A former Mexican governor is in the United States to face charges he took massive bribes from coke smugglers and laundered millions through Lehman Brothers.

Mario Ernest Villanueva Madrid, once head of the state that includes Cancun and other beach resorts, got up to $500,000 for each shipment the notorious Juarez Cartel smuggled through his turf, prosecutors charged.

"Villanueva Madrid placed the police and state government infrastructure of Quintana Roo at the disposal of the Cartel," prosecutors alleged.

He allegedly set up bank and brokerage accounts in the United States, Switzerland, the Bahamas, Panama and Mexico, some in the name of shell corporations.

At Lehman, he worked with a registered rep who was later convicted. The accounts were seized and forfeited.

Villanueva had been on the run since 1999, but was nabbed in 2001, soon after being indicted by a federal grand jury in Manhattan.

He was extradited from Mexico to the United States on Sunday and is expected to appear Monday in Manhattan Federal Court.

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER