Michael Jackson’s finances are a little better than we thought. That may be because Miami loan king Al Malnik is on his side.

I am told that Malnik was instrumental in a recent restructuring of Jackson’s finances – no mean feat considering his tumultuous history. I am also told that Jackson’s ability to pay his $3 million bail and multimillion legal bills may come from Malnik’s largesse and interest in his career.

On the new “Greatest Hits” album, Malnik’s name is one of the few who are mentioned under “special thanks” from the singer.

Malnik was the lawyer for late mobster Meyer Lansky, and when Lansky died in 1983, Reader’s Digest called Malnik the mobster’s “heir apparent,” a moniker that has been repeated frequently.

Malnik has become very close to Jackson in recent years. And according to my sources, he’s loaned Jackson money – lots of it.

The 69-year-old lawyer is the owner of a famous restaurant called The Forge in Miami. But his real business is loaning money – just what Jackson needs right now.

Malnik’s firm, Title Loans of America, is a national chain of loan stores that makes money from the interest charged on quick cash offered to people who need it fast, according to The Palm Beach Post.

The New York Times reported in 2000 that Malnik was cited by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission in 1980 and 1992 as “a person of unsuitable character.”

Malnik is popular on the Miami social scene with his new wife Nancy, and he has always denied mob ties. He was arrested and tried in April 1969 for income-tax evasion, but was subsequently acquitted, according to The Miami Herald.

Calls to Malnik at The Forge went unreturned.