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Justice. Only Justice Shall Thou Pursue
Showing posts with label Pedro Espada Jr.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pedro Espada Jr.. Show all posts
This is Pedro Espada we're talking about here. Nothing would be beyond him. After all, he's claimed that the FBI and law enforcement were using black magic to secure convictions against him and his son (the jury did find him guilty on four charges that could send him away for up to 40 years, but mistrials were declared on the remaining counts against him and his son).
Not only did convicted ex-state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr., treat the Soundview Healthcare Network as his personal piggy bank — he also made the taxpayer-funded clinic pay for his defense team, The Post has learned.
The financially crippled Bronx medical charity that Espada founded — and from which he was convicted this week of stealing nearly $500,000 — has forked over an estimated $1 million to $1.5 million more to pay for the thieving pol’s lawyers, sources told The Post.
“Soundview has been paying for his criminal defense,” a source said of Espada’s fees for his lead defense lawyer, Susan Necheles, and her assistants.
That's at a time when Soundview is turning away more and more of its clients and is finding a cash crunch due to the state and federal government turning off the Medicare spigot.
Normally, Soundview would tap an insurance policy to cover legal suits by its officials, but the insurance company refused to authorize the coverage because of the claims involved so Soundview officials (including Espada's relatives) took it upon themselves to pony up the funds for his defense. Don't count on any of that money getting reimbursed down the road either.
After spending the better part of two weeks deliberating without a verdict and various reports indicating that there was a possibility of a hung jury, the jury came back with a verdict on four of the counts against ex-Democrat ex-State Senator Pedro Espada Jr.
The jury found him guilty of theft and fraud relating to charges incurred by Soundview Healthcare Network, a charitable health care entity that Espada founded and operated for decades:
He faces 10 years in prison for every guilty count.
The jury, after delivering those four "guilty" findings, then resumed deliberating on the remaining four criminal counts against Espada — and the eight remaining counts against his son, Pedro Gautier Espada, who is accused in the same scheme.
The Espadas are accused of looting more than $500,000 from Soundview Healthcare Network by having the federally supported non-profit pay for personal expenses ranging from Puerto Rican vacations to sushi dinners to family birthday parties.
Those expenses were allegedly falsely claimed to be related to legitimate business purposes for Soundview, which is supposed to help poor Bronx residents get quality health care.
Three of today's theft convictions of Espada relate to swindling that occurred from 2005 to 2007, while the fourth conviction was for a combined theft and fraud charge. The convictions mean that Espada faces the potential of at least 40 years behind bars, regardless of the outcome of further deliberations.
The jury had been deadlocked over whether they could find Espada guilty separate from the acts of his son, Pedro G. Espada. They apparently came to a resolution on the father's acts on a number of the allegations, and may well find his son guilty of the same charges.
Espada has been in the news before. He had previously been part of an attempt to shift political control in the State Senate (the coup) when he and fellow Democrat Hiram Monserrate defected to the GOP to try and gain more power for themselves, and has been at odds with Gov. Andrew Cuomo (who initiated the investigation into Soundview while Cuomo was the state's Attorney General).
Investigators had been looking into Bronx Democrat Pedro Espada, Jr's misconduct relating to how he operates a nonprofit health care operation for more than a year. Indictments were finally handed down today, and the allegations are pretty serious:
The long-expected indictments came months after Espada – who stalled state government last year when he bolted from the Democratic to Republican party then back again – lost his primary re-election campaign.
Espada and his son, Pedro Gautier Espada, are due in court tomorrow to answer the five embezzlement counts and one count of conspiracy that netted them at least $500,000.
"The indictment alleges that funds that could and should have been applied to purchase medical equipment and enhance health care services for an historically under-served population were diverted by the defendants for their personal use and to benefit friends and family members," said US Attorney Lynch.
The both face more 55 years in prison.
Between 2005 and 2009, Espada and son, used the Soundview Healthcare Center, which received about a $1 million a year in federal funds alone, as their personal piggy bang, federal prosecutors charged.
Former New York State Senator Hiram Monserrate, a Democrat from Queens, was indicted on federal corruption charges, including mail fraud and conspiracy.
Mr. Monserrate, who was a New York police officer before entering politics, was accused of steering $300,000 in discretionary city money to a group he controlled and using at least one-third of it to pay for his first run for the New York State Senate.
It is unclear how much of it was put to legitimate use. “We are still in the process of looking at information and calculating things,” said Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan.
The charges are another embarrassment for Mr. Monserrate, whose political career was unraveled by a criminal conviction that resulted in his becoming the first lawmaker expelled from the State Legislature since Calvin Coolidge was president. Mr. Monserrate surrendered on Tuesday, becoming the latest lawmaker from New York City to stand accused of public corruption.
According to an indictment, workers at Libre served as an extension of Mr. Monserrate’s campaign, going door to door in western Queens, registering voters and collecting signatures to get Mr. Monserrate on the ballot in 2006.
“Worthy nonprofits have access to public money because they’re meant to be a resource to the community, not a piggy bank to politicians,” Mr. Bharara said at a news conference.
For those who have followed Monserrate's exploits, this is not surprising. Monserrate has done little to show that he upholds the law and has repeatedly shown that he is nothing more than a thug in a suit (witness the conviction on misdemeanor assault on his girlfriend and subsequent expulsion from the Senate).
The truly sad part is that many politicians have set up nonprofits that operate in much the same way that Monserrate had done. They then feed those nonprofits from member items that are included in the annual budget and put their own family and friends to work at those nonprofits.
Among those whose nonprofits are being scoured for criminality, Monserrate's partner in crime, Pedro Espada Jr. It was this duo that decided to shut down the State Senate and engaged in a "coup" to give power back to the Republicans because the duo wanted more power and control in the Democratic caucus. Four other New York legislators have found themselves in jail for similar setups.
What kind of message did voters send based on last night's election returns?
Mixed messages - and it totally depends on the race we're talking about.
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY15) won reelecting pretty handily despite being up on ethics charges that could get him booted from the House. His constituents didn't seem to mind, and it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that the primary was the only chance to unseat him. What does that say about his constituents in Harlem? They don't care about his criminality and illegal acts - including evading paying taxes in multiple jurisdictions and to the IRS?
At the same time, the nutter Carl Paladino handily beat the GOP preferred Rick Lazio. Neither of these guys are world beaters and Paladino is a nut job whose racist and bigoted comments surely reflect his true mindset and views on the diverse population found throughout the state. He has money to burn, and that surely helped him beat Lazio. Paladino seems to have touched a nerve of discontent, but it will not be sufficient to beat Cuomo in November.
Paladino really doesn't have a chance at beating Andy Cuomo in November, but he might make it interesting with tons of money to devote to his campaign. What the primary showed is that the GOP is particularly weak in NYS - something I've been noting for years and that the GOP establishment has few candidates to run for statewide offices except retreads - Lazio was last seen running as a replacement for Rudy when Rudy withdrew from the US Senate race against Hillary Clinton following his prostate cancer diagnosis. Before that, he was pretty much a nobody - and will again return to obscurity.
I think the real story is that voters are fickle - and that predicting the outcome in November is going to be a tall order. The Delaware outcome may have made a GOP takeover in the Senate more difficult because the candidate chosen, O'Donnell is less electable than Castle. That's a slim bit of good news for Democrats on an otherwise difficult election season.
The Bronx Democrat still owes the state Board of Elections $10,310 for failing to turn over timely financial disclosure forms, board spokesman John Conklin told the Daily News on Tuesday.
Espada had vowed to pay off the full balance of his penalty - $13,553 - when Senate President Malcolm Smith threatened to take formal action against him last year.
He's coughed up a paltry $3,243 since his promise.
"It's a disgrace," said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group. "After repeated promises to do otherwise, the majority leader is still in violation of the state election law."
Espada racked up the fines two years ago for failing to register 41periodic campaign spending reports as required by law.
He's since handed over just 20 backdated reports, Conklin said.
Watchdogs say that without the reports there is no way of knowing who contributes to Espada's campaigns - or how he spends the money.
"We knew he was an extortionist, holding the chamber up for ransom, but now he's a deadbeat, too," one exasperated Senate Democratic colleague scoffed, noting the coup effort Espada led last summer.
Neither Espada, who faces a tough three-way primary on Sept. 14, nor his spokesman could be reached for comment.
Despite his chicanery and clear disregard for state law, Espada may yet win the primary and general elections in November. That's not only an indictment of the state of current politics in New York, but a refusal by his constituents to send him packing despite his disregard for state law and other legal and ethics problems.
This couldn't happen to a nicer guy. A day after New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo launched a civil investigation into New York Democrat State Senator Pedro Espada's dealings with Soundview Health's finances and alleged that Espada was basically engaging in corporate malfeasance, the feds and state law enforcement launched their own criminal investigation.
Agents from the FBI, IRS and Cuomo's office swooped in around 7 a.m., removing boxes of material from the rear entrance used by boardmembers and Espada. Agents also used boltcutters to break open two large shipping containers being used as makeshift offices and stacked with "Vote Pedro Espada" campaign literature and boxes of files.
Officials appeared to be focusing on financial documents: Cardboard boxes removed were labeled, in black marker, "payroll master control," "payroll register," and "timesheets." Many of those boxes dealt with 2005 records.
It did not appear that anyone was arrested. Cuomo is expected to make a statement about the raid later this morning.
Yesterday, Cuomo called criminal charges "a very real possibility," and said the scale of Espada's alleged misconduct was "outrageous."
A source said the raid was conducted early this morning to minimize disruption for patients. Soundview remains open, according to patients, even as federal agents rife through the offices of some of the executive members.
Patients and workers are being allowed to enter, but federal agents have blocked off the center's administration offices where they are sifting through evidence.
Patients were not surprised.
Maria Ortiz, 54, said, "They're late on this. They should have done this years ago."
Cuomo had alleged that Soundview was being used as Espada's personal piggy bank and that more than $80,000 was taken by Espada for trips and restaurant meals. He even used it as a line of credit:
Cuomo in the civil suit charged that Espada used his not-for-profit health center as a "personal piggy bank" to pay for family trips and $80,000 in restaurant bills - including $20,000 in sushi.
Sources say Espada stuck his health clinic with the tab for $9,480 in JetBlue tickets to San Juan and $20,000 in sports and theater tickets.
"Siphoning money from a charity would be egregious under any circumstances, but the fact that this was orchestrated by the state Senate majority leader makes it especially reprehensible," Cuomo said.
Cuomo said Espada, founder and president of the Bronx's Soundview HealthCare Network, used the organization as a line of credit, running up $450,000 in personal expenses on his corporate credit card and $100,000 in campaign expenses.
Espada continues to claim that he did nothing wrong and that Cuomo is doing this for political purposes and that he'll be vindicated.
I doubt it.
Espada is one of the shadier characters in Albany, and was at the center of the coup that turned the Senate over to the GOP last year for several months (along with disgraced Democrat Hiram Monserrate) after Democrats won the chamber for the first time in decades. He's in politics for his personal enrichment and his constituents are a distant concern. Apparently, so are those who rely on Soundview for their health care.
UPDATE:
Here's more on Espada's take on Cuomo's investigation:
New York State Senator Pedro Espada is many things, but environmentalist can't be counted as one of them. Even his son, Pedro G. Espada, who fancies himself as "director of environmental care" for his father's "nonprofit" health care entity, Soundview Health Center, isn't an environmentalist, not when he's busy buying up gas guzzlers to add to the Center's roster of cars.
The CCDC, which runs five Soundview Health Center clinics for the needy, has bought a series of upscale gas-guzzlers, including a Cadillac Deville, a GMC Envoy SUV and luxury Chrysler 300C -- periodically replacing them with newer vehicles, records show.
Pedro G., 35, who makes an estimated $90,000 a year as the charity's "director of environmental care," had three of his own vehicles parked at the clinics last week: a black 2006 BMW, a white Ford van and a white 2007 Yukon Denali XL, which had a $50,000 base price.
But he isn't the only Soundview staffer getting a sweet ride.
Sen. Espada (D-Bronx) himself uses a luxury car paid for with his charity's money and allows the use of other cars by top employees, including his daughter-in-law and a woman convicted of committing fraud for one of his campaigns.
At Soundview headquarters on White Plains Road, Sen. Espada, who collects nearly $460,000 a year in salary and benefits as the charity's CEO, got into a 2008 Chrysler 300C sedan driven by someone who picked him up. The car is registered to the charity.
Spokesman Fear said, "No Soundview employee is paid to act as a chauffeur." He did not say whether the CCDC paid for outside drivers.
Cars bought by Sen. Espada, including a gas guzzling Ford Expedition, were turned around and "sold" to Soundview and at a price that doesn't quite match anything found in Kelly Blue Book. It makes little sense why Soundview would need that kind of car in any event, but given the way that the Espadas treat this "nonprofit" as a personal profit center, it's little wonder that Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is looking into irregularities.
For those following New York politics, Pedro Espada Jr., is the lightning rod for the clown circus that has described the Albany legislature and how the State Senate devolved into a abject mess. Espada, along with Hiram Monserrate, both Democrats, led a month long revolt against Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (another Democrat). Their actions led to the GOP recovering control of the chamber for a month, although Democrats protested and claimed that Espada and Monserrate's actions never gave Democrats control.
Espada used the episode to force Smith out, insert John Sampson as a party leader, and had himself installed as a party leader himself as he switched affiliations back once he secured the changes to the Democrat leadership. It was always about his own power, not about the business of the people of the state of New York.
Apparently, he also managed to get his son, Pedro G. Espada, a cushy job at the State Senate as well. It was a $120,000 annual salary, and apparently it didn't require him to show up and may involve double dipping and nepotism.
I know what you're thinking.
Like father. Like son.
