The city’s integrity commissioner is investigating Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti for the $5,000-a-table fundraiser held in his honour last May.

Janet Leiper wrote to the Ward 7 councillor’s lawyer, Morris Manning, on Dec. 5, informing him that an inquiry would proceed and that Mammoliti had until Dec. 18 to respond. A copy of the letter was obtained by the Star.

The focus of Leiper’s investigation will be on whether Mammoliti violated the city’s code of conduct for councillors, which forbids them from accepting gifts or money related to the “performance of his or her duties.”

It has not been proven that Mammoliti committed any wrongdoing.

The Star was unable to reach Mammoliti or Manning for comment Tuesday evening.

The complainant in the investigation, commercial lawyer Brian Iler, told the Star he was “appalled” to learn of the event after reading a CBC News report in May.

In a statement sent to the Star following the CBC reports in May, Mammoliti said he was the guest of honour at an event hosted by his family “to celebrate my recovery from my recent health concerns,” likely referring to his brain surgery in the spring.

“The event was not in any way affiliated with campaign fundraising or campaign related soliciting,” he wrote.

In an invitation to the event that was posted on the CBC’s website, Mammoliti’s son, Michael, writes “My father’s continued dedication to the Mayor and the Administration has also come at a price, making him and our family the subject of personal and political attacks on numerous occasions.”

He goes on to write that “I am seeking your support for my father so he can continue to fight the good fight at Toronto City Hall and not be held back by the financial burdens these attacks have brought on.”

The event, held at The Royalton Banquet & Conference Centre, came at a price of $5,000 per table of 10. The invitation states that cheques were to be made payable to the organizers of the evening, Red Velvet Events Inc.

The Star was unable to reach Red Velvet Events for comment Tuesday evening.

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Michael Mammoliti wrote that guests should not be concerned about their contributions leading to a possible conflict for the councillor, indicating that the family sought legal counsel “to help guide my father through this fund raising process and eliminate any possible conflicts or code of conduct issues.”

The CBC reported that several notable lobbyists were in attendance at the fundraiser, including Jamie Besner and Paul Pellegrini of Sussex Strategy Group.

In an email to the Star on Tuesday, Besner said that he and Pellegrini did not pay for their tickets “as we are prohibited from doing so under the Toronto Lobbyist Registry.”