#Bronx County Clerk Luis Diaz suspended amid state probe

The chief record-keeper for the Bronx court system has been suspended after the state attorney general mounted a raid on his offices amid a probe, The Post has learned.

“We were advised that the New York State Attorney General executed a search warrant at the Bronx County Clerk’s Office and we are fully cooperating with their investigation,” Office of Court Administration spokesman Lucian Chalfen said, confirming that Bronx County Clerk Luis Diaz had been suspended amid the probe.

NYS Chief Administrative Judge Marks issued an order on Sep. 30 suspending Diaz with pay and ordered the clerk to surrender keys and all access to the Bronx courthouse and directed him to “refrain” from communicating with anyone in the court system.

Diaz’s removal is the buzz within Bronx Democratic Party circles.

One political insider said the probe may be tied to a not-for-profit group. Investigators with James’ office have issued search warrants with other offices tied to the probe, the source said.

James’ office had no immediate comment.

Diaz, through an intermediary, declined comment.

The county clerk is the clerk of the state Supreme Court as well as the county and handles the filing of court papers, communication with jurors,  oversees marriage licenses and is the repository of property deeds.

Diaz, a former state assemblyman, has been the Bronx County clerk for a decade. While selected by the judiciary, the post has long been known as a plum patronage position that is made with input from political leaders.

Diaz resigned his seat after a deadline that allowed party leaders to choose his successor without a primary in a game of political musical chairs favored by the Bronx Democratic Party. He worked briefly for former Gov. David Paterson before becoming the county clerk.

Luis Diaz is not related to Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., or the borough president’s father, Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr.

His problem amid a period of dramatic change within the Bronx Democratic Party.

Borough President Diaz and Councilman Diaz — long fixtures in the Bronx Democratic Party — announced they are exiting politics. Diaz Jr., who is term-limited, announced he would not throw his hat into the ring for mayor. Diaz Sr., the councilman and controversial pentecostal minister, said he would not seek re-election.

Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, who is not seeking re-election,  also stepped down as the Bronx Democratic Party chairman. State Sen. Jamaal Bailey is the new party chairman.

The turnover also comes while lefty insurgents have won key races that have weakened the Bronx Democratic Party establishment, with the ascension of democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, insurgent Jamaal Bowman — who toppled longtime Rep. Eliot Engel in the Democratic primary and is the Democratic nominee heavily favored to win the general election — and state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi.