Results tagged “pedroespada”

As if the skunks weren't bad enough, the Bronx is being overrun by slick panhandlers promising to keep your car safe from vandals for a small fee. And while their presence is annoying, court precident protects their right to do this. In 2006 panhandler Eddie Wise was awarded $100,001 after he sued the city, citing the First Amendment right to ask for anything from motorists. While local business owners are concerned, State Senate majority leader Pedro Espada tells the Post "It’s pretty f---ing funny, what these guys do here." Worrying that your car will get vandalized if you don't cough up a dollar? Hilarious.

Earlier this month, upstate Assemblyman Mark Schroeder said Bronxchester Senator Espada was a "thug" and should resign. Now state Senator Neil Breslin of Albany is piling on, telling churchgoers at a public gathering that Espada is a "crook" who "should be in jail." Espada is still under investigation by the Bronx DA (for allegedly residing in Westchester, outside his Bronx district) and the Attorney General (for whether he illegally used a nonprofit group he controls—Soundview Health Clinic—to promote his political campaigns). But both those investigations were launched back in May, and here we are on the cusp of October, with Espada still "doing a cha-cha" around the law, as one Albany insider put it. So while it's nice to hear Senator Breslin state the obvious, the dance grinds on!

You may recall that State Senator Pedro Espada's son Alejandro—not the one who got hired by the Senate and then quickly quit, a different one—pleaded guilty to harassment against 76-year-old blogger Rafael Martínez-Alequin at a campaign rally last September. According to Martínez-Alequin, several people, including Alejandro, began shoving him and trying to grab his camera as he approached Espada with questions. Here's video, which shows the infamous Bronxchester Senator smugly telling Martínez-Alequin, "He's trying to teach you manners papa. He's trying to teach you manners." Alejandro was charged with harassment and criminal mischief for (allegedly) pushing Martinez-Alequin and breaking his camera, but he struck a plea bargain, pleading guilty to second-degree harassment and agreeing to pay $432 for the camera. Anyway, Alejandro was supposed to be sentenced yesterday, but that never happened because the judge was absent. So Martínez-Alequin didn't get to read his contemptuous victim's-impact statement, which calls the Senator "a common street thug. It is most unfortunate that a politician can resort to thuggish tactics and not be held fully accountable. Senator Espada encouraged his son to assault a defenseless 76-year-old man." Somebody sure needs a lesson in manners, among other things.

Senator Pedro Espada Jr. defected to the Republicans and brought the state legislature to a standstill in order to get the $2 million in pork that was rightfully his, and this is the thanks he gets: The New Bronx Chamber of Commerce, a "business advocacy group," has decided it would rather not be associated with the esteemed Senator from Bronxchester.

Besides offering affordable health care for constituents in the Bronx, the non-profit community health care center run by State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. also provides lots of jobs for the community... of people related to Espada. The Post's Isabel Vincent has donned her Hazmat suit to take a closer look at Espada's Soundview HealthCare Network, which stays afloat thanks to millions of taxpayer dollars. What she found may not surprise you. (It even comes with a handy graphic charting the family money tree.) For instance, two employees previously convicted of fraud for using Soundview money to promote Espada's political campaign are back on staff, and the charity still owes some $347,000 in income tax withheld from employees. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has been investigating the shady shenanigans, but the Post has already found plenty of questionable conduct, such as Espada paying himself over than $450,000 a year, some $80,000 more than the standard for a charity its size. Then there's Soundview's not-illegal-but-still-sleazy employment of all Espada's sons with near six-figure jobs. Oh, and the charity's board is packed with Espada's friends and relatives, including his grandfather Victor, who's over 90 years old, lives in Puerto Rico, and "votes" via conference call!

After the son of Bronxchester scofflaw Senator Pedro Espada Jr. resigned from his specially-created $120,000 senate job yesterday, a source close to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo tells the Post the AG is satisfied with the resignation and will not pursue a probe into alleged violations of the state's nepotism laws. Funny how the son of three-term governor Mario Cuomo is reluctant to accuse anyone of nepotism. Meanwhile, Espada "amigo" Ruben Diaz Sr. called on Cuomo to investigate the entire Senate for nepotism and not single out poor misunderstood Espada.

