A Manhattan con man was all smiles Friday as a judge sentenced him to three to nine years in prison for ripping off a string of former gal pals — two of whom glowered at him from the gallery.
Mauricio Palomino, 45, took a plea deal for scamming four smitten ladies out of more than $80,000 and cheating three others in a construction scam.
“Is there any dispute in your mind that you stole money from these people?” asked Justice Ann Scherzer in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“No,” Palomino answered flippantly as victims Staci Krell and Dina D’Angelo looked on.
During the brief proceeding, Palomino appeared upbeat, laughing and joking with his lawyer, David Touger.
The judge asked whether the fraudster had anything to say.
“I’m sorry. I apologize,” Palomino said, flashing a smile.
He then winked at a news photographer as he was led out of the courtroom.
Palomino, through his attorney, had offered to pay back all the stolen funds in exchange for one to three years in prison. That deal could spring him in as little as 14 months.
But Assistant District Attorney Margot Gendreau wouldn’t sign off on the wrist slap.
The smooth-talking cad entered into relationships with Krell, D’Angelo, Allison Goodman and Debra D’Aquino in quick succession from 2012 to 2014, according to court papers.
Prosecutors say that each woman loaned him money but when they demanded repayment, Palomino would make a series of excuses and then move on to his next target.
Meanwhile, he falsely claimed to be a licensed contractor who headed the firm Palomino and Associates. But the company was little more than a slick Web site, according to prosecutors.
In 2015, he was paid $300,000 to renovate a Greenwich Village man’s apartment before skipping out. He also stiffed an architect and a subcontractor by paying them with checks that bounced.