Pedro G. Espada's sudden departure as the Senate's "deputy director of intergovernmental relations" came as Attorney General Andrew Cuomo began looking into whether the elder Espada had arranged for the position in violation of state law.
The resignation also follows The Post's discovery yesterday that the younger Espada was MIA from his new state job -- which a source in Cuomo's office said triggered his decision to bail out.
Since last Thursday, when he was put on the state payroll, Espada was supposed to be working at 250 Broadway, where the state Senate has a suite of offices. But yesterday, The Post watched him arrive at the Soundview Health Center in The Bronx in his white GMC Yukon at about 10 a.m.
His appearance at the center, where he has worked for eight years -- and where his stepson told The Post Tuesday he was still working -- comes after a source said this week that he hadn't been seen at 250 Broadway.
Yesterday, the elder Espada walked outside the health center and insisted his son was no longer employed at Soundview as "director of environmental care" and was working full-time at his state post.
When pressed on why his son was in the building, the senator groped for an explanation: "His official date of resignation is when . . . I really don't know. He's cleaning out his personal stuff."
Soon after, the son called a Post photographer's cellphone and insisted he was in fact already at the Senate's offices at 250 Broadway.
Later that afternoon, Senate Democrats agreed to show The Post a room purported to be the younger Espada's office in the Senate's 19th-floor suite at 250 Broadway.
But Espada -- who arrived at the building only after being told that The Post was on the scene -- seemed unfamiliar with the layout of the office suite. At one point, he appeared to take direction to his office from a Senate spokesman who chaperoned the interview.
So, let's recap. Espada's son appeared to get a job in the State Senate paying $120,000 a year, had yet to show up for the job even though he was on the payroll, and was still apparently working at his former job, all while the Attorney General was looking into just how exactly he got the job.
I'm sure there's an innocent explanation for all this. Or not.
I'm leaning towards the "or not." Espada clearly doesn't think that rules and laws apply to him as per his conduct during the Senate upheaval. This is just more evidence of same.
Cuomo needs to put the hammer down on Espada and Monserrate and the other politicians who think that the law doesn't apply to them.
State workers in Albany New York decided that they knew how best to spend their working hours. They built themselves a man-cave at Empire State Plaza, from which they slept on the job when they weren't busy dealing drugs:
A state janitor and his boss built a secret “man cave” at a downtown garage near the Empire State Plaza that they used to sell drugs, smoke pot and sleep during work hours, according to the state Inspector General.
Gary Pivoda, a cleaner, and Louis Marciano, an Office of General Services supervisor in charge of the East Garage cleaning crew, gave co-workers special access to their hidden party lounge outfitted with sofas, a TV and a scale for weighing marijuana.
Investigators said Pivoda and Marciano routinely arrived at work at 4 p.m., got high, then slept while other janitors cleaned Pivoda’s section of the East Garage at Madison Avenue and Eagle Street.
The Inspector General alleges that Pivoda made evening drug deliveries in his OGS truck to electricians, plumbers and other state employees.
Two garage co-workers were arrested in December for smoking pot at work. State Police dismantled the “man cave” in a late-night raid Tuesday, the IG’s office said in a statement announcing the investigation.
Both are suspended without pay from the Office of General Services.
City Councilman Miguel Martinez Thursday admitted he'd stolen thousands of taxpayer dollars through a series of scams that began in his first days in office.
Martinez pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and revealed he'd pilfered $106,000 in Council funds through various schemes from October 2002 through spring 2008.
The Daily News first reported Martinez's self-dealing in April 2008 - triggering a city Department of Investigation probe, which led to the criminal charges.
The New York Times and other media outlets consider the five week delay to have cost the state and the city tens of millions of dollars in the form of lost revenues from tax hikes.
The senators stayed until about 2 a.m. Friday to pass bills that were largely noncontroversial but often critical to balancing the budgets of cities and counties across the state. They concluded by passing a sales tax increase for New York City after a vigorous debate, increasing the tax by one-half of a percentage point, to 8.875 percent.
Senator Pedro Espada Jr.’s defection on June 8 threw the Senate into turmoil and hobbled the state government, making the body a national laughingstock as the feuding factions shouted and gaveled over each other in simultaneous legislative sessions. It led Gov. David A. Paterson to take the extraordinary step this week of appointing a lieutenant governor, Richard Ravitch, to clarify the state’s line of succession, though it is far from clear that the governor had the authority to do so. Republicans are challenging the appointment.
On Friday, a state judge in Nassau County adjourned a hearing on the legitimacy of Mr. Ravitch’s appointment until the middle of next week. However, a restraining order put in place in the early hours of Thursday morning has since been rescinded, leading the governor’s legal team to declare Friday that at least for the moment, Mr. Ravitch is the state’s lieutenant governor.
