It’s time to stop pensions for crooks!

Two weeks after disgraced former New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi was sentenced to 1 to 4 years in prison for his role in a “pay-to-play” scheme, Governor Cuomo continued his fight against corruption by proposing “Hevesi’s Law,” a pension reform plan aimed at keeping future elected officials and state employees from collecting pension packages if they’re found guilty of a felony connected to an abuse of power.

Of the bill, Cuomo stated, “It is long past time that we learned the lessons of the Hevesi case and made permanent changes to our system that will stop the culture of corruption.”

The governor deserves to be commended.

Under current state law, the lucrative pension packages of public officials are guaranteed, even if they’re found guilty of a criminal act. Cuomo’s proposal will finally hold more accountable corrupt public employees who use their offices for dishonest purposes and to enrich themselves and their cohorts.

Although “Hevesi’s Law” isn’t the bill’s official title, it is more than appropriate given the laundry list of former elected officials convicted of crimes who continue to live off taxpayer-funded state pensions. Hevesi, a two-term Democrat, was found guilty of participating in a scheme in which he received $1 million in travel expenses and other benefits in exchange for awarding $250 million in pension fund business to an investor. Federal prosecutors recently issued Sen. Carl Kruger, a Brooklyn Democrat, a 53-page criminal complaint alleging that he collected at least $1 million in bribes in return for political favors.

And of course, we can’t forget former Sens. Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate. Espada funneled more than $500,000 of federal funds into his Bronx health clinic and then famously used the money on Broadway tickets, luxury cars and sushi. Monserrate siphoned $300,000 of state funds into his not-for-profit. He then used the funds to finance his re-election campaign. In addition, Monserrate was accused of slashing his girlfriend in the face.