When he had a plan, he said, officials from municipalities solicited him, promising public money to build a stadium.

The rapid timeline means officials will be soliciting public comment on the design teams' new ideas at the same time that the two lead rebuilding agencies are ruling out some of the ideas.

The city's Conflicts of Interest Board has revised the guidelines on how and when public officials may solicit funds from private donors for the good of New York City.

Now, under recent guidelines, these officials may solicit funds from private companies, except those that have matters pending before the city.

Under Federal extortion laws, an elected official may not solicit a campaign contribution in return for an official action.

My garbage man, who demanded his weekly tip and let us know if we were a peso short, was an exception - officials rarely solicit bribes.

After the vote, critics called the school board aloof and presumptuous, contending that officials had not solicited residents' opinions about elements of the bond package during the drafting process.

Mustapha Ally said the same official later solicited $100,000 as campaign contributions to unspecified members of the Board of Estimate, which had the final authority to approve the contract.

At an air pollution conference last Monday, environmental officials solicited advice from their peers in Europe and the United States.

He said that almost all elected officials, including the Democratic members of the committee, solicited campaign donations.