The Senate stalemate had prompted anger from voters and local officials, and denunciation from newspapers across the state.
“To all 19.5 million people in the state of New York, we apologize,” Senator John L. Sampson, a Brooklyn Democrat, said at a news conference. “Sometimes you have a dysfunctional family, dysfunctional family members, but at the end of the day, we understand that we are all one family and we are all home now. Home to stay.”
Espada used the GOP to get what he really wanted. Espada couldn't care the cost, but he saw to it that Malcolm Smith was booted from the leadership role and replaced by himself. John Sampson takes over as leader of the Democratic caucus, and Smith becomes President of the Senate, which is a largely ceremonial role.
Also, keep in mind who will be paying for all this. New York City consumers will be hit with a tax hike (this was a home rule measure that required legislative approval before enactment). The five week delay meant that the City couldn't obtain those additional revenues to balance its budget, but it also was a temporary reprieve from the additional tax.
Some Senate Democrats warned that the sales tax would hit the poor hard, but some deferred to Bloomberg because of the need to balance the budget.
Espada, whose defection to the Republicans was the main reason for Gov. Paterson's controversial action yesterday "naming" Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor, revealed his startling plans to The Post.
The defection would bring a quick end to the Senate's current 31-31 vote stalemate, in which Espada has repeatedly joined with the 30 Republican members in opposition to the Democrats.
"I'm going to tell (Republican leader Sen.) Dean Skelos that I have a handshake agreement with (Democratic leader Sen.) John Sampson to become the majority leader,'' Espada revealed.
Espada, who had been designated as the Senate president by a bare majority vote during the June 8 "coup'' in which he and Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) joined 30 Democrats to oust Democratic Majority Leader and Senate President Malcolm Smith of Queens, said that Smith would retain his "president'' title under the arrangement until the end of the year.
Smith would then be replaced by Democratic Sen. John Sampson of Brooklyn, who ousted Smith as the top Democratic leader in the wake of the "coup.''
Espada said, "Unfortunately, Dean rejected an opportunity to reach a compromise under which Republicans would have had equal access to all the resources of the Senate.''
It was never about doing what was right. It was about Espada playing politics and pushing his weight around. He wanted to play kingmaker because Malcolm Smith hurt his feelings over not supporting some of Espada's pork projects.
In an effort to break the monthlong state Senate stalemate, Gov. Paterson last night appointed former MTA boss Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor -- and a potential tiebreaking vote.
However, by early this morning, Republicans claimed to have secured a court order suspending the move.
"We cannot allow for any further exposure to uncertainty and risk at a time of unparalleled fiscal difficulty," Paterson said in a TV address as he announced he was naming Ravitch to his former job.
The pick "will bring the governor a successor, the Senate a presiding officer and will help to alleviate this crisis," the governor added.
It sounds grand, except for the fact of whether Paterson could actually do so legally. The GOP doesn't think it is, and they filed papers in court to block the move. In fact, State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo doesn't think it was legal either, and said as much yesterday:
The appointment defied decades of accepted legal wisdom and the advice of a fellow Democrat, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who Monday warned such a move was "not constitutional" and a "political ploy" that could become mired in the courts. Cuomo had no comment last night.
Two previous governors -- Democrat Mario Cuomo, the attorney general's father, and Republican Malcolm Wilson -- declined opportunities to make lieutenant-governor appointments after the posts became vacant, on the grounds it was not legal.
Paterson's move is unprecedented, and given that two previous governors chose to not make the appointment because they both believed it to be outside the governor. What's the law got to do with things when political power is at stake? Apparently not so much when control of state politics is at hand.
Paterson should know better, and his actions are reprehensible. More to the point, he's attempting to stack the deck so that his agenda can finally be passed through the state senate, which now is in GOP hands because two Democrats, Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate jumped ship and just days later Monserrate rejoined the Democrats splitting the Senate 31-31.
Once things finally do get sorted out, I can only hope that the legislature takes up the issue of succession in the state and explicitly lays out who would replace the lieutenant governor should he or she be elevated to the governor's office (as what happened when Paterson replaced Eliot Spitzer). It too would resolve the issue of control of the State Senate with a tie-breaker. That is for another time.
For now, the circus in Albany continues, particularly because Paterson swore Ravitch into office last night without much warning. In fact, it had been expected that Paterson would take the action today at 11:30, but he moved things up precisely because he feared the GOP would file lawsuits.
If Paterson gets his way, the State will have nothing but unelected officials running the show through the end of 2010. After all, Paterson slipped into the office on the heels of the Spitzer scandal, and the State Comptroller was selected on the heels of the Hevesi scandal. Now, Paterson wants to select his successor in an unprecedented maneuver.
