Fallen Empire: Actor and singer Jussie Smollett faked a racist and gay-hating attack upon himself because he was “dissatisfied with his salary” on the “Empire” television show, Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said yesterday.

  The victim is now the accused out on bail. Smollett has been charged with filing a false police report.

   Smollett is believed to be making $100,000 per episode. There’s no explanation for why he may have thought being the victim of a hate crime would get him a raise. 

  The actor paid $3500 to two Nigerian brothers he knew to fake the attack around 2 am Jan. 29, Johnson said, hitting Smollett a few times, putting a noose around his neck in front of a camera they wrongly thought would record the incident. 

  “First, Smollett attempted to gain attention by sending a false letter that relied on racial, homophobic and political language,” Johnson said. “When that didn’t work, Smollett paid $3,500 to stage this attack and drag Chicago’s reputation through the mud in the process. … This stunt was orchestrated by Smollett because he was dissatisfied with his salary. So he concocted a story about being attacked.”

  Police cracked the case by looking at video from four dozen surveillance cameras, including homeowners’ doorbell cameras. 

  Johnson, who is black, was blunt. “I’m left hanging my head and asking why? Why would anyone, especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations? How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol and see an opportunity to manipulate that symbol to further his own public profile?”

Do-over:The North Carolina Board of elections has called a new election for its 9^thCongressional District after the Republican candidate said it is necessary.

  “It’s become clear to me that public confidence in the 9th District has been undermined to an extent that a new election is warranted,” Republican Mark Harris said in a hearing. He hasn’t been seated while the election has been contested.

  Harris has been leading by 905 votes, but as many as 1,000 or more absentee ballots may have been tampered with or manipulated by an operative working for him. Harris had testified that he knew nothing of the tampering effort, but his own son said he had warned his father that the operative, Leslie Dowless, had a shady record.

The Obit Page:The bassist for the 1960s rock band “The Monkees,” Peter Tork, has died at age77. The exact cause of death was not announced, but Tork was diagnosed with tongue cancer at least 10 years ago.

  “Hey, Hey we’re the Monkees!” In the prime age of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, The Monkees were created in a Hollywood casting office for a television series about a zany rock band. They became a teeny-bop hit but were derided because they were not self-created. Even so, they made records that went to the top of the charts. For a while they outsold the Stones and Beatles. Among their hits were “Last Train to Clarksville,” “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” and “Daydream Believer.”

  Tork left the band in 1968 and eventually became a high school teacher.

The News Roundup:The US will leave 200 troops in Syria after President Trump’s announced pullout of all 200 Americans. It’s a minor retreat from the President’s policy. —The Coast Guard lieutenant accused of plotting to carry out mass murder of political enemies used his computer at work to do his research and planning. — An Internal Revenue Service employee has been charged with leaking confidential information regarding financial transactions made by President Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen. 

Free Throw Line:Duke basketball star Zion Williamson dropped to the court the other night when his Nike shoe fell apart, and now basketball writers are wondering when a college player is too valuable to play college ball.

 Williamson’s show practically exploded when he pivoted. He sprained a ligament in the fall and is expected to recover to play again in a week or two, but he risks the loss of millions of dollars if he does.

  At 6-9 and 280 pounds, the Duke freshman forward is considered the best player in the college game this year. He’s expected to go professional at the end of the season, but if he suffers a bad injury before then, his draft value could drop and he’ll lose a fortune. If he returns, though, Duke would have a shot at a sixth national championship. 

Snowbirds:It’s snowing on all those people who have retreated to Arizona to dodge winter. At least two feet of snow have fallen in Flagstaff and portions of major highways have been closed. Heavy rain is expected in Phoenix.

Just Shut Up:President Trump’s acolyte Roger Stone has been ordered by a federal judge to stop talking publicly about his case. Stone was taken to the woodshed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson after he posted a picture of her on Instagram with the crosshairs of a gunsight in the background. 

  The posting suggested that Stone was the victim of a “deep state” conspiracy. He told the judge it was a “stupid lapse in judgement.” Stupid lapses in judgement are what have brought Stone to where he is in life — under federal indictment.

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