I mean, it is tempting if you are a soulless politician that only thinks as far as the next reelection. In 2008 the economy and therefore city finances were just a tiny bit under the weather. If you are then able to pull a deal that nets the city over a billion dollars, that's great. You won't be there to see the repercussions and you bolstered the balancesheet for a year, what's not to like? /s
If you like the piece, Taibbi was one of the few who dug into and wrote about the great bailouts and all the scamming of American public at behest of lobbyists, the powerful and the "elected". He's got lots of other good work.