Jack Martins sending out Halloween scare

Talking Point

Send in the clowns

The final debate for the NYC mayoral race takes place Wednesday. If it’s anything like the last one, it’ll be a circus.

That’s mostly due to the presence of Bo Dietl, the former NYPD detective running on his own ballot line. In the last debate, he hummed and shouted and was disruptive enough to have his microphone turned off by the moderators as he sparred with Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio and Republican Assemb. Nicole Malliotakis. Since then, even on smaller stages, he has continued the show.

For example, in an appearance for “Politicians on Stoops with Coffee,” a new short video series with NYC political candidates, Dietl surprised the producers during preparation for the taping by having a gun on his person that the sound technician had to mic around.

It’s a licensed weapon, says Dietl’s spokesman.

On Monday, Dietl stood in front of the golden doors of Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse, where former corrections union leader Norman Seabrook is on trial on charges of public corruption. Dietl was focusing on the testimony of star witness Jona Rechnitz, who has dredged up stories of buying access to de Blasio through campaign donations. Dietl called de Blasio and Rechnitz “sleazebags,” and called for a new investigation into the mayor’s fundraising. (Investigations from state and federal prosecutors ended without charges in the spring.)

“Everybody’s corrupt in New York City,” Dietl said, going on to opine about being stuck on the 1 train, de Blasio’s supposed lack of ability to cry, and the “big surprise” he said voters were going to deliver on Election Day.

“New York City is outta control,” he said.

Mark Chiusano

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Pencil Point

The last defense you’ll ever need

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Daily Point

Will Nassau voters respond to a fright?

For Republicans like Nassau County executive candidate Jack Martins, arguing that you’re the one who will hold the line on taxes is practically automatic. The question is whether it is still a credible strategy in Nassau County, where the Republicans have mostly run the show and taxes are among the highest in the nation.

In a tight race and unsure that the no-new-taxes mantra can hold his base, Martins this week reverted to the GOP’s second and usually scarier pickup line: We are the only ones who can protect you from the thugs. And Martins adapted it for the fear of the moment: He implies that his Democratic opponent, Laura Curran, is downright sweet on MS-13. Gangs, especially those that can be connected to the incendiary immigration issue, are the new home invaders, a past favorite of GOPers who liked to argue that voting Democratic could be deadly.

Martins takes a swing at taxes in his latest mailer, “Jack Martins: Protecting our Families. Protecting our Tax Dollars.” But the rest of it is terror for sale, with horrifying pictures of three Latino-looking tattooed and menacing men with the warning, “Laura Curran will roll out the welcome mat for violent gangs like MS-13.”

The question is whether the message goes so far beyond believability that it will make voters question Martins more than Curran. Implying that your opponent supports the deadly MS-13 gang is so clearly untrue and over the top, it’s like saying she’s pro-leukemia. Sometimes that shrill a whistle might just make the dog want to bite the guy with the whistle.

Lane Filler