Like many others in his position, a former Manhattan lawmaker facing more than $100,000 in fines for campaign violations came up with a raft of excuses in a plea for leniency.

But the Campaign Finance Board, which levied the fines, never heard a litany of misery such as offered by ex-City Councilman Alan Gerson.

In startling legal papers, Gerson explained that his 2009 re-election campaign and its aftermath were beset by everything but plague: he caught swine flu; his campaign manager was busted for kiddie porn; his campaign treasurer died; so did his campaign special counsel and — most sadly — so did his beloved mom, who acted as campaign secretary.

Many of his records vanished when his campaign manager landed behind bars, said Gerson.

The board offered some compassion by dropping its original fine demand of more than $400,000.

But it’s still pursuing Gerson — who served from 2002 until he lost re-election in 2009 — for $111,195 for nine alleged violations.

Gerson, 57, argued that he “made a good faith basis to comply with reporting requirements” but that he was hampered by “significant adverse events that took place before and after the 2009 election.”

Those included the 2011 arrest of campaign manager David Hartshorn, a Little League coach who was imprisoned for molesting his players and possessing kiddie porn.

His mother, Sophie Gerson, a well-known Greenwich Village activist and retired teacher, died in January 2013.

A Phi Beta Kappa grad of Columbia, Gerson lived with his mother and father, Herman, and was devastated by her illness, according to a source.

“Sophie’s decline was a major factor for him. He was trying to take care of her, while the race was going on, and his father was elderly also. All of it weighed on him and his campaign,” the source said.

The legal papers also note that “in the midst of the campaign Gerson contracted Swine Flu.”

Gerson’s pro bono attorney, James O’Gara of the firm Kelley, Drye and Warren, said he was hoping for a settlement.

“There were no allegations of wrongdoing against Alan. These were all bookkeeping problems. He’s as honest as the day is long. I don’t think he would know how to be corrupt,” O’Gara told The Post.