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Council Member Restler questions commissioner about nepotism allegations
1:11:46
ยท
84 sec
Council Member Restler confronts Commissioner Holmes about allegations of nepotism reported in the Daily News, specifically regarding the hiring of certain individuals at the Department of Probation.
- Restler asks if there were prior relationships or familial connections with specific individuals mentioned in the Daily News report
- Commissioner Holmes denies any nepotism and explains the hiring of Dr. Salib as a vendor for a specific program
- The commissioner provides details about the purpose and scope of Dr. Salib's involvement with the department
Lincoln Restler
1:11:46
So I'm going to start directly with that question.
1:11:48
In reference to Doctor.
1:11:49
Salib, Doctor.
1:11:50
Polano, Angelina Puerto, Angel and Michael Puerto, I just want to ask explicitly directly on the record, are these people who you had a prior relationship with, any of them prior to the time of them joining the Department of Probation?
1:12:02
Is there any familial connection between you, your son or anyone else in your family and any of these individuals?
1:12:07
Is there any issue of nepotism or prior relationship with any of these five people as reported in the Daily News?
Juanita Holmes
1:12:13
There is no nepotism.
1:12:15
There is no nepotism.
1:12:17
Doctor.
1:12:18
Salib is a vendor that was hired under my formal former chief of staff Shamik Walton who actually signed him up, did the link.
1:12:29
He was put in place for one time support for Father's Day, sixty vouchers for our men that normally don't go to the doctor.
1:12:40
In 2023, we did a Father's Day event and he was hired to do that because he has numerous urgent cares throughout the city in the neighborhoods where we need them.
1:12:53
We never used all of the vouchers so they are currently being used for our boxing team in The Bronx.
1:13:00
So every time a young person signs up for that program, they actually use the voucher to go to the doctor in The Bronx, get a checkup, and get a permission slip from mom.
Lincoln Restler
1:13:10
I just have a simple yes or no question.