Mayor de Blasio and Borough President Melinda Katz spared only one Thomas Galante backer when they axed eight other trustees who had supported the disgraced Queens Public Library honcho — and it turns out that lucky survivor has ties to both pols.
De Blasio and Katz didn’t lay a finger on Mary Ann Mattone, 66, who happens to be the wife of developer Joseph Mattone, and whose family has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic races, including those of Katz and Hizzoner.
Mattone’s son, Carl, 55, even headlined a Katz fund-raiser in Douglaston, Queens, this summer.
But while her eight fellow pro-Galante trustees were publicly ousted two weeks ago, Mattone, a mayoral appointee, was able to lay low on the troubled board until Tuesday, when she quietly resigned directly to de Blasio.
Mattone stepped down so quietly, in fact, that a board spokeswoman was still unaware of her resignation Wednesday, until told of it by a reporter.
Galante is under investigation by the city, the US attorney general and the FBI for alleged improprieties including lavish spending and his nearly $ 400,000-a-year salary.
Disgraced Queens Public Library honcho Thomas Galante is under investigation for questionable behavior.
None of the eight pro-Galante trustees ousted by de Blasio and Katz had ever donated a cent to the two pols, let alone hosted a fund-raiser, records show.
“Her family had a fund-raiser for Melinda just a couple weeks before — that’s the only reason I can think of,” said one of the ousted board members, Joseph Ficalora, when asked about Mattone’s apparent preferential treatment.
Mattone and her eight colleagues had all voted to keep high-spending Galante as library president back in April. Nine other members voted to have him take a leave of absence.
Joseph Mattone is a longtime Queens attorney and developer who manages or holds major interests in dozens of office, residential and retail properties, including Jamaica Center, the high-rise Azure apartments on East 91st St. and No’s. 1, 2 and 9 MetroTech in Brooklyn.
Last year, his development company donated $ 25,000 to Gov. Cuomo, along with $ 2,500 to de Blasio. Mary Ann donated $ 2,675 to de Blasio last year.
Additional reporting by Laura Italiano
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