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This weird bromance may finally be over.
After years of palling around with the disgraced Hiram Monserrate — a one-time state senator infamous for slashing a girlfriend in the forehead with a drinking glass — mayoral hopeful Eric Adams has publicly broken political ties with the ex-con after questioning from The Post.
Monserrate, who was ousted from the Legislature after the bizarre 2010 domestic incident and landed in prison in 2012 after pleading guilty to misappropriating public funds during his City Council stint, has repeatedly tried and failed to get back into elected office. He’s currently challenging Queens Councilman Francisco Moya for the second time.
Adams, the Brooklyn Borough President, who currently trails well behind Gracie Mansion frontrunner Andrew Yang in the polls, announced to The Post Friday that he’s backing Moya in the race.
“I believe strongly in the principle of restorative justice and criminal justice reform that prioritizes rehabilitation to prevent further crimes. As a man who lived with domestic violence as a child, I also strongly condemn Mr. Monserrate’s past behavior and believe that it should have consequences,” Adams said in a statement.
“I do not believe Mr. Monserrate should hold public office, and I am supporting his opponent,” he added. “I encourage Mr. Monserrate to continue his rehabilitation.”
But behind the scenes, those who know Adams and Monserrate say the pair are still chummy — and that nothing has changed.
“They have always been thick as thieves,” said one legislator with knowledge of the relationship.
Adams, 60, and Monserrate, 53, served in the state Senate together until Monserrate’s expulsion.
Adams leapt to his friend’s defense in a statement soon after cops slapped the cuffs on Monserrate after the 2008 slashing, claiming the officers were guilty of misconduct.
During Monserrate’s 2009 trial on assault charges, Adams sat among the spectators in court. And when the Senate held a vote to expel the pol, Adams was one of just eight who voted against the measure.
He was there with his old pal in Dec. 2016 when Monserrate married Michelle Morillo, according to local media reports. The event at World Marina in Flushing Bay took place just months after Monserrate got out of federal prison.
In July 2018, Adams attended a birthday party for Monserrate at the Jackson Heights restaurant Pio Pio. A smiling Adams posed for photos with the birthday boy and even made some remarks in front of Monserrate campaign signs.
In 2019, Monserrate and Adams were together at Ecua Fest, a yearly Ecuadorian music and culture celebration in Queens. Photos show Monserrate presenting Adams with a sash recognizing him as the “Padrino De Honor” or “Godfather” of the event.
“Eric Adams’ refusal to hold an elected official accountable for intimate partner violence that left a woman’s face scarred will always be a mark against him,” said Sonia Ossorio, who runs the New York City chapter of the National Organization for Women.
“If you judge a person’s character on the company he keeps, Adams’ enduring connection with a self-dealing former elected [official] who was convicted of assault is a red flag for voters.”
Monserrate filed paperwork in January to challenge City Councilman Moya, and must overcome a recently passed bill that would bar any politician convicted of crimes while in office from seeking election for a city post.
Moya’s spokesman claimed Adams endorsed the incumbent in a Feb. 15 zoom call.
Monserrate seems to be taking it in stride.
“They’re friends,” Mike Nieves a spokesman for Monserrate confirmed to The Post. “We have spoken to Eric Adams. And he is not endorsing Hiram.”
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