Metro

Old foe’s ‘El’ of a lawsuit

Eliot Spitzer was slapped with a defamation lawsuit yesterday by old archenemy Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, who took the action against the disgraced former governor for calling him “crooked” and “fraudulent.”

The suit lists numerous statements Spitzer made about Greenberg, including claims that the former CEO of insurance giant AIG ran “the company in a corrupt way” and that he was “running a crooked company.”

Greenberg — who was never charged with a crime — stepped down in 2005 from the company he had led for decades after then-Attorney General Spitzer launched a probe.

Spitzer’s comeback campaign for city comptroller gathered momentum this week as he submitted to the Board of Elections seven times the required number of signatures to get on the ballot.

Spitzer slammed the Greenberg suit last night in a statement released by a spokeswoman.

“This lawsuit is frivolous. I will be happy to discuss the relevant facts in the days ahead,” Spitzer said.

The Wall Street Journal quoted a Greenberg adviser saying that he plans to get involved in the campaign against Spitzer.

The lawsuit details other statements Spitzer made about Greenberg.

In a 2012 appearance on the CNBC show “The Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo,” the former governor said, “You know, let’s deal with reality here. Hank Greenberg’s accounting was fraudulent.”

Bartiromo told Spitzer he shouldn’t use the word “fraudulent” because Greenberg was never indicted. But Spitzer wouldn’t back down and repeated the charge.

The suit was filed in State Supreme Court in Putnam County, where Greenberg lives.

jsaul@nypost.com