New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is at the center of two settlements between city lobbyists and the state ethics board over pay-to-play allegations. The settlements announced Monday stem from investigations launched three years ago by the state-controlled Joint Commission of Public Ethics, or JCOPE.

Under one settlement, state investigators found that lobbyist James Capalino arranged for $100,000 in donations to de Blasio's now defunct political not-for-profit, the Campaign for One New York, after the mayor asked him for support. The organization was founded in late 2013 to promote the mayor’s policy initiatives like pre-kindergarten and affordable housing.  

After making the donations, Capalino and nine of his clients met with the mayor in a secluded dining area at the now-closed City Hall restaurant. That was in September 2015. That month the mayor's office listed no lobbying activity in its disclosure database. A City Hall spokeswoman said that's because there was no lobbying at the meeting.

Capalino agreed to pay a $40,000 fine without admitting to any violations of the law to resolve allegations that he and his firm violated the state Lobby Act, specifically the prohibition of gifts. In a statement, he stressed his support for de Blasio’s policy initiatives.

"That is why I proudly agreed to support the Campaign for One New York’s efforts when asked to help," Capalino said. "But I should have been more sensitive to how my support might appear,"

In a separate settlement, the co-founders of an organization that lobbied the mayor to ban horse carriages settled allegations that they violated the state Lobby Act. Steven Nislick and Wendy Neu of New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets, also known as NYClass, agreed to a $10,000 dollar fine and admitted that they failed to register with the state as lobbyists. They will submit that paperwork as part of the settlement.

State investigators also alleged the mayor asked Nislick to donate to the Campaign for One New York, and that Nislick went on to ask Neu to donate. Together, they gave the mayor’s not-for-profit $100,000 over two years, according to the investigation. De Blasio made banning horse-drawn carriages one of his top agenda items when he came into office, although he later compromised to limit rides to Central Park.

In statement, Nislick and Neu said they are pleased to have resolved this matter and acknowledged failing to file disclosure forms in the first half of 2014.

State officials said they are continuing to investigate donations into the Campaign for One New York.

During his weekly appearance on NY1, de Blasio said he was not familiar with the specific details of the JCOPE settlements. But he defended how his administration interacts with lobbyists.

"If someone comes to me, they are a New York City registered lobbyist, they have a client, they start talking about the client's business, bang —I am putting that online," said de Blasio adding, "Anything that is lobbying, that is promoting a position on behalf of a client, I disclose. It's as simple as that."