Rob Astorino is asking US Attorney Preet Bharara — already probing Gov. Cuomo in the Moreland Commission scandal — to widen his investigation to include a widespread “pattern of fraud” involving Cuomo’s newly created Women’s Equality Party.
The Republican gubernatorial hopeful, citing six recent state Board of Elections decisions tossing Democratic Senate candidates off the WEP ballot line because of unlawful nominating petitions, said that both the US Attorney’s Office and district attorneys where the Senate races are being held should seek to hold those responsible criminally liable.
“I think that law enforcement should look at this pattern of fraudulent behavior by the Cuomo campaign,’’ Astorino, the Westchester County executive, told The Post.
“The fact that so many of the signatures were thrown out indicates that the gathering was done by the same team.
“Somebody needs to investigate this. It could be the US Attorney’s Office, it could be the district attorneys, but it needs to be investigated because you’re talking about the integrity of the electoral process,’’ he continued.
The Board of Elections last week knocked Democrat Justin Wagner, running to fill the seat being vacated by Sen. Greg Ball (R-Putnam), off the WEP line after invalidating 60 percent of the 4,602 petition signatures filed on his behalf.
Earlier this month, upstate Democratic Sen. Cecelia Tkaczyk was also denied the WEP line after the board determined that 3,160 of 4,444 signatures on her behalf were invalid.
The state board invalidated WEP petitions for four other Democratic Senate hopefuls.
In August, Astorino’s lawyers filed a “general challenge” to Cuomo’s WEP petitions after concluding that “there was obvious fraud’’ involving many of the signatures, said spokeswoman Jessica Proud.
But they didn’t follow up with the legally required “specific challenges’’ because of a lack of time and a lack of funds to pay for the legal costs involved, according to Proud.
Cuomo established the new WEP line in July in hopes of boosting his showing among female voters. He has also vowed to use it to help Democrats win a majority of seats in the Senate.
The husband of a top official at President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency, which dealt Cuomo a major blow this month by blocking nearly $500 million in federal funds from being used for the new Tappan Zee Bridge, is quietly working to defeat Cuomo in November, The Post has learned.
Mark Dunlea, whose wife, Judith Enck, heads EPA’s Region 2 — covering New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands — is serving as a key adviser to Green Party gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins, who is seen by Cuomo as siphoning votes away from the Democratic ticket.
Dunlea, a self-described “community organizer, longtime anti-poverty, food-justice and peace advocate,’’ appeared at several events with Hawkins in recent days, while seeking to keep a low profile.
“His wife is hoping to become the national head of the EPA if Hillary Clinton becomes president, and she’s worried that Mark’s activities could get in the way of that,’’ a source told The Post.
Hawkins called Dunlea’s campaign activities a “sensitive issue because of his wife’s position.’’