New York State Senator Pedro Espada Jr (D) is a law unto himself. He's representing a district in the Bronx, but it appears that he doesn't live there. Now, it looks like he's broken state and federal campaign finance laws as well. He's been sending out mailings using postal metering meant for nonprofits and hasn't bothered to file campaign finance returns properly.
CBS 2 HD has learned exclusively that Espada may have violated federal and state campaign finance laws.
CBS 2 HD has been on his trail for months.
It's a question we first asked Sen. Espada months ago.
Marcia Kramer: "I'm asking you why you don't file campaign finance records?"
Espada finally did file some of those reports last Friday, but a review by CBS 2 HD found an apparent failure to report significant amounts of spending, like for five glossy campaign mailings. Experts said mailings like this could cost as much as $20,000 apiece.
"It's hard to believe this information is not disclosed. He's a candidate for the office. He's been a senator before. There's really no excuse for the campaign filing info not to be there," said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group.
But a bigger problem for Espada may be the fact that the bulk postage stamps for two campaign brochures is the same as the one used to send out brochures for his Soundview health clinics. All of them say permit number 1235, Brooklyn, N.Y.
The health clinic's bulk stamps cost less than the standard rates used on political mailings, which means he was getting subsidized mailings. That's a big no no.
It also means that he was shorting not only taxpayers but the US Postal Service by thousands of dollars.
Recall that Espada and another despicable Democrat, Hiram Monserrate threw their support to the GOP allowing the GOP to retake the majority in the State Senate. They did so because of a spat with fellow Democrats, and then Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is looking into whether Espada illegally used the health clinics improperly to subsidize his political career.
A Bronx health care business operated by Sen. Pedro Espada Jr., which receives millions of dollars annually in state support, owes $347,000 in back taxes.
Yet, Espada's organization was able to afford a $460,000 annual salary for the entrepreneurial Democrat as recently as 2007, according to state and federal tax records and interviews.
In fact Espada, the colorful outspoken renegade senator, whose alliance with Senate Republicans and disputed election as Senate president has caused chaos in New York's government, has a history of tax delinquency.
Why not hold their breath until they turn blue in the face.
They also barred the press and the public from the chambers, which is absolutely deplorable. These people fail to realize that the Senate isn't about them, but the work of the people of the State of New York. It's not about them, but so much of this ongoing political soap opera is driven by the political infighting among various players, particularly Democrats Pedro Espada Jr and Hiram Monserrate who threw the chamber into chaos when they joined up with the GOP but Monserrate has since rejoined the Democrats, stalemating business because both sides have equal numbers.
Governor David Paterson, a Democrat, warned that he would send the state troopers in to demand the Senators hold session and pass critical legislation including a bill on mayoral control of NYC schools. He called for a Special Session to be held at 3pm. Senate GOPers called for session at 2pm, but without a quorum, they will be unable to act.
Power sharing should be the realistic option, but Democrats are resisting the idea.
Meanwhile, Monserrate walked out of the State Senate session yesterday, leaving the Republicans without a quorum to conduct the state's business, which means that Monserrate is holding the key to who controls the Senate and who gets to lead the State Senate.
It can't get any crazier than that, although the possibility that some of the Democrats might switch sides to join with the Republicans may make Monserrate's actions moot. Still, there's also the possibility that the Democrats might toss current leader Malcolm Smith on the chopping block and insert someone else in the leadership. Among those suggested for that role is John Sampson. The fact that the leadership couldn't see this coming tells you just how screwed up and incompetent they were. Throw in a heaping portion of political axe grinding, and you've got a mess:
Under Smith's leadership, Democrats, who held a bare one-vote majority, gloated as they fired nearly 200 employees of the Senate Republicans, many of whom had considerable knowledge and skill.
Smith's Democrats, who had promised to "reform" the Senate by equalizing resources for the majority and minority parties, treated the Republicans worse than the GOP had treated them.
The Democrats cut the Republicans' central staff allotment by some $4 million below the Democrats' former level and gleefully booted GOP senators from offices they had occupied for decades.
If the Republicans needed any final proof that the Democrats were determined to grind them into political dust, they got it yesterday morning when, after two months' delay, they were finally provided with a list of the pork-barrel "member items" they would be receiving this year.
The "split" turned out to be hugely lopsided: $76.7 million in projects for the 32 Democrats and only $8.2 million for the 30 Republicans.
Another key factor was the outrage of Rochester billionaire and newly minted Florida resident Thomas Golisano, a three-time candidate for governor and strong advocate of reduced taxes who spent some $5 million last fall helping the Democrats capture the Senate.
