Joe Marino/New York Daily News Bishop Orlando Findlayter (left) arrives at Brooklyn Criminal Court in May. The mayor’s bishop pal settled the traffic case that triggered a controversial phone call from de Blasio — and he did it Monday without any help from City Hall.
Orlando Findlayter pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended license as a violation, not the misdemeanor he was charged with.
The politically connected pastor was sentenced to time served — the few hours he was in police custody back on Feb. 12 — and had to pay a mandatory $ 88 surcharge. The deal with Brooklyn prosecutors spares him of a criminal record.
“ He’s glad it’s over,” his attorney, Mark Pollard, said after the brief appearance in Brooklyn Criminal Court.
“Technically, he was driving with a suspended license, but he didn’t know that,” he added.
The lawyer explained that a lapse in insurance voided the license, but the notice from the Department of Motor Vehicles arrived in the mail after Findlayter was stopped in East Flatbush for failing to signal.
“The district attorney’s office confirmed the letter was sent later,” Pollard said.
Joe Marino/New York Daily News Findlayter (left) was sentenced to time served and had to pay an mandatory $ 88 surcharge. 
David Handschuh/New York Daily News Bishop Orlando Findlayter arrives at the New Hope Christian Fellowship in Brooklyn in February.Previous Next
When he was stopped, Findlayter had two outstanding warrants after not appearing on an unrelated case for an arrest at an immigration rally.
Protocol demanded he be held overnight until seeing a judge. But the precinct commander let him go with a desk-appearance ticket as Mayor de Blasio called police officials to inquire about his ally’s status.
The NYPD has said the release was appropriate.
Findlayter, who heads a church and charter school, was an early endorser of Hizzoner and served on de Blasio’s inaugural committee.
Pollard said his client is eager to go on with his public service.
“He was happy to be able to go forward and be able to continue serving the community,” he said.
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