FBI releases documents on former NYC Mayor Koch
By JENNIFER PELTZ, Associated Press
NEW YORK — Documents released for the first time Tuesday from the FBI file on former New York City Mayor Edward Koch detail one of the more obscure chapters of his storied political career: an unsolved plot to paint the then-congressman as a racist by circulating a forged letter, warning the city would become a "ghost town" if voters elected a black mayor.
The documents were posted on an FBI website in response to multiple Freedom of Information Act requests made since Koch died earlier this year at 88.
While the letter episode may not be embedded in public memory, "it's a window onto the period," Koch's longtime spokesman, George Arzt, said Tuesday.
According to the FBI documents, the scheme unfolded in January 1977 in the lead up to a fiercely contested mayor's race that ultimately unseated Mayor Abe Beame. Besides Koch, Democratic candidates also included future Gov. Mario Cuomo, Rep. Bella Abzug, Rep. Herman Badillo and Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton, who was black.
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http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jul/09/fbi-releases-documents-on-former-nyc-mayor-koch/
