The Politicker now reports that Joseph Mercurio, fired earlier today by Virginia Fields, is spilling the beans. While seeming to still support Fields as a candidate, he claims it was the Fields campaign staff that committed the Photoshop crime and Virginia Fields herself approved the questionable flyer.

Mercurio is putting the blame squarely at the feet of Chung Seto, Fields campaign manager, and Milton Wilson, the campaign treasurer.

If Fields saw or approved of the flyer, why is she denying it now? As some have said, this now is not so much about the crime, but the alleged cover-up.

Comments for the Politicker post are here.

Update: NY1 Inside City Hall interviewed Joe Mercurio on his and others' roles in Photo-Gate. For the first time, we hear him state that he was the one who talked Fields into running. The photoshopped flyer contained photos from a press conference held by Fields dealing with the Second Avenue Subway (Fields' position on that issue is another story altogether). While admitting to his role in the original design of the piece, he claims the flyer had not been finalized and was printed over his objections.

However, Fields claims Mercurio is "unprofessional" and she won't dignify his claims with a response. He says, "she knows I'm right."

To listen to the Inside City Hall interview (audio only), click here.

And in the NY1 Reporter's Roundtable, Tom Robbins of the Village Voice was heard to say, "... this is a wafer-thin candidate who -- with a hard look by the press in this town -- could not have stood up much longer, and the fact that she botched this one so badly is very telling about her capabilities."

To listen to the NY1 Reporters' Roundtable (audio only), click here.