A wannabe-wiseguy who turned government stool pigeon was reduced to tears Thursday when a Post reporter told him his lawsuit against the feds got a thumbs up from a judge.

Genovese mobster-turned-FBI informant Joseph Barone, 54, sobbed tears of joy when told he’d been given the green light to sue the feds for prosecuting him in a murder-for-hire that he claims was all part of his informant act.

“My whole thing is this, I want justice for people like me who served the government,” Barone said through sobs. “I’m far from the tough guy I pretended to be,” he said, his voice cracking.
Barone, who ratted for the feds for 18 years, was acquitted of the murder plot, involving a $1 million life insurance policy payout, in 2010.

A few years later, he sued the government, including several FBI agents, saying they actually threw him in jail to punish him for refusing to collect telephone surveillance on high-ranking mobsters.

His initial lawsuit was tossed, but a Manhattan federal judge Thursday said Barone could move forward with a revised version, which seeks damages in an amount to be determined at trial for “loss of his liberty” and “emotional distress.”

A spokesman for the Manhattan US Attorney’s office, which is defending the case, declined to comment on the judge’s decision.

“How do you find justice when I shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place?” Barone told The Post. “It’s no better than what a wiseguy would do.

“My life is in danger for the rest of my life. I was told if I was seen I would be killed,” Barone said of his old mob pals.

He said a price was put on his head as recently as last summer at “a rally where wise guys” were hanging out.

“A guy, he was drunk, got up on the stage and said, I will give $100,000 for Joe Barone’s head.”

Barone said he has also been told that members of a Social Club in the Bronx, where his former pals hang out, have been using his picture for target practice.

Barone is seeking $825,000 over lost income from his time in the slammer; $450,000 for legal bills; $400,000 for “physical and emotional injuries,” and $500,000 for selling his home “in a depressed market solely to escape mob retribution against him.”

But even if the case makes it to trial, Barone may not get as much money as he initially wanted because Judge Lewis Kaplan Thursday threw cold water on some of Barone’s claims.

“The alleged losses plaintiff seeks with respect to the sale of his home are too speculative to constitute special damages,” Judge Kaplan said. The judge also tossed Barone’s request for the government to pay his medical expenses.

Barone’s lawyer didn’t return a request for comment.