NY lawmakers get taxpayer funds to sleep in second homes in Albany 

By LAURA NAHMIAS, MICHAEL GARTLAND and SUSAN EDELMAN 

Last Updated: 8:26 AM, October 21, 2012 

Posted: 12:52 AM, October 21, 2012

When politicians snooze, taxpayers don’t just lose — their cash goes to support legislators’ real-estate investments.
New York lawmakers who sleep over in their own Albany-area second homes rake in $165 a night if they claim they must stay over for official business.
Under the Legislature’s loose “per diem” reimbursement system — for which no receipts or other proof are required — Assembly members and state senators who own houses or condos near the Capitol collect the same payments as those who stay in hotels.
Those who have bought their own pads say it’s only fair.

“I didn’t move to sunny Albany to own a home,” said Manhattan Assemblyman Herman Farrell Jr., who has a house blocks from the Capitol worth about $160,000.
Taxpayer support for their real-estate investments is just one more item in legislators’ goodie bag — and has helped boost Assembly and Senate travel and per-diem expenses to more than $32 million over the last decade.
Gov. Cuomo may push to end the per diems in return for a legislative pay raise, aides say.
Farrell, who took office in 1974 and is the former Manhattan Democratic leader, denies his three-family Albany house is an investment.
“It’s a place to hang my suits, lay my head at night, and eat breakfast,” he said.
The daughter of a friend who co-owns the house lives there, and Farrell uses the basement as a campaign headquarters.
He collected a total $58,061 in state-paid per diems in 2010 and 2011, records show.
“We’re entitled to it if we sleep in the car or on the floor in the office. The per diems pay for the house. I wouldn’t have or want that house if I wasn’t an assemblyman. The damn house costs me money,” Farrell said.
Others also deny a profit motive.
“I’m not in the business of collecting per diems to supplement my income,” said Assemblyman Michael DenDekker (D-Queens), who claimed a total $32,434 in stipends in 2010 and 2011.
Since 2003, he has owned a two-family house near the Capitol worth about $195,000. He rented out each unit for $800 a month and stayed in hotels while in Albany on legislative duties.
But last year a deal to sell the house collapsed, and DenDekker couldn’t find a second tenant. So he moved in Jan. 1 for the Legislative session.
“I’d rather get year-round income off the apartment,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Long Island) uses an Albany condo his wife bought before their marriage. He collected $26,061 in per diems in 2010 and 2011.
The per diems cover costs such as condo dues, phone and hot-water bills, said his spokesman Scott Reif.
Assemblyman Phil Boyle (R-Long Island) said he “schlepped suits back and forth” for nine years before paying cash in 2006 for a $350,000 three-bedroom in Albany. Boyle, who collected $44,964 in per diems in 2010 and 2011, said he pays $7,000 a year in taxes on the house.
State Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), elected in 2000, said he recently sold a house valued at $190,000 in adjacent Rensselaer County, He bought it 25 years ago for vacations, then rentals.
When in Albany, he always stays in hotels or with family, said Smith, who collected $38,139 in per diems in 2010 and 2011.
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli revealed a broad probe into the per-diem payouts last week after The Post reported some questionable vouchers.
Government watchdogs say the per diems are open to abuse.
“It’s an honor system. That’s the problem,” said Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union. “There’s a lack of oversight and verification.”
The per diems -- $165 for sleeping over, which covers food and lodging, and $61 without spending the night -- are paid any day of the week, even when the Legislature is not in session. Mileage, tolls and transit fares are also reimbursed.
In one week alone, The Post found, Assemblywoman Vivian Cook (D-Queens) pocketed $2,197 for claiming she spent 12 consecutive nights on “legislative business.” The Assembly was in session three of those days and Cook was absent for all three.
Brooklyn Assemblyman William Boyland Jr., who is under indictment, claimed multiple per diems on days he met with undercover FBI agents in Brooklyn and Manhattan to discuss bribes, records show.

susan.edelman@nypost.com

Op-Classic

George McGovern, Opinionated

By GEORGE McGOVERN

Gary Settle/The New York Times

A collection of op-ed articles written by the former Senator and Democratic presidential nominee.

Op-Ed Contributor

The Moral Clarity of George McGovern

By BRUCE MIROFF

George S. McGovern’s character and vision cost him dearly in the 1972 presidential election.

