Mayor Bloomberg distanced himself from embattled Brooklyn Democratic boss Vito Lopez amid a growing scandal over the management of a network of not-for-profits he is closely connected to.

After being reelected to a two-year term as party leader Monday night, Lopez told reporters he expected a call from the mayor.

“I think the mayor probably, hopefully he’ll call me up and tell me congratulations about being the county leader,” Lopez said.

But Lopez ought not wait by the phone.

When asked today whether he called Lopez – also a state assemblyman – to congratulate him on his re-election as party leader, the mayor gave an uncharacteristically sharp answer about someone he has long considered a political ally.

“If he said that I didn’t hear it and I’m not in the business of congratulating people in their political machine kinds of things,” Bloomberg said at a City Hall press conferenc.

“Beats me: If that’s what the public wants or the Democratic Party wants, they’ve got a right to elect him,” the mayor continued.

The city Department of Investigation last week released a bombshell report on the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, a massive nonprofit with close ties to Lopez.

The mayor has previously defended Lopez amid the revelations about the nonprofit.

(Source: NY Post)