PAPI PULLED JOB STRINGS

By BRENDAN SCOTT and FREDRIC U. DICKER Post Correspondents

ALBANY -- Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. personally requested that his son be put on the Senate payroll, a senior Senate Democrat told The Post yesterday.

Espada listed a plum job for his son, Pedro G. Espada, among several perks the senator needed after rejoining the Democrats as majority leader and ending a five-week stalemate in July, the source said.

Espada made the demand -- a potential violation of state nepotism laws -- in a conversation with John Flateau, a top aide to Senate Democratic Conference leader John Sampson, of Brooklyn, the source said.

"Senator Espada definitely raised the hiring of his son with [Sampson chief of staff] John Flateau," according to the Senate Democrat.

"Flateau told people earlier this week that Espada called him and told him he needed to discuss things that he needed as the new majority leader."

Espada requested more office space and a job for fellow coup architect Steve Pigeon, two perks that were later granted.

"Then he said, 'I want my son hired,' he wanted to get his son a job," the Senate Democrat said.

The younger Espada abruptly quit a specially created $120,000-a-year position as Flateau's deputy Wednesday after The Post revealed he was still working at his father's Bronx health clinic and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo launched an investigation into the hire.

Yesterday, a Post reporter observed that a plate bearing the elder Espada's name had been installed on a door to the bare office that was supposed to belong to his son.

Espada has denied any knowledge of his son's hiring.

A spokesman for Sampson declined to comment on the conversation between Flateau and Espada.

Sources say that Espada initially sought to hire his son as his chief of staff but that Senate Democrats decided the appointment would be illegal.

Sampson aides insist Flateau then independently decided to hire the younger Espada as his deputy.

The Brooklyn senator announced that all future appointments would be approved by a panel of three top officials -- Flateau, Senate Secretary Angelo Aponte and Senate Counsel Shelley Mayer. A Sampson spokesman said Espada would not submit a timecard and would not get paid for his week on the job.

Sources close to Cuomo said the attorney general was satisfied with Espada's resignation and would not pursue the probe.

"We believe the Espadas have made a legally correct and appropriate decision," Cuomo said.

For the first time, Democratic senators stepped forward to publicly criticize the hiring practices of their leadership.

"This makes me more embarrassed and makes the Senate look even worse than it has already -- and that's hard to imagine," said Sen. Neil Breslin (D-Albany).

Additional reporting by Douglas Montero and Sally Goldenberg.