Cliff Owen/AP

Former senator and presidential nominee George McGovern has died at the age of 90.

The one-time presidential nominee and a former senator George McGovern has died. The 90-year-old was surrounded by his family in a hospice in South Dakota. The liberal democrat lost to President Richard Nixon in 1972 in a historic landslide. (Oct. 21)

Tough Criticism of Candidates by Bloomberg

By JIM RUTENBERG 1 minute ago

Robert Caplin for The New York Times

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in his foundation’s offices. Of the presidential candidates, he said, “Their economic plans are not real.”

With his critical assessment of President Obama and Mitt Romney, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was speaking for voters who feel frustrated over a campaign that has been fought in sound bites and bromides as problems multiply.

Some See Little Room for Large, Poor Families in Mayor’s Housing Plan

By WINNIE HU

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s proposal to build super-small apartments, some say, underscores the fact that the needs of many poor families are not being met.

Mitt Romney suffers from 'Romnesia': President Barack Obama

'He's forgetting what his own positions are, and he's betting that you will too,' Obama tells a Virginia crowd.

By Jonathan Lemire / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, October 19, 2012, 6:57 PM

EPA/KRISTOFFER TRIPPLAAR / POOL

Barack Obama's campaign has focused on the employment figures released Friday showing the rate dropped last month in nearly all the battleground states.

President Barack Obama rolled out a new attack line Friday, saying his Republican rival has “Romnesia.”

“He's forgetting what his own positions are, and he's betting that you will too,” Obama told a boisterous crowd in Virginia.

 

“He's changing up so much – backtracking and sidestepping,” he said. “We've gotta name this condition that he's going through. I think it's called ‘Romnesia.’” 

 

Intensifying the battle for women voters, Obama charged that Mitt Romney had changed his tune on abortion, equal pay for equal work and access to contraception.

 

“If you come down with a case of Romnesia, and you can't seem to remember ... the promises you've made over the six years you've been running for President, here's the good news: Obamacare covers pre-existing conditions,” he said.

 

The Republican team hit back.

 

“Women haven’t forgotten how we’ve suffered over the last four years in the Obama economy with higher taxes, higher unemployment, and record levels of poverty,” Virginia state legislator Barbara Comstock said.

The Republican National Committee also jumped in, saying the President was breaking a vow he made during the 2008 campaign to avoid name-calling.

REUTERS/Jim Young

“If you come down with a case of Romnesia, and you can't seem to remember ... the promises you've made over the six years you've been running for President, here's the good news: Obamacare covers pre-existing conditions,” Obama says.

Meanwhile, the Obama campaign seized on figures released Friday showing the unemployment rate dropped last month in nearly all the battleground states that are the key to the election.

 

The unemployment rates in Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa now are all under the national average of 7.8 percent. Obama victories in that trio of battlegrounds would all but guarantee his re-election.

 

Republicans dismissed the numbers, pressing their case that Obama has no real plan to reignite the economy.

“You did not hear any vision for a second term agenda from the President,” Romney running-mate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), said in Milwaukee. 

 

“He is going to try and win this election by tearing down his opponent, not by offering a positive vision or agenda.”

 

The attacks came as a wave of newspapers in swing states made their endorsements.

 

The Tampa Bay Times and Denver Post backed Obama; The Orlando Sentinel, which backed Obama in 2008, endorsed Romney. 

 

“We have little confidence that Obama would be more successful managing the economy and the budget in the next four years,” the Sentinel said.

 

JLemire@nydailynews.com

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/election-2012/mitt-romney-suffers-romnesia-obama-article-1.1187932#ixzz29r8Y2Ph9

For sale in Mississippi: 'Charlie Rangel edition' assault rifle

A "Charlie Rangel edition" AK.

By Reid Pillifant

Charlie Rangel, the long-serving, fiercely pro-gun-control congressman, appears to have the honor of having an assault rifle named for him.
Mississippi Auto Arms, a shop "specializing in Saiga shotguns, Saiga rifles, AK47s, and AR15s" out of Oxford, Mississippi, is selling a "Charlie Rangel edition" of a short-barrel AK-style assault rifle on its website.
"Like Rangel, this little Suchka AK rifle loves the green and hides well in spinach," says the listing. ("Loves the green" could be a reference to Rangel's tax travails; I am not sure how "hides well in spinach" applies to the congressman.)
The gun weighs about 11 pounds and starts at $1,195, depending on how it's customized.
A person I spoke with at Mississippi Auto Arms said he believed the model was, in fact, named for the congressman, but said I'd have to speak with the owner for any further information about why. (I'll update if I hear back.) A spokesperson for Rangel declined to comment until it could be confirmed that it is, in fact, named for the congressman.
Rangel, a Korean War veteran, has been one of the Congress's most outspoken proponents of gun control, a posture that has occasionally drawn notice on pro-gun message boards.
Some conservative sites assert that Rangel perpetrated a "fraud" that drastically altered the nation's gun laws.
In 1986, Rangel chaired a committee hearing on the Hughes Amendment, which prohibited owning fully automatic machine guns manufactured after that date. Conservatives argue that a voice vote on the amendment actually failed, and that there was a recorded vote that also failed, and thus the amendment should have not been included in the final bill and might even be illegal.
"Roberts Rules of Conduct were ignored, a roll call vote was ignored, the Congressional Record was selectively 'erased' and this has resulted in innocent people being jailed or worse yet, murdered by over zealous Federal Agents because of Charlie Rangel and his personal anti-gun agenda," says a post on the site Free Republic.
UPDATE: Nathan Yow, the owner of Mississippi Auto Arms, explained the inspiration for name in an email:

"The description you cite in your article is an homage to Congressman Rangel and former Congressman William Jefferson. As you know, Congressman Rangel has done his best over the years to restrict the right of law abiding citizens to own firearms. He has also over the years had some very hostile words for the State of Mississippi that we have still not forgotten.
"As such we've wanted to honor Congressman Charlie Rangel's legacy for some time, both with regard to his role in the adoption of the Hughes Amendment in 1986 as well as his 2006 statement 'Who the hell wants to live in Mississippi?' What better way to recognize this paragon of virtue than to recognize him with a green highly restricted semi-automatic AK-47 short barrel rifle.
"We had intended to donate the rifle to the Congressman until our attorney advised that the rifle is not legal for individuals to own in New York state. The special Rangel edition of our AK Short Barrel Rifle is not actually for sale but is the designation for a sample gun that shows customers the many green options available on our custom rifles.
"The quote 'Like Rangel, this little Suchka AK rifle loves the green and hides well in spinach' is a reference to the size and green color of the rifle and the problem of public corruption. You correctly surmised that 'loves the green' refers to Rangel's House corruption charges.  In the case of the rifle its design with green furniture is stylistically one of our most popular designs yet. It is the perfect union of beauty and functionality, equally at home in the deer stand or on display.
"The reference to 'hides well in the spinach' is a reference to the small size of the rifle in that it could fit into your freezer and also references the public corruption charges former Congressman William Jefferson faced for hiding some $90,000 in his freezer in frozen spinach boxes. We would have liked to have seen a prosecution of Congressman Rangel, but have honored him this way instead."

Bloomberg Starts ‘Super PAC,’ Seeking National Influence

By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, a billionaire and registered independent, will back candidates in close races who support some of his biggest policy initiatives.

NYC Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg chastise both presidential candidates for not taking a stand on the abolition of semi-assault weapons. He has seemed increasingly irritated by the rhetoric of the current presidential campaign; on Wednesday he described as “gibberish” answers by President Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney to a question about an assault weapons ban that was posed during their debate this week. 

video by Rafael Martínez Alequín

Tearful Mitt Romney Announces He Has Rare Disease Where You Can't Sit Quietly On Stool When Repeatedly Asked To

October 17, 2012 | ISSUE 48•42 | More News in Brief

HEMPSTEAD, NY—Highly emotional in the wake of last night’s town-hall-style debate, a tearful Mitt Romney called a press conference this morning to “come clean” about having a rare, little-understood disease known as Shuttlesworth Syndrome, a condition that prevents its victims from sitting quietly on stools anytime they are repeatedly told to do so. “As a sufferer of this rare disorder, being told to sit down and shut up—particularly when a stool is involved—only provokes in my central nervous system a violent overreaction that forces me to behave in the exact opposite manner,” Romney told reporters, his voice cracking with emotion as he revealed his secret to the world. “Without meaning to, I reflexively stand up, stride forward, and continue trying to speak—doing so even, and especially, when one or more people are instructing me to stop talking immediately and go back to my stool. It is a truly debilitating condition that I have battled all my life.” Romney said additional symptoms of the syndrome include an inability to maintain a convincing human smile, inexplicable reversals of previously stated policy positions, and an impaired ability to chuckle without sounding like a deranged maniac.

