The Harlem real estate developer charged alongside disgraced ex-Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin flipped on the forced-to-resign pol and pleaded guilty to a number of charges in a secret federal court hearing, newly unsealed court records reveal. 

During the April 11 hearing in Manhattan federal court, Gerald Migdol admitted he set up fraudulent campaign contributions for Benjamin’s failed 2019 bid for city comptroller in an effort to unlock public matching funds from the city for the Harlem Democrat. 

“I entered into a quid pro quo agreement with Brian Benjamin, who was then a state senator,” Migdol told Magistrate Judge Ona Wang, according to a transcript of the hearing unsealed this week. 

“Specifically, he offered to obtain a $50,000 state grant for my charitable organization in exchange for campaign contributions that I agreed to give him and procure for him. In furtherance of the agreement, calls were made, and texts and emails were sent to and from Manhattan,” he added. 

He continued: “I agreed with others to misrepresent and conceal the sources of certain contributions to Brian Benjamin’s political campaign. The fraudulent contributions were intended to enable Brian Benjamin’s campaign to procure public matching funds under false pretenses.”

Benjamin was arrested the day after the hearing and charged in Manhattan federal court for the campaign donation scheme.

He’s pleaded not guilty to five total counts while vowing to clear his name to possibly run for public office in the future.

His fall created a political headache for Gov. Kathy Hochul, who chose him as her No. 2 and who had stood by him in his final weeks in office despite mounting questions about his personal ethics.

The embattled governor eventually overcame what one lawmaker called a “clusterf–k” of resistance from Albany Democrats opposed to passing legislation allowing Benjamin’s removal from the June primary ballot.

Incoming Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, a Hudson Valley congressman, will now run alongside Hochul as she pursues a full term in office after replacing disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year.  

After Migdol’s arrest weeks ago, the New York Times reported that he was cooperating with the investigation, but that was not publicly confirmed until the unsealing of the guilty plea Tuesday. 

An attorney for Migdol did not immediately respond to a request for comment.