December 28, 2007 (LPAC)--New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a not-too-secret Independent candidate waiting to announce a run for the Presidency, has been allowed to manage his personal wealth--estimated at up to $13 billion--more directly and aggressively in a new ruling he sought from the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board, after he was caught in flagrant violation of a 2002 agreement with the Board!

On Dec. 26, the Board rescinded its 2002 ruling that Mayor Bloomberg had to sell all his stocks and his interest in a hedge fund, and ruled instead that the Mayor could advise the investment firms handling his fortune about categories of investments, and could as well hire or fire managers of his money. Early in December, the New York Times exposed that Bloomberg had been talking regularly to officials at one of his companies, Bloomberg L.P., the media and financial information giant, about business details, and had, despite the 2002 agreement, taken numerous official actions that involved the investment firm Merrill Lynch, the the biggest investor in Bloomberg, L.P.

In November, Bloomberg's Deputy, Daniel Doctoroff, announced that he would leave his city job to become President of Bloomberg, L.P., but would continue until then his governmental work with a developer, Vornado Realty, that has real estate ties to Mayor Bloomberg's firm and is involved in two City mega-projects. Meanwhile, Bloomberg's First Deputy Mayor, Patricia Harris, who came out of Bloomberg, L.P, has continued to manage all the Bloomberg Foundation's charitable giving from City Hall, without ever seeking the Board's approval.

Now, in the two-week countdown before the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries, Mayor Bloomberg is running high-profile ads boosting himself, through the newly-minted vehicle called "Mayors Against Illegal Guns." The group, founded by Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, ran full-page ads Dec. 27 in The Des Moines Register and The Manchester Union Leader. These prominent ads clearly put the possibility of a Bloomberg Presidential campaign front and center.