Brooklyn assemblyman Vito Lopez, who is pushing hard to win the county's Democratic Party leadership post made vacant by the conviction of his former assembly colleague, Clarence Norman, Jr., has something else in common with Norman: Both men used political campaign committees to pay for their personal cars, and then accepted mileage reimbursement from the legislature - a legal no-no according to Brooklyn District Attorney Charles "Joe" Hynes who won indictments against Norman for that very offense.

State election board filings show that since 1999 the Bushwick pol's campaign committee, "Friends of Vito Lopez," has routinely shelled out $500 a month in leasing costs for his Acura sports car, and another $2800 a year for his auto insurance costs. It also pays more than $200 a month for a luxury dashboard computer service. In addition, the committee picks up a monthly American Express bill for the assemblyman, a tab that runs from $400 to $8,000 a month.