Friday, June 12th 2009, 4:00 AM
Smith for News Richard Izquierdo Arroyo and Margarita Villegas: Accused of looting nonprofit for pols' trip.
The nephew of City Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo resigned Thursday as head of a Bronx charter school she helped fund - a day after he was charged with embezzlement.
Richard Izquierdo Arroyo - who's also Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo's grandson and chief of staff - Thursday notified the city he was resigning as chairman of the board of the South Bronx Charter School for International Culture and the Arts.
His city councilwoman aunt sponsored $1.5 million in taxpayer funds this fiscal year to help build a permanent facility for the school, which is temporarily housed in a public school.
The school board will accept his resignation, Department of Education spokeswoman Melody Meyer said.
The school's principal, Evelyn Hey, would not answer questions about Izquierdo Arroyo's role at the school.
Izquierdo Arroyo also notified the city he would resign as chairman of the board of a second institution, the New York City Charter High School for Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industries.
It was not clear when that school's board would meet to accept the resignation. Principal Eugene Foley declined comment.
On Wednesday, Izquierdo Arroyo was charged with stealing from a nonprofit group, SBCC Management Corp., that manages low-income apartment buildings in the Bronx. SBCC Management's director, Margarita Villegas, also was charged.
The duo stole more than $200,000 from the nonprofit to pay for designer clothes, trips to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, and dozens of restaurant meals, a criminal complaint charged.
They also used the nonprofit's money to buy airline tickets to Puerto Rico for City Councilwoman Arroyo and her mother the assemblywoman.
SBCC Management's director, Villegas, is also a board member of the South Bronx Charter School. Officials said she's notified the city she'll step down from that position, too.
Villegas and Izquierdo Arroyo deny wrongdoing.
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