Democrat culture of corruption

A test for Cuomo’s JCOPE

It doesn’t seem to matter how many boyfriends Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera puts on the public payroll — not to Speaker Sheldon Silver, anyway.

He’s standing by her as “a hard-working member” of the legislative body he controls tittle and jot.

And hecertainlysees no reason for an investigation.

That’s Shelly for you: The world’s biggest blinders when it comes to his members’ ethical lapses.

While state and local prosecutors are reportedly looking into the matter, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics needs to step in as well — and prove Gov. Cuomo’s contention that his hand-crafted oversight agency is prepared to use its “robust enforcement powers.”

Last week, The Post’s Candice Giove first reported that Rivera had hired current boy-toy Tommy Torres — a relationship that first came to light via steamy photos on her “private” Facebook page — for her legislative staff.

No problem, said Silver, insisting that Torres’ “timesheets are consistent with the work of a part-time community liaison.”

Problem is, he was listed as a full-time community-relations director — while he simultaneously held a full-time city schools job as a gym teacher and athletic coach.

Well, the Department of Education says it’s begun looking into that one.

On Sunday, though, The Post disclosed that Rivera’s desire to keep her love interest close was hardly a one-time thing.

Ex-squeeze Vincent Pinela admitted that he was hired to head a non-profit that Rivera controlled — and to which she steered hundreds of thousands in taxpayer funds — despite being wholly unqualified (his term).

Moreover, he says, she used the Bronx Council for Economic Development as her private piggy bank, paying for their romantic dinners and getaways.

When he dumped her, she cut off funding and had him fired. He also says Rivera’s campaign illegally used the non-profit’s funds.

And what does Speaker Silver have to say about all that?

“She indicated to me in advance that there would be a story that is not true,” he said. “I don’t know any facts other than what’s recorded in the newspaper. As you know, I take some of that lightly.”

Which, obviously, isn’t a denial.

As always, Shelly Silver knows what he chooses to know. Which, in this case, is precisely nothing.

Which is why the prisons have been filled — and are getting even fuller — with former Albany legislators caught with their greedy fingers in the non-profit honeypot: Pedro Espada, Carl Kruger, Brian McLaughlin, to name a few.

And why an investigation is not only justified but imperative — no matter what Shelly Silver knows, or what he chooses to believe.

Is JCOPE really up to the job of policing Albany? Time to find out.