Tax-cheat pol tells court he abused trust

Former City Councilman Chaim Deutsch regrets that he “squandered” the trust of his constituents and now works as the property manager of a Brooklyn apartment complex while awaiting sentencing for filing false tax returns.

Deutsch (photo), who represented neighborhoods including Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach and Midwood, saw his public service career come to an abrupt end in April when he pleaded guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to dodging nearly $83,000 in taxes.

The politician claimed fictitious deductions worth a total of $268,000 over three years that were tied to his side business in real estate management.

“Instead of making good on all of the trust that others put in me to serve them in City Council, I squandered it. Now, I struggle to figure out how to keep being an example for others when I have done wrong myself. My answer is to admit my failings and persevere,” Deutsch, who also founded the Shomrim neighborhood watch group, wrote in a letter to the court.

After being expelled from the City Council, Deutsch scored a job as a property manager overseeing maintenance staff and fielding requests from tenants.

“In the short time that Chaim has been working there, he has gained a reputation for completing maintenance projects that the prior manager failed to address,” Deutsch’s attorney, Henry Mazurek, wrote in Manhattan Federal Court late Thursday.

He asked for an sentence of one year of probation for the misdemeanor federal offense.

Federal prosecutors sought a sentence of roughly one year.

“At the same time Deutsch was serving as a New York City Council Member, he was not paying his fair share of taxes to fund the very government services he was helping to oversee,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli Mark wrote.

Deutsch’s bogus corporate deductions between the tax years 2013 and 2015 included personal car and phone expenses, groceries and children’s clothing.

During that period, the tax cheat was among the highest earners of outside income in the City Council. City Council members were barred from earning almost all outside income in 2017 as part of a compromise with Mayor de Blasio that boosted their salaries.