Molinaro hits gov on mailer aide

ALBANY — GOP gubernatorial candidate Marc Molinaro wants Gov. Cuomo to dump his former top aide from the MTA board.

Molinaro cited various conflicts involving Larry Schwartz, who until 2015 was the powerful secretary to the governor.

Since leaving the administration, Schwartz was appointed by Cuomo to the MTA board, has been advising his reelection campaign — signing off on a controversial mailer that targeted primary foe Cynthia Nixon — and is working for an airport concessions company that will benefit from the state’s improvements at LaGuardia and Kennedy airports.

“This is the incestuous sludge that the governor continues to function in,” Molinaro told the Daily News.

Citing the corruption convictions of ex-top aide Joseph Percoco and ex-associate Todd Howe, Molinaro and his camp said Cuomo should feel an obligation to erase even the perception of conflicts.

It was revealed at Percoco’s federal corruption earlier this year that Percoco continued to wield influence within the administration even while serving as the governor’s campaign manager and then after leaving for good for private sector.

“Specifically, we believe documentation can prove that he continues to function as a top aide to the governor while working in a private capacity,” Molinaro said.

Schwartz, during the Democratic primary, participated in debate prep and green-lighted the mailer suggesting Nixon had been silent on antiSemitism.