Metro

Feds on Aqueduct warpath

Federal authorities have begun contacting losing bidders as part of a growing probe into the controversial deal to install video slots at Aqueduct Racetrack, The Post has learned.

An official from Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara’s office already has been in touch with Delaware North, one of four groups that lost out on the potentially lucrative contract to the Aqueduct Entertainment Group, sources said.

MORE: AQUEDUCT PROBERS WON’T FIND ANYTHING, GUV BOASTS

“They wanted to know if we would be willing to cooperate with an investigation,” a Delaware North insider said.

“If someone wants to investigate, we’d tell them anything we know about the bidding process. We’d be willing to cooperate.”

Peter Carlino, the CEO of another losing bidder, Penn National, also said he would participate in any probe.

“The outcome was somewhat preordained. It’s disappointing that we wasted even five minutes on this project,” Carlino fumed.

“AEG is not the most competent operator.”

Carlino even sent a letter to Gov. Paterson expressing concerns that the fix was in — weeks before Paterson and legislative leaders awarded AEG the 30-year franchise. “If our being a Pennsylvania-based company in any way prejudices us in the bid process, we wish we would have known that going in,” Carlino told Paterson, adding:

“It would almost appear that some might be trying to find way not to award the contract to Penn.”

Paterson’s office on Tuesday released documents related to the bid, which showed that AEG initially ranked last in terms of revenue it expected to generate for the state — but then jumped to first when the bidders were allowed to revise their proposals.

AEG is a politically wired consortium whose partners include powerhouse Queens minister and ex-Congressman Floyd Flake.

Meanwhile, questions were raised about two of AEG’s investors, Lance Uggla and Rony Grushka.

They run the financial firm Markit, which is being probed by both the Justice Department and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office as part of a larger investigation into the credit default swap market. They have denied wrongdoing.