Golisano contended Smith and the Democrats betrayed him by backing a record-high, tax-and-spend state budget in April.
With new Democratic leadership, Monserrate and Espada might come back into the fold, but the problem is that those two continue to have ethical and criminal questions that need a full investigation.
And through it all, the state's business continues to be ignored, particularly the state budget that remains an absolute disaster and is fiscally irresponsible.
Senate Democrats and Republicans are huddling over what to do now that the Republicans have managed to get back in charge. Democrats are contemplating legal challenges, but I give them no chance of success.
Austin Shafran, Smith's spokesman, claimed that only after Espada (D-Bronx) learned that he wouldn't be getting the "member item" funding for the Bronx Human Services Council and Green ECO Energy Inc. did he join in with Monday's GOP revolt to oust Smith.
"Two words come to mind: political extortion," said Shafran, adding, "Malcolm prevented Espada from setting up these sham nonprofits that were essentially bilking taxpayers out of millions."
Member items are the currency of power in Albany, and the legislative leaders dole out hundreds of millions of dollars every year to various groups, some of which have dubious backgrounds. Instead of questioning the whole process, Smith's people want to go after Espada. It's personal.
The Democrats can't win on a direct legal challenge to the Republican takeover, so their best bet is this collateral attack on Monserrate and Espada. They might actually win against Espada, but in the meantime all business in Albany has come to a standstill.
Gov. David Paterson wont leave New York, because it would put a Republican in charge. Boo hoo. Where would Paterson need to go that is more important than attending state business in any event? Senate Democrats have locked the chamber, but Republicans vow to hold session at 3PM.
Tom Golisano is widely believed to be behind the GOP takeover, and the Daily News reports that Golisano was peeved at Smith. The two were in a meeting, and Smith spent the entire time on his Blackberry. After that meeting, Golisano was determined to make Smith pay.
"When I travel 250 miles to make a case on how to save the state a lot of money ... and the guy comes into his office and starts playing with his BlackBerry, I was miffed."
Golisano, who spent millions helping Democrats take control of the Senate for the first time since 1965, said Smith and party leaders reneged on a promise of reform and engaged in a secretive budget process that resulted in $8 billion in new taxes and fees.
After the meeting, Golisano, who founded the Independence Party, asked political operative Steve Pigeon to see if he could work a deal with Republicans.
Golisano had a good relationship with Sen. George Maziarz (R-Erie), who introduced him to Deputy Minority Leader Tom Libous (R-Binghamton).
None of this has anything to do with actually governing. There is nothing here except naked personal ambition, political maneuvering, and all this takes place against a backdrop of a state budget for FY 2009-2010 that is already billions in the hole, and which will require additional attention because the state is spending billions more than it is taking in (and the state budget was nearly 6% higher than the prior year, despite the dire situation and loss of Wall Street income).
These are the clowns who are in charge in Albany, and people wonder why the state is in the dire shape it is?
UPDATE: Paterson is deeply unpopular? You don't say. A budget fiasco, poor decision making, and a bad economy all play a role, but he's not seen as being in control of the process, which means that he's heading for trouble if he wants to run for reelection.
Meanwhile, via Jammie, there's one tidbit about Tom Golisano that I find incredibly surprising. Apparently, he's dating former tennis star Monica Seles.
UPDATE: Rowdy Yates sends along the following video update:
Despicable? I don't think so. Mutiny? It's a bit strong. It's a circus, and it shows just how completely dysfunctional the whole system is:
The motion also restored Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos (R-LI) to the post of majority leader.
The historic maneuver left Senate Democrats, who in January took the majority for the first time since 1965, slack-jawed and powerless.
And it stunned Paterson.
"It's despicable what happened here today," said the governor last night, bristling and occasionally slamming his open palm on a lectern as he appeared briefly before reporters.
"When do we get around to governing?"
He condemned the Republican-backed coup as "an unnecessary distraction to government dressed up in the cloak falsely of reform."
The action throws the fate of nearly every item on Paterson's agenda -- from same-sex marriage to ethics reform to mayoral control in schools -- in doubt just two weeks before the Legislature is scheduled to begin its summer recess.
Without a clear Senate leader, all action in the chamber will grind to a halt. Paterson defiantly said he would continue to recognize Smith as majority leader until the issue is resolved in the courts.
"Unbelievable," one longtime Capitol lobbyist said of the revolt. "I've never seen anything like it."
As word spread, Assembly members abandoned their own proceedings on the other side of the Capitol to watch the circus. Lobbyists grilled passing reporters for information.
