Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver may not believe what he reads about his members in The Post — but a whole passel of prosecutors certainly seems to.
For sure, they’re sufficiently curious to be asking some serious questions about what’s going on in the matter of Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera and her multiplicity of boyfriends.
Unlike Shelly.
Over the past week, explosive allegations against the Bronx lawmaker have unfolded in The Post, centering around how she gave taxpayer-funded jobs to unqualified boyfriends, one at a non-profit organization she controlled and — with targeted tax dollars — funded.
She then allegedly used that non-profit — the Bronx Council for Economic Development — to fund numerous romantic dinners and getaways. That certainly seems like solid grounds for an investigation or two.
And, as The Post reports, the FBI and the US attorney agree. So does the state attorney general. And the Department of Education’s Special Commissioner of Investigation. And even the hapless Robert Johnson, Bronx district attorney.
One would hope that JCOPE — Gov. Cuomo’s hand-crafted Albany watchdog, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics — has gotten involved, too.
Although JCOPE refuses even to discuss ongoing probes — unless and until any action is taken — it certainly has grounds to proceed. And we certainly hope the agency has stepped in.
But Shelly Silver? He remains as uncurious as ever about the woman he hails as a “hard-working member” of his legislative fiefdom.
It’s also worth noting that the allegations and investigations haven’t proved much of a hindrance to Rivera’s political prospects.
This week alone, she picked up endorsements from the New York State AFL-CIO and the Teamsters Joint Council 16.
Any allegations against her don’t “wipe away her track record in elected office,” said Teamsters spokesman Mike McKeon.
Which is to say, those who do the unions’ loyal bidding will reap their rewards.
Shelly Silver’s, too.