Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio can’t erase a $475,000 fine for using a New York City Police Department security detail during his failed presidential campaign, said a civil court judge found, rejecting the ex-mayor's arguments that the city's Conflicts of Interest Board should have consulted him before issuing the fine.

In upholding the penalty, Administrative Judge Shahabuddeen Ally of the Civil Court of the City of New York pushed aside de Blasio’s arguments that the board could only fine a civil servant under the city’s conflicts of interest law, after seeking feedback from the worker’s superior officer.