NYS State Senators Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada Jr., both Democrats have thrown the chamber back into GOP hands, by voting to turn control of the chamber back to the GOP. Democrats narrowly won control of the State Senate in November, and have run things for the past four months. It's been a contentious period as then Senate Majority Leader, Malcolm Smith has repeatedly run into roadblocks in pushing his agenda despite having Democrat control of the chamber.
For NYS politics, even this was something of a surprise - and something that hadn't been seen or contemplated in the past. And who do we have to congratulate for the new mess (which is hardly better than the past mess?)
Hiram Monserrate, who is busy fending off criminal assault charges after being indicted in NYC, and Pedro Espada, who's had some legal issues of his own dealing with election filings (or the lack thereof).
The ongoing agenda in Albany is now in doubt, as several high profile issues remain to be addressed, including gay marriage, mayoral control of NYC schools, rent control, and ethics reform. The problem is that all of them pale in comparison to the looming fiscal disaster of a state budget that was just passed. Already, there are signs that the budget is out of whack and the fiscal deficit will be even larger than anticipated. The state's pension funds are an underfunded disaster.
Anyone with a pulse and a calculator should have seen this coming - spending more while raising taxes on a recessionary environment while Wall Street isn't taking in the money it did just a few short months ago was a recipe for disaster. Gov. Paterson thinks that Monserrate and Espada are despicable. What Paterson and the rest of Albany did in passing the fiscally irresponsible budget was worse. It was a gross dereliction of duty and the fiduciary responsibilities to state taxpayers.
If this move can get people to focus their attention on the state budget and not these ancillary issues, then these two less than honorable State Senators have done a great service to the state. If not, then it only goes to show that New York politics is totally out of control and unresponsive to the needs of the state's residents.
UPDATE: Via Rowdy Yates, video of yesterday's craziness, and Mayor Mike Bloomberg's reactions:
Minority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Center, was returned to the position of majority leader, the post he held until Democrats took control of the chamber after the November election.
Ordinarily, the majority leader and the Senate president positions are usually held by the same person, but Espada and Skelos are dividing the duties as part of their deal to take over the Senate leadership.
Espada, D-Bronx, who returned to Albany in January after a hiatus, said he is a voice for reform Democrats and that more reformers will be joining his lead. He and Sen. Hiram Monserrate of Queens joined the 30 Senate Republicans to remove all leadership put into place at the start of year when Sen. Malcolm Smith became the majority leader.
Led by an aggressive push by Sen. Thomas Libous, R-Binghamton, Republicans forced a resolution that resulted in the vote of Espada as temporary president for the rest of this year. Skelos was also named the vice president.
The Capitol was turned upside down by the move which ends the Democrats' six-month tenure as leaders of the Senate.
"I am a Democrat and I am in charge," said Espada who said he could not sit tight and allow Smith to lead the Senate. "We have been in a quagmire since Jan 7."
The plot to overthrow Smith was supported by Rochester billionaire Thomas Golisano, a three-time gubernatorial candidate and backer of several Senate candidates.
Libous was able to install Sen. George Winner, R-Elmira, to oversee the proceedings. He replaced Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Bethlehem, who had been officiating the Senate when Libous raised his surprise leadership resolution. Breslin was taken aback and had a hard time responding to the hand vote of 32 senators calling for a leadership change.
Eventually, Breslin recognized the vote and left with lawyer Keith St. John so that Republican lawyer Jack Casey and Winner could take the stage. After Espada and Skelos were sworn in, Libous won another resolution to restructure the powerful Rules Committee and cancel all chairmanships and committee appointments.
This is one of the more surprising events to occur in Albany in a long time, and that's saying something. Two Democrats, annoyed with the way that Senate Democrats have run things since they gained control of the chamber in January.
If the name Hiram Monserrate sounds familiar, it's because he was indicted on assaulting his girlfriend earlier this year and has been accused of similar acts in the past. Pedro Espada and Dean Skelos will be in a power sharing arrangement through the end of the year, but don't expect Senate Democrats to sit back and accept this situation.
In any event, consider this Tom Golisano's parting shot to state politics. He's already declared that he's leaving New York for a more tax friendly Florida, but he's financed candidates around the state. We'll see what the Democrats have in mind to combat this changed circumstance.
Espada does own a co-op in the Bronx -- at 325 East 201st St.
Members of the co-op board told CBS 2 HD that while Sen. Espada owns an apartment there he doesn't live here.
"I have never seen him in the building, not ever. I do my laundry in the building. I come and go with my 1-year-old. Unfortunately, I've never seen him here," resident Erin Cicalese said.
Instead, he's got a nice house in a tony part of Mamaroneck.
Here's a map of his district. Mamaroneck is nowhere near his district. I'd say that he's carpetbagging by the looks of it - maintaining a residence simply to retain his eligibility to run for office there, but his real residence is elsewhere.
