A national best-selling author and Hamptons socialite was busted for pot possession while cruising around the East End, cops said.
Steven Gaines, 66, wrote “Philistines at the Hedgerow,” a 1998 social and cultural history of the Hamptons exposing the excesses of the rich and powerful, like billionaire Ron Perelman.
The Brooklyn native, 66, was cruising around Wainscott at about 1:40 p.m. Tuesday when East Hampton Town Police responded to a report of “a disturbance’’ on Montauk Highway, said Sgt. Nelson Vargas.
Gaines was pulled over in his 2012 Chevy Cruze, and cops smelled a strong odor of pot “emanating from the vehicle,” the arrest report said.
“In the back seat, which was folded down in plain view, was a clear plastic container,’’ the report said.
“In that container was a clear Zip-Lock type bag, which contained a green, leafy substance.’’
Gaines, who told cops he was a writer, was charged with pot possession and released on a desk-appearance ticket.
The author, who has penned 12 books, co-founded the Hamptons International Film Festival and often comments on the scandals of the rich and famous who flock to the East End.
Earlier this year, The Post reported that Gaines called out music mogul Clive Davis for sleeping with one of Gaines’ former lovers.
Davis said he didn’t begin sleeping with men until he separated from his second wife in 1985.
But Gaines posted on Facebook, “That must explain why he had sex with my boyfriend in 1979” — which Davis denied.
Gaines is also known for his 1980 book “The Club” — about Studio 54 — which he co-authored with a 21-year-old bartender from the hot spot.
He could not be reached for comment.