A Manhattan federal judge Wednesday OK’d indicted Assemblyman Eric Stevenson’s 11th-hour request to replace his public defender with a private lawyer whose fees will be paid by a Bronx mosque.
The Democrat’s new lawyer, Muhammad Ibn Bashir, declined to name the mosque, but sources told The Post it was the Masjid Salaam Mosque on Southern Boulevard.
Stevenson, who claims he’s broke, had previously helped get funds for a youth soccer team affiliated with the mosque, and his ex-wife is a Guinean Muslim.
Although Bashir claims he’ll be ready for trial Jan. 6, the feds believe the last-minute lawyer switch is Stevenson’s latest attempt to stall the corruption trial.
Prosecutors had asked Judge William Pauley III to reject the bid because they believe it’s doubtful Bashir can review more than 100 hours of recordings and other evidence by then, and so may seek an extension.
Pauley also scolded Bashir for being 45 minutes late to the hearing.
Stevenson in May pleaded not guilty to five counts of conspiracy and bribery in an alleged scheme to help four co-defendants open adult day-care centers and pass legislation to protect them from competition.
He got caught in a sting operation in which his co-defendants paid bribes to former Assemblyman Nelson Castro (D-Bronx), who is cooperating with authorities to avoid prosecution for perjury.