Metro

New York is shamed ‘Capitol’ of corruption

Mark Twain and Preet Bharara have something in common. More than a century ago, Twain famously proclaimed that America had no native criminal class, except for Congress. Bharara also sees a native criminal class, though today’s bunks in Albany.

The crusading Manhattan US attorney showed again yesterday that the Empire State is the capital of corruption. Only the names and details are different from Tuesday’s stunning case.

“It becomes more and more difficult to avoid the sad conclusion that political corruption in New York is indeed rampant and that a show-me-the-money culture in Albany is alive and well,” Bharara said in announcing the latest bust.

His takedowns and damning conclusions shame not only the crooks, but also Gov. Cuomo and legislative leaders Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos. The nicest thing that can be said about them is that public integrity is not high on their list of priorities.

They are not the only ones wearing blinders, of course. Albany couldn’t be so crooked if the public revolted against it. Instead, voters keep electing the same bums year after year. By one count, more legislators get indicted than defeated at the polls.

In the last decade, 35 state officials have been arrested. The Hall of Shame includes Republicans and Democrats, blacks, whites, Asians and Hispanics, men and women, and crooks from upstate, the ’burbs and the five boroughs.

If there was any doubt, the latest cases demonstrate that integrity is not a remote, elitist concern. It is essential for a fair and effective government.

Put another way, Albany’s transactional crimes impose a corruption tax on New York. Everybody pays it.

Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Smith, arrested Tuesday, allegedly hoped to bribe his way onto the Republican ballot for mayor. One of his alleged accomplices, GOP City Councilman Dan Halloran, is accused of pledging $80,000 of taxpayer money to help an undercover agent posing as a developer.

Halloran hoped to be rewarded with a top job in the Police Department. A separate part of the alleged scam involved spending $500,000 of public money for a Rockland County road.

Imagine Smith and Halloran running City Hall and the NYPD. There would be a stampede of honest citizens to the exits while the people who helped them steal their jobs would be in a position to demand repayment — over and over.

The arrest of Bronx Assemblyman Eric Stevenson and the resignation of his colleague, Nelson Castro, both Democrats, offer another example of the corruption tax. The federal criminal complaint says both took bribes, with Stevenson netting $20,000.

In exchange, he allegedly paved the way for a taxpayer-funded adult day-care center by pushing buildings inspectors and Con Ed. Stevenson also drummed up customers among elderly constituents and even submitted legislation to block any competitors.

The center had nothing to do with merit. The four businessmen at the heart of the case allegedly saw an easy opportunity to make millions in taxpayer dollars — and the cost was only $20,000 in bribes. They were so greedy that they wanted a monopoly, and Stevenson tried to give them one.

At one point, Stevenson worries one of the businessmen bribing him is recording their conversations — and expresses his concern to the informant who is actually doing the recording!

Close, but no cigar — only handcuffs.

In another conversation, Stevenson names former colleagues in prison, and, like Bharara, insists that something is rotten in the capital.

“Bottom line . . . if half the people up here in Albany was ever caught for what they do . . . they . . . would probably be in the same place,” meaning prison, according to the federal transcript.

Stevenson is probably right, which means Bharara has much more work to do. It’s a crime against decency that the prosecutor is not getting any help from the officials elected to serve the public.