Fredric U. Dicker
INSIDE ALBANY
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo and his top aides are looking to use last week's round of embarrassing scandals in Albany to oust Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver — and they're already eyeing an upstate lawmaker to replace him, The Post has learned.
The governor and his team — stung hard by US Attorney Preet Bharara's assertion that corruption is "rampant" and "pervasive" in the statehouse — are fed up with Silver, who they say has presided over two decades of dysfunction, sources said.
"Shelly's been the master of gaming the corrupt system for 20 years. He's made millions off of it, and the coalition that keeps him in power are the ones who feed off the corrupt system," a Cuomo administration source said.
Daniel Shapiro
Sheldon Silver
The most recent — and blatant — example came Thursday, when the feds charged Assemblyman Eric Stevenson with selling legislation to Russian businessmen in exchange for $22,000 stuffed in envelopes.
Stevenson, who some lawmakers told The Post was obviously "sleazy" and "on the make," submitted a bill that barred the opening of adult day-care centers in The Bronx to prevent competition with two centers run by the businessmen who gave him cash, Bharara said.
Silver is known for keeping an iron grip on what legislation is proposed and passes in the Assembly — and Stevenson's bill was submitted with little scrutiny from Silver or his aides, sources said.
Over the weekend, Cuomo huddled with top aides and talked to advisers to create a sweeping ethics agenda — and some urged him to get rid of Silver, sources said.
The governor is weighing whether he wants to take that step, sources said.
If he does, his strategy would first be to privately demand Silver step down as speaker or resign entirely.
But if Silver resists, Cuomo would use his clout as Democratic leader to start organizing a mutiny among lawmakers once loyal to the speaker, sources said.
Democratic insiders said they're ready to stand behind Cuomo.
"If the governor threw his full weight behind ousting Silver, said it was necessary to clean up the state and help reform the Democratic Party, I think it would be possible,'' said an influential Democratic Party source who has known Cuomo for years.
If Silver got the boot, his replacement could be Rochester Assemblyman Joseph Morelle, who became Democrat majority leader earlier this year with Silver and Cuomo's blessing.
Morelle, in office since 1990, is regarded as a "straight shooter" on ethics — and sources said Cuomo would be comfortable with him in charge because he could combat corruption in the Legislature, sources said.
But Morelle would face fierce opposition by the Assembly's huge bloc of New York City members, who wouldn't want to see the powerful position shift upstate.
Every speaker since the Democrats recaptured the Assembly in 1974 has been a Big Apple Democrat.
Silver, who been speaker since 1994, has seen about a dozen Assembly members charged, sentenced or ousted under his watch.
And last year, Silver was caught up in Assemblyman Vito Lopez's sexual-harassment scandal.
The Manhattan lawyer is also believed to have made huge fees over the years serving as a "rainmaker" at two firms, sources said.
Silver's possible ouster comes as Cuomo — who campaigned for governor in 2010 promising to end "pay-to-play" in Albany — plans to announce broad ethics reforms.
"This is a rare moment for sweeping change," Cuomo told his aides this weekend.
The overhaul could include a Moreland Act Commission that would put influential lobbyists under oath to testify on how the system of corruption works.
Also under consideration is a ban on the "cross endorsement" of candidates of one political party by another party.
Cuomo is also eyeing a repeal of the "Wilson-Pakula" law, which allows candidates from one party to run on another party's ticket.
State Sen. Malcolm Smith planned to run for mayor on the GOP ticket but was busted by the feds last week for paying off Republican county chairmen in exchange for endorsements.
Cuomo is also considering boosting the pay of members of the state Legislature from $79,500 a year.
fdicker@nypost.com
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