City big axing is OK – judge

Manhattan judge tossed a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by a former top city official who helped the feds probe Mayor de Blasio’s fund-raising practices.

Former Department of Citywide Administrative Services Deputy Commissioner Ricardo Morales said he was canned because he raised questions about lease negotiations for a Queens restaurant, Water’s Edge, and the sale of a Lower East Side nursing home, the Rivington House.

Both cases were eyed by federal investigators probing fund-raising practices by de Blasio (right). Morales (left) cooperated with that investigation.

But Manhattan Federal Judge John Koeltl wrote in a 40-page decision issued Monday that airing concerns about corruption were part of Morales’ official duties, and that he could not claim he was fired in violation of his First Amendment free-speech rights.

Morales also failed to establish a connection between his termination and the corruption concerns, the judge said.

“The plaintiff would have been terminated irrespective of the incidents on which he relies,” Koeltl wrote.

ACROSS

1 “Two and a __ Men”

5 “Cat __ Hot Tin Roof”

8 Actor __ Sharif 9 Mixed-breed dog who’s been the subject of many movies

12 “You __ Beautiful”; hit song for

Joe Cocker

13 __ butter and jelly sandwich 14 Marge & Homer Simpson’s boy 15 Race car drive A. J. __ 16 “Murder, __ Wrote”

18 “__: Miami”

19 Series whose theme song is

“Bad Boys”

20 “Take __ leave it!”

21 Scott of “Hawaii Five-0”

23 S. Epatha Merkerson’s role 24 “The Grand Canyon State”: abbr. 25 Abbr. on a business envelope 26 Ashley or Mary-Kate

28 “__ White and the Seven

Dwarfs”

29 Fed. disaster response agency 30 John Lennon’s widow

32 King Kong, for one 35 “__ Guys, a Girl and a Pizza

Place”

36 Passing crazes

37 “A __ in Her Ear”; film for Rex

Harrison and Rosemary Harris 38 “Gilligan’s __”

40 Simon __ of “The Mentalist” 41 Robert of “Unsolved Mysteries” 42 Actor Robert of “The Sopranos” 43 Parker or Montgomery 44 Taverns

DOWN

1 Israeli circle dances

2 “__ Wanted”

3 “__ Comic Standing”

4 To and __

5 Minds

6 Tidy

7 Actress __-Margret

10 Role on “Brothers & Sisters” 11 “Some Like __”; movie for Tony

Curtis and Marilyn Monroe 12 “Good Morning America” network 13 Herman Munster, to Eddie 15 Winkler’s “Happy Days” role 17 Historical period

19 Dean of “Lois & Clark”

20 “He’s Just Not That __ You”;

Jennifer Aniston movie

22 Region

23 __ time; never

25 Inquires

26 Frequently, to a poet

27 Jerry or Shari

30 Richard Gere movie set in WWII 31 “The __ Couple”

33 Equals; contemporaries

34 “Sweet Nothing in My __”

36 “__ the Nation”

37 “Deck the halls with boughs of

holly, __...”

39 “__ & Order”

40 Item for a baby in a high chair