As a report from a state ethics panel reportedly detailing his sexual harassment of female staffers was sent last week to the Legislature, the office of Assemblyman Vito Lopez in a statement today announced that the Brooklyn Democrat has pneumonia for the second time in nine months.

Lopez’s office says that the once-powerful Brooklyn powerbroker who was considering a run for city Council later this year is “extremely fatigued” and has limited mobility due to the illness.

The recuperation period is expected to last anywhere from a month to two months and “possibly longer.”

The full statement:

Assemblyman Vito Lopez was diagnosed last week with pneumonia, for the 2nd time in 9 months. The pneumonia has caused Assembly Vito Lopez to be extremely fatigued and seriously mobility limited. The recuperation period is anticipated to be 4-8 weeks and possibly longer due Assembly Lopez diminished immune system and deteriorating health.

Lopez was accused last year of sexually harassing several female aides, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver quietly approved more than $100,000 in settlement money. Lopez kicked in $32,000 of his own money.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics this month forwarded its findings to the Legislative Ethics Commission which, with limited exceptions, must make the report public within the next month.

The report exonerates Silver of any wrongdoing and his office has urged the release of the JCOPE report.

It’s unclear what to make of this development: Will it mean an end of any consideration of a run for City Council? Is it a precursor to a resignation? Regardless, it seems unlikely that Lopez will be publicly visible when the report is released.

Another weird side note: Lopez’s statement appears to have been only sent to several reporters, all based here in Albany: Ken Lovett of The Daily News, Erik Kriss of The New York Post, the TU’s Jimmy Vielkind and our own Liz Benjamin.

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