Comptroller Tom DiNapoli played down the role that his office played in the Vito Lopez sexual harassment scandal, calling it “tangential at best.”

DiNapoli’s office signed off on a voucher that approved a $103,000 settlement with an alleged victim of Lopez’s who worked in the state Legislature.

DiNapoli insisted in an interview with our NY1 colleague Josh Robin he had no direct knowledge of the settlement and the voucher until after the fact.

“Our involvement is on the process end and not from negotiating the settlement, determining the merits of the settlement — that was not in our office’s involvement,” DiNapoli said in the interview. “In terms of the role of our office, our office has a tangential role at best.”

DiNapoli echoed what Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters last week, that the settlements in state government are common, but said that process for approving such deals needs to be re-examined.

“I think we need to see more of the facts and what could have been done differently,” he said.

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