EL GAL FREE

Deal for Russian accused of extorting Spitzer

THE RUSSIAN woman charged with blackmailing disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer for $400,000 got a misdemeanor plea deal Monday and was released with time served.

Svetlana Zakharova, 27, was sentenced to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to attempted petty larceny.

Zakharova had served more than that while awaiting trial. She was sprung from custody before 2 p.m.

The plea bargain reached in Manhattan Supreme Court settles charges she ripped off Spitzer and tried to extort another man, Paul Nippes.

But she did not utter Spitzer’s name while making her courtroom admissions. And she was hit with only a restraining order for Nippes, whom she scammed in a June 2014 apartment rental on E. 37th St.

Her lawyer, Joseph Murray, said Zakharova refused to admit to stealing from Spitzer, her former paramour, in taking the plea. It was a condition in the agreement struck with the Bronx district attorney’s office, which was handling the case, Murray said.

“She’s had a long-term relationship with (Spitzer), and to be accused of extorting him was absolutely not true. She would never admit to that,” Murray said after the proceeding.

Zakharova was charged with trying to shake down the former disgraced governor. She allegedly tried extorting $400,000 from Spitzer to keep their two-year relationship under wraps.

As she left the courthouse, the alleged $5,000-a-night call girl covered her face with a jacket and and rushed to the street to look for a cab.

Zakharova, who had been in jail since her Oct. 10, 2016, arrest, is planning to stay with a friend, Murray said.

“The complaint, indictment and time spent in prison speak for themselves,” said Spitzer spokeswoman Lisa Linden.

Zakharova was accused of threatening to expose her relationship with Spitzer to his family and the public if he did not pay up over a two-year period.

Zakharova’s plea does not mean an automatic deportation, but the green card holder is not guaranteed a permanent stay in the country.

“There’s no promise that any judge in state court can make concerning someone’s deportation,” Justice Charles Solomon said.

Spitzer resigned in 2008 after he was identified as a prostitution ring client. He was never charged.

Svetlana Zakharova (left) was accused of blackmailing exGov. Eliot Spitzer (above), seeking $400,000 to keep their trysts under wraps. She was released Monday on lesser charges, without admitting alleged plot.