Brooklyn borough prez fined $20G for wife's trips

The New York City Conflicts of Interest Board has fined Brooklyn Borough president Marty Markowitz $20,000 for bringing his wife along on official foreign trips without paying for her expenses.
 
The board’s ruling was announced Monday. It says two trips to Turkey and one to the Netherlands were legitimate city business for Markowitz and there was no problem with his accepting the free trips. 
 
But the board found that since the city wouldn’t have paid for his wife to accompany him, he shouldn’t have accepted travel expenses for her.
 
Markowitz says the trips were packed with official business and he’s “flabbergasted” by the decision.
 
He says he was expected to bring his wife. He says they met with mayors and their spouses overseas.