EYEING A RETURN
Disgraced ex-pol Monserrate considering Assembly run 170G take in B’klyn safe rob, cops say
ALBANY — Hiram Monserrate, the convicted felon and former politician booted from the state Senate for assaulting his girlfriend, is looking to return to the state Capitol.
The disgraced Democrat filed paperwork Tuesday to take the first steps to launch a primary challenge against Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry (D-Queens), the Daily News has learned.
Monserrate (inset) isn’t committed to running, but wants to raise funds and test the waters, a source close to the former pol told The News.
“He hasn’t made up his mind yet,” the source added.
It’s the latest attempt by the 52-year-old to resurrect his political career following a rocky road of arrests and convictions for assault and corruption.
In 2009, the then-state senator was found guilty of misdemeanor assault in an incident with his then-girlfriend that resulted in her face being sliced with a broken glass, leaving a wound requiring more than 20 stitches. They both testified the slashing was an accident and he was convicted only of shoving and dragging her, but the charge led to his expulsion from the Senate the following year.
Two years later, Monserrate pleaded guilty to federal charges related to his misappropriating roughly $100,000 in funds earmarked for a local nonprofit. He was sent to prison for two years and ordered to repay the funds.
Over the years, the perennial candidate mounted an unsuccessful bid for a different Queens Assembly seat and lost a district leader race before failing to rejoin the City Council when he lost to Francisco Moya in 2017.
Monserrate’s latest comeback began last year when he was elected as a district leader in East Elmhurst, Queens. The neighborhood falls within Aubry’s Assembly district.
Neither Monserrate nor Aubry immediately responded to requests for comment. But other law makers didn’t mince words when asked about the fallen pol’s latest ploy for political power.
“Monserrate’s efforts to run for office time and time again exemplify just how quickly we forget violence against women,” said Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (DQueens). “Queens residents deserve to be represented by someone who they can respect and trust, and Monserrate has proven he deserves neither.”
Sen. Todd Kaminsky (DNassau County), a former federal prosecutor, has introduced legislation that would prohibit Monserrate and his ilk from running for office or holding a leadership post of a political party for a decade.
The measure, supported in the Assembly by Catalina Cruz (D-Queens), would bar those convicted of public integrity-related felonies, including criminal mischief, larceny, official misconduct, and bribery involving a public trust from holding office.
A burglar with a pickax pried open a safe at a Brooklyn taxi medallion broker’s office and made off with a six-digit haul, police said Tuesday.
The masked intruder broke into Waheed Brokerage on Coney Island Ave. near Avenue O in Midwood about 1 a.m. Friday, cops said.
He broke a window to open a backdoor, then cracked a safe inside, stealing about $70,000 in cash and $100,000 in assorted necklaces, rings and bracelets, cops said.
Police on Tuesday released video of the heist, and asked that anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577TIPS.