Enemies of reform

There’s no mystery as to why Republican state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos is the last holdout against an ethics cleanup in Albany: He and fellow Republican senators have the most to hide. They collect hundreds of thousands of dollars from second jobs — doing who-knows-what for who-knows-whom — and hope to go on hiding as much as possible about their paymasters.

Gov. Cuomo has said that, if Skelos & Co. continue to stonewall past Tuesday, he will put ethics reform in a budget extension, leaving them the choice of voting yes or shutting the government.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, successor to the indicted Sheldon Silver, has blessed Cuomo’s plan, isolating Senate Republicans as the Daily News’ Enemies of Reform.

Skelos reports collecting between $150,000 and $250,000 a year from Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, a Long Island law firm with a lobbying arm whose clients have secured millions in state grants, tax breaks and contracts. He refuses to name his clients or explain what services he provides. As did Silver.

Rochester-area Republican Sen. Michael Nozzolio is paid up to $250,000 by the law firm Harris Beach while keeping his clients and the nature of his work secret. Gannett News reported that the firm’s clientele includes a mall developer who was awarded a state license to build a casino.

Also in the six-figure club are Sens. Michael Ranzenhoffer of Erie County and Philip Boyle and John Flanagan of Long Island.

Skelos on Friday promised to produce an ethics bill. Likely, his staff was hard at work on loopholes aimed at making a farce out of Cuomo’s plan — Enemies of Reform to a bitter dead end.