Observing the behavior of some politicians in Albany is like lifting up a rock and watching the cockroaches flip you off. After bringing the already slothful State Senate to a standstill this summer by aligning with Republicans, megalomaniacal scofflaw Pedro Espada Jr. of The Westchester Bronx was wooed back to the Democratic fold and handed the position of majority leader. But naturally the perks didn't stop there; it's now come to light that Espada's son, Pedro G., has been hired by the Senate for the job of "deputy director of intergovernmental relations."

Incorrigible State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. owes some $61,000 in fines to the city Campaign Finance Board for his failure to file legally-required disclosure documents when he ran for Bronx Borough President in 2001. Espada previously promised to pay his debt to society (part of it, anyway) on Monday. Today is now Wednesday, and they did not receive the money. When the Daily News dared pester him about it, Espada—presumably speaking through a cloud of cigar smoke while trimming his nose hair—had this to say: "They'll get their money." Espada also owes the state Board of Elections $10,309 in fines for failing to file routine financial disclosure reports. And there's 23 more disclosure reports the state board still wants from the Westchester Bronx representative. Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group calls Espada's behavior "mind-boggling... He should be operating at the highest standards." While we're at it, dogs should stop chasing squirrels, the subway should connect directly to LaGuardia, and donut ice cream sandwiches should be delivered to our offices at once.

It's believed that State Senator Pedro Espada Jr.'s central motivation for helping Republicans overthrow his fellow Democrats was his party's refusal to let him toss $2 million in pork to some dubious new non-profit groups with zero track record. So there's a certain grotesque poetry in the news that after paralyzing the State government for weeks, Espada was ultimately rewarded with that $2 million in pork-barrel spending, approved during a 3 a.m. session yesterday. Most of that money will be going to the New Bronx Chamber of Commerce, a "business advocacy group" that seems ill-prepared to distribute the largesse, considering its annual budget is usually $200,000. Espada says the money will go toward adult literacy classes, after-school programs, housing advocacy efforts, etc., but the group has never done anything like that before. The Village Voice made a noble attempt to figure out just what the hell the New Bronx Chamber of Commerce does, but all reporter Tom Robbins found was a brochure about their cocktail parties and golf outings. Reviewing Espada's allocation of the money, a Senate finance aide sent out an alarmed email to colleagues worrying, "I sincerely hope this doesn't come back to bite us."

Democratic State Senator Pedro Espada Jr.—who was just caught illegally residing outside his Bronx district in tony Mamaroneck—is in the hot seat again for what one Bronx political veteran describes as doing "a cha-cha around the campaign finance law—spirit and letter." After the Daily News's scathing report on Espada's conduct, Senate majority leader Malcolm A. Smith called him into a closed-door meeting, giving Espada one week to rectify illegalities with his campaign committee. But Smith is also downplaying the severity of the brewing scandal, telling the Times, "I don't think it's raining problems, the fact that a member has a challenge with his campaign finances, which he's had for awhile. So basically, he's got to correct it. He has until this time next week to correct it, or else I will take some action." Woah—a promise of action in Albany!

CBS 2 just conducted a scathing sting on State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., discovering that the powerful politician actually resides in tony Mamaroneck, outside his Bronx district. The exposé found that Espada's Westchester home is worth almost $700,000, and that while he claims his residence to be a co-op in the Bronx (at 325 East 201st Street), tenants there say he's never around. One resident tells the news channel, "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." Espada could be violating state election law by making Mamaroneck his home, and the revelation may further exacerbate New Yorkers' anger at the politician for his role in blocking any MTA bailout. A spokesman for the senator insisted that while he's owned the Mamaroneck house for 18 years, the Bronx co-op is his primary domicile. But when approached by a camera crew outside the Westchester home, Espada, ever the politician, tried to disguise his identity by holding a baby in front of his face.