#NYPD caught Cuomo aide assault suspect — with help from New York Post

Cops who nabbed the homeless man accused of attacking a Cuomo staffer recognized him on the street — thanks to The Post.

The officers were reading the paper’s coverage of Thursday’s random sidewalk attack on gubernatorial worker Lisa Cavanaugh in Midtown when they spotted suspect Christopher Guzman on West 37th Street hours later, law-enforcement sources said Friday.

The NYPD cops recognized Guzman from the clothes he was wearing at the time of the 2:15 p.m. Christmas Eve attack — matching them to a surveillance photo of the suspect in the paper, sources said.

Guzman, who was taken into custody around 10 p.m. between Fifth and Sixth avenues, then tried to lie his way to freedom — but couldn’t outsmart the cops, sources said.

He gave them a fake name — but when officers ran it through the system, it came back to a person who is 6-foot-5.

Guzman stands 5-foot-5.

The suspect, who sources said also goes by the name Chris Mattei, was arrested on second-degree assault charges for allegedly bashing Cavanaugh over the head with a cinder block as she walked past a construction site on Third Avenue near East 48th Street.

He was ordered held without bail by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Jay Weiner during a 6 p.m. video conference arraignment. The judge ordered he be held for a psychiatric evaluation.

The criminal court complaint against Guzman alleged that he had followed his victim for at least a block, all the while holding the concrete block in his hands.

Guzman, who told cops he lives in a homeless hotel on West 35th Street, has been arrested before for low-level quality-of-life issues, mostly for public drinking, sources said.

Cavanaugh suffered a 2-inch-deep gash to her head and is recovering. She is believed to have been walking home from work at Cuomo’s nearby Midtown office when attacked.

Cuomo senior adviser Rich Azzopardi told The Post in a statement late Friday afternoon, more than a day after the attack, “Lisa is a valued member of Team Cuomo, and we have been in constant touch with her and her family to make sure she has everything she needs in her recovery.

“We thank the NYPD for their quick work in apprehending the person they believe attacked her.”