Poor, poor Ruben Diaz: his fellow Gang of Four member, Hiram Monserrate, just said adios and made a deal. Per Liz:

Senator-elect Hiram Monserrate and Senate Majority Leader-in-Waiting Malcolm Smith are poised to announce that the incoming lawmaker will support his fellow Queens Democrat for leader, sources confirm. He is the first member of the gang to formally endorse Smith.

The deal was sealed late last night here in San Juan, according to the sources, who are both in Puerto Rico and back home in Albany and have been briefed on the details of the agreement.

"He was losing leverage by the hour; there wasn't much more than he could extract," one source said.

In exchange for his support, Monserrate will be tapped to head the Consumer Affairs Committee and also chair the new Latino caucus that Smith pledged to create in an effort to woo the three Hispanic Gang of Four members who felt their community has long been under-represented and under-appreciated by the Senate Democrats.

Better get busy negotiating, guys, because the best deal will go to the next one to embrace the inevitable. Who's it going to be?

Stay tuned.