted on federal fraud charges.

Sometimes I think, in this cruel city, is it only your consciences that can be trusted but no one else? Hou asked on Chinese social networking site Weibo. I am a girl from Beijing, always will be, and I am proud of it. To all my friends who care, I'm OK. Don't worry.

Hou had essentially helped wealthy backers of Liu evade the $4950 limit on individual contributions, illegally funneling money through straw donors. She is being charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count of obstruction of justice.

However, there has been some speculation that Hou, who was given the important title of treasurer and an annual salary of $27,678 by Liu's campaign, may be taking the fall for higher-ups. As a 25-year-old Rutgers graduate from Beijing, her age and inexperience have led people to believe that she may be taking the heat for Chung Seto, Liu's campaign manager.