More News in Brief

Debate Moves Women to Fore in Race for the White House

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR 11 minutes ago

President Obama argued that Mitt Romney would oppose equal pay for women and block access to birth control, but Mr. Romney sought to defend his policies as better for women.

• Romney Ad Stresses Moderate Stance on Reproductive Issues

Biting Attacks From Romney and Obama

By JIM RUTENBERG and JEFF ZELENY

In a charged and clenched debate, President Obama portrayed Mitt Romney as a former corporate raider, while Mr. Romney kept bringing the discussion back to Mr. Obama’s record.

At First Rafael Martínez Stood Up to Pedro Espada Alone Putting His Life in Danger . . . 13 Years After He Started His Investigation of the Former Senator's Corruption He Watch, the U.S. Attorney Declared "The Espada Era Is Over"

The Journalist Blogger That Got Pedro Espada, Still Ignored By Main Stream Media

By Gary Tilzer

At First Rafael Martínez Stood Up to Pedro Espada Alone Putting His Life in Danger  . . .  13 Years After He Started His Investigation of the Former Senator's Corruption He Watch, the U.S. Attorney Declared "The Espada Era Is Over"

Martínez: "Pedro All Your Family Should Be in Jail" Video

Media and Political Bias Against Blogger Martínez Changed NYS History

If there was any value left in the local Pulitzer or TV news Emmy awards, a journalist who most of his City Hall colleagues try to ignore, discredit and humiliate because they feel he is not worthy of their status, should win this year. Rafael Martínez Alequín, long a pariah among the City Hall press corps, did what his colleagues don’t bother to do anymore, investigative reporting.

For over 13 years Martínez has been investigating Pedro Espada. First in his newspaper Your Free Press and then on the online edition. Yesterday his reporting work paid off.  Espada Speaks Softly as He Pleads Guilty to a Single Tax Charge * Espada Guilty of Tax Fraud In Plea Deal(WSJ) * U.S. Attorney Declares "Espada Era Is Over"(NY1) * Disgraced pol Pedro Espada pleads guilty to tax evasion; son Pedro Gautier Espada pleads guilty to theft (NYDN) * The end of the road for Pedro Espada (NYDN Ed)

If the Media, Pols and DA's Used the Corruption Information Martínez Uncovered Years Ago, the Democrats Would Still Be in Control of the State Senate

Not only did Martínez break one of the biggest corruption stories of the decade, the ignoring of his finding led to one of the most disgraceful era in Albany history.  The takeover of the State Senate by the GOP and the disgusting deals that the senate democrats made with Espada to make him their leader to buy back the chamber. Martínez was ignored because he is an independent blogger who writes the truth.  Main Street Media owned by corporations are more concerned with sticking with a news narratives that kiss the ass of incumbents and lobbyist who do their businesses favors.  DN Editorial "Espada was abetted by many in Albany who should have known better — including every state senator in 2009 and 2010."

Martínez Watch NYC Reporting Change From the Dignity, Power and Ability of Murray Kempton To A Generation of Crap Reporters With No Shame

The media hires young snarky clueless reporters who do not have the ability to understand how to do investigative reporting, or the will.  Most of today reporters generate stories from elected officials or the lobbyist that work for them. Or they copy each other stories adding gossip. It was only after Espada voted with the GOP, putting Sprinkles the Clown in charge of the Senate, that the prosecutors started real investigations into Espada’s health care clinic and subpoenaed Martínez’s video and materials.  All the MSM has done is report on what the prosecutors have done to Espada. Only Martínez generated origional informations on Espada which the prosecutors used to go after him

The physical Violence and Threats Martínez Received at the Hands of Espada Thugs was covered up by the Bronx D.A. and the Media

Martínez was attacked and threatened at a campaign rally at Amalgamated Houses Co-op, when he attempted to ask Espada a questions about his out of district residency and illegal uses of non profit medical heath care organization funds. Martínez asked Espada if he used his health center funds to pay for his campaign? For asking that question the reporter was attacked by Espada son Alejandro. His camera was broken and he was warned to end his investigation of the health care funds or face death.  Pedro yelled at Martínez as he was being attacked by his son, "He's trying to teach you manners, Papa."  Before being taken to the hospital the 76 years old Martínez was threaten by another Espada campaign workers saying her brother would put him in a body bag if he did not leave Pedro alone.  Martínez had to get an order of protection against Ms. Marzetta Harris an employee of the senator's health clinic and sister of Espada's Soundview Health Clinic Board Chairman.

Martínez's Investigative Reporting Uncovered How Espada Used His Health Center As A Personal Piggy Bank and As His Campaign Machine

After the threats the Harris sisters hung on after Espada was force to leave the health center by the AG, which in effect keep him in control to collect $$$ for himself and his family.  Espada thugs were embolden into attacking Martínez and using the health center as their personal piggy bank because they considered MSM journalists and local prosecutors as no danger to them. The Bronx DA did all he could to get Espada son off the hook, when he prosecuted the attack on Martínez caught on video. The video that caught the younger Espada pushing the 76 year old reporter to the floor breaking his camera forced the DA Not to do something.   In the end Pedro son got a sweet heart deal that was limited to paying Martínez $432 for the broken camera.  Martínez read a letter in court how he was opposed to the light settlement.

 

Espada's Physical Attack On A Reporter Doing His Job, Goes Unnoticed in the Bronx's Courts and By Fellow Journalists

IMPACT STATEMENT OF RAFAEL MARTíNEZ ALEQUIN
TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE JOSEPH DAWSON
Bronx Criminal Court, January 14, 2010

"Your Honor in the name of Justice you must appoint a special prosecutor to investigate and make the proper charges in this case. The same political machine that supports Senator Espada is critical for the reelection of the Bronx DA. In fact the political operative who works for Espada represented the Bronx DA in a case where he was accused of not living in the Bronx. I am appalled at the way our County legal system allowed Alejandro Espada to get away with a simple “slap on the wrist. Even considering my limited understanding of the criminal justice system, Alejandro should have been convicted of assault. Pedro Espada Jr., who avoided even being charged, should have been convicted of being an accessory to a crime. He encouraged his son, Alejandro to attack me. And then, as I was being assaulted, he said to me “this is to teach you manners papa. . . " Rafael Martínez

 

The DA Espada Fix in the Bronx Allowed the Corruption to Go On . . .  It Also Allowed An Attack on A Journalist in NYC By A Pol to Be Cover Up

The Media Even Ignored the Fact that the Bronx DA Protected the Espada Thugs Who Attacked Martínez, A Fellow Journalist

Espada knew that if you’re a member of the ruling political class of the Bronx, the mainstream media and DA's will protect you. Bronx power broker Stanley Schlein Protected Espada  Boss Schlein worked for Senator Espada and helped DA Johnson win an important residency case when he first ran for office. Schlein is also the right hand man to the powerful Bronx County Leader Carl Heastie, rules the Board of Elections and still has a working relationship with the powerful Rivera family (he was the lawyer for State Assenblywoman Noemi Rivera who tried to knock the man who beat her Mark Gjonaj off the ballot for assembly).  If DA Johnson wanted to be reelected (which he does) there was no way that DA Johnson was going to go after Espada's before his protection was ended.  Espada became road kill when he joined Monserrate and held the state hostage for over a month with no government, that the NYP called the A;lbany circus.  Once you embarrassed the establishment the protection deal is canceled.  If you look at the establishment coming down on Vito Lopez after his sexual harassment case became public, you can concluded that the city's rulers are OK with corruption as long as those pols doing the stealing don't embarrass them in public.

After MSM the Espada Protection Deal Ended Reporters Like WCBS TV's Marsha Kramer Used Martínez's Residency Video Without Giving the Him Credit

Rafael Martínez also produced a video in which he interviewed several Bronx neighbors of State Senator Pedro Espada, who had never seen Espada in the building before. The excellent video, which shows Espada’s car parked later that night at his real home in Mamaroneck, proves outright that Senator Espada had never lived at the Bronx address which he listed as his official in district State Senate residence.

As Reporters Ignored Espada Until the Albany Take Over, It Put Martínez More in Danger . . . All Reporters Cared About Was Getting His Videos

On Martínez's video, an old lady tenant was confronted by Espada, who was at the time second-in-line to be Governor, in an attempt to intimidate her, took a picture of her while Martínez was interviewing her.  After Espada's state senate GOP take over Martínez's was question by the media and prosecutors and asked to supply videos and other information to them.  Main Stream Journalist and bloggers who stop making fun of Martínez's speech and accent only moments before they asked him questions for copies of his Video's. They used his stuff but never credited him or wrote about how Martínez's investigative reporting uncovered Espada's corruption years before they wrote their stories. Former senator’s Bronx pad up for sale

The Mayor and Member of the City Hall Press Tried to Take Away Martínez's Press Pass and Kick Him Out of City Hall

David Seifman from the NYP and a guy named Michael Blood from Daily News both tried to convince other journalist in Room 9 that Martínez did not deserve a press pass.  They were working on behalf of the mayor (as they often do) who canceled Martínez press pass.  It took Norman Siegel defending Martínez to defeat the Mayor’s NYPD attempt to not renew Martínez's press pass. Bloomberg wanted to limited his blue room press conferences to only puppet reporters who do  his bidding.  He wanted to end the real questions that Martínez has been firing at mayors for the last 30 years. Siegel’s lawsuit resulted in Martínez getting a new press pass, that open up press passes to other bloggers.  Martínez said a lot of the old media blame him for losing their parking permits.  With Espada headed to jail Martínez is content that his work is done. Don't worry Martínez is not going anywhere, he still has a lifetime of stories to tell and corrupt pols to fight against. “You’re still alive?” Pedro often called to the 79-year-old journalist as he attended everyday of Espada Trial.  Yesterday at the plea deal Martínez told Espada that "I am very much alive and your going to jail"  Journalist Espada Breaks Through City Hall's "The Media's Wall of Silence"

Read the Rest of This Weekends True News
Read True News Every Day 

An interview with the owner of the "Red Plum" and "Toyo Sushi" Restaurant in Mamaroneck, Westchester County.

Residents tell Espada, "YOU DON'T LIVE HERE!"

Espada and son plead guilty to tax fraud

MARISOL DÍAZ/THE RIVERDALE PRESS

Pedro Espada speaks to reporters outside a Brooklyn federal courthouse on Oct. 12. 

 

By Adam Wisnieski  Posted 10/12/12

Brooklyn, Oct. 10 — Former state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. and his son pleaded guilty to federal tax fraud charges this afternoon.

Mr. Espada, who was convicted in May of stealing nearly $450,000 from his non-profit Soundview Healthcare Network, admitted to filing a false income tax return for 2005.

His son, Pedro Gautier Espada, confessed to submitting a false income tax return for 2009 and to theft and coercion of public funds.

True to form, the disgraced state Senator walked out of Brooklyn Federal Court with the same broad smile he walked in with.

The plea deal offered to the men guarantees the dismissal of all other charges they faced.

After 11 days of deliberations in May, a jury convicted former state Sen. Pedro Espada on four counts of theft but could not come to a consensus on any of the charges against his son, Pedro G. Espada, or on conspiracy and fraud charges against the former state Senator.

Judge Frederic Block declared a mistrial on those counts.

Mr. Espada now faces between five and eight years and may be forced to pay a fine and restitution to government. His son faces up to two years.

Sentencing for the combined federal charges the two men have been found guilty of is scheduled for Feb. 22.

Mr. Espada spoke briefly to a mob of reporters outside of the courthouse.

“We have accepted responsibility and we are moving on with our lives,” he said.

“I feel blessed today, as I have in the past.”

Former State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., arriving at Brooklyn Federal Court on October 12th, 2012, where he pleaded guilty to corruption charges.

video by Rafael Martínez Alequín

 

Disgraced pol Pedro Espada pleads guilty to tax evasion; son Pedro Gautier Espada pleads guilty to theft

Espada faces up to 10 years in prison on each of his four theft convictions, and up to three years on the tax charge

By John Marzulli AND Corky Siemaszko / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Friday, October 12, 2012, 2:54 PM

Updated: Friday, October 12, 2012, 10:17 PM

Jesse Ward/for New York Daily News

Former State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., arriving at Brooklyn Federal Court on October 12th, 2