City Councilman Eric Ulrich is demanding an investigation into claims that Queens GOP leaders milked candidates “for financial gain.”
His call comes amid mounting criticism of the county party from prominent Republicans, including former Rep. Rick Lazio, Rep. Bob Turner and ex-Councilman and party honcho Thomas Ognibene.
“The District Attorney’s Office or the US Attorney’s Office should look into these issues because they’re deeply troubling,” Ulrich said. “These con artists have been playing this game for far too long.”
Several Queens Republican sources said it’s commonly known that if candidates want the party’s nomination, they’ll have to pay — whether it’s in the form of hefty contributions to the party or fees to the party’s consultants.
“There’s a fine line between looking to get support for the county and extortion,” said Ognibene. “I think they’re on the line of extortion.”
Ognibene recently mounted an unsuccessful legal challenge to the validity of Queens GOP boss Philip Ragusa’s county chairmanship. He’s filed an appeal.
The Queens party has been fractured since at least 2007, when Ragusa was re-elected chairman over Bart Haggerty, Ulrich’s current chief of staff.
One high-ranking Republican familiar with the allegations against the Queens GOP leadership said Ragusa is a “decent guy” but has surrounded himself with “operatives who make a living off this.”
Haggerty’s brother, John, began serving a prison term of 16 months to four years last month for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash from Mayor Bloomberg.
Richard La Salle — who ran as a Republican for state Senate in 2010 but is now a registered Democrat — told The Post that Ragusa suggested to a roomful of candidates that they “contribute $100,000 to a housekeeping account.”
La Salle said that the offer was not made directly, but within earshot of several political contenders.
“It was said so people on my side of the room could hear,” he said.
Congressman Turner said he was dismayed when the Queens leadership delayed his nomination last year for the special vote arising from the Anthony Weiner sext scandal.
“They were hesitant, and it cost us two weeks of campaigning for what every other political professional thought was a no-brainer,” he said. “Their reasons for doing it were suspect.”
Turner said he was approached by Jay Golub, a consultant for Queens political candidates.
“I think his play was that I could clear up the nomination process by using him,” Turner recalled. “The conversation didn’t last long . . . I didn’t like where it was going.”
Golub said he was “just trying to help Bob.”
“I was never hired by the Turner campaign,” he said.
Lazio declined to provide specifics about his dealings with the Queens GOP during his losing 2010 gubernatorial bid. But he said the “people that are running that organization are not setting a high ethical bar.”
Ragusa did not respond to repeated requests seeking comment.