Pedro Espada
Template:TOCnestleft Pedro Espada, Jr. (born in 1954 in Coamo, Puerto Rico) has served as member of the New York Senate for the 32nd and 33rd Senate Districts. He has also served as the State Senate Majority Leader. Espada has been married to his wife Connie for 36 years and they have three children and nine grandchildren. [1] Espada is the father of Pedro Gautier Espada.
Education
Born in Coamo, Puerto Rico, he was raised in a family forced to survive on public assistance after settling in the Bronx. Educated through the New York City Public School System, Espada received a B.A. from Fordham University, and attended the Wharton School of Business and Columbia University School of Public Health. [2]
Employment History
In the mid-1970s,Espada worked in various areas around the Bronx as a bilingual teacher in the public schools, as a family therapist, and as a tenant and community organizer. During that same period, Espada founded the Mother’s Group Child Care Center, which provided a foundation for the New Dimensions in Learning Day Care Center while also establishing model youth, nutrition and senior citizen centers and programs to meet the needs of all Bronx residents. In 1978 Espada founded the Soundview HealthCare Network. He considers himself an "unwavering advocate" for justice and civil rights, having raised over $300,000 for the Edgar Rivera Housing Fund and worked with the Diallo family to establish the Amadou Diallo Medical Center. [3]
New York Legislature
A former three-term State Senator of the 32nd District, he was elected to serve the 33rd State Senate District, rising to the post of Senate Majority Leader. Espada was the first Latino to serve as Majority Leader, and was the highest-ranking Latino elected official in New York State. He served as Vice Chairman of the Senate Rules Standing Committee, Vice President of the Senate for Urban Policy and Planning, and Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development. As Chairman of the Senate Task Force on Bronx Economic Development, Espada led a coordinated Federal, State and local initiative, working closely with the Obama Administration, to revitalize the Bronx and shed its distinction as the poorest borough in New York. He is a "proud" member of theBlack, Puerto Rican, and Asian Caucus; the New York State Senate Puerto Rican/Latino Caucus; the National Association of the Latino Elected and Appointed Officials; and the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators.[4]
Federal Indictment
On Dec. 14, 2010, Pedro Espada (57), and his son Pedro Gautier Espada (37), were charged with five counts of embezzlement from a nonprofit health care network receiving federal funding, and one count of conspiracy. Among those announcing the charges were Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General for the State of New York. At 7:30am on Dec. 15, 2010, Espada Jr. turned himself in to the FBI.[5]
The various schemes allegedly executed by the defendants to convert Soundview income and assets include the following:
- Pedro Espada caused Soundview to pay charges for his personal expenses on the Soundview corporate American Express card; those charges included: more than $100,000 in personal meals for Pedro Espada and his family members, window treatments for Pedro Espada’s home, and tickets to Broadway shows and sporting events;
- Pedro Espada and Pedro Gautier Espada used a for-profit janitorial company known as Community Expansion Development Corporation (CEDC) and controlled by them to divert funds from Soundview and then spent such funds for personal use and political expenses; those expenses included: the rent for Pedro Espada’s campaign headquarters, printing costs for campaign materials, heating and air conditioning work done on Pedro Espada’s home, pony rides and a petting zoo for a family member’s birthday party, and a $49,000 check Pedro Espada attempted to use as a downpayment on a Bentley automobile;
- Pedro Espada and Pedro Gautier Espada diverted rental payments owed to Soundview to two different entities—CEDC and another for-profit janitorial company known as Soundview Management Enterprises (SME) and also controlled by them—and thereafter used such funds to pay personal expenses for themselves and family members; and
- Pedro Gautier Espada rigged the awarding of a Soundview janitorial services contract by providing false contract requirements to other bidders, thereby ensuring that SME was awarded the contract at an inflated price, thus enriching himself and Pedro Espada.
The total amount allegedly embezzled by the defendants exceeded $500,000.
Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York stated,
- "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. In these difficult economic times, the charged crimes are all the more reprehensible."
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo stated,
- "As alleged, Pedro Espada and his son spent years secretly siphoning money from a healthcare clinic in order to fund Espada’s lavish lifestyle. Taxpayer funds meant for the sick and poor were instead used for Broadway shows, fancy meals, and other opulent personal expenses of Senator Espada. Elected officials are supposed to serve the people not themselves, and this indictment should send a strong message: In New York, no one is above the law."
References
- ↑ [[1]]Official Senate Bio. Accessed 06/08/11.
- ↑ [[2]]Official Senate Bio. Accessed 06/08/11.
- ↑ [[3]]Official Senate Bio. Accessed 06/08/11.
- ↑ [[4]]Official Senate Bio. Accessed 06/08/11.
- ↑ FBI: New York State Senator and His Son Charged with Embezzling Funds from Not-for-Profit Bronx Health Care Centers, Dec. 14, 2010 (accessed on Dec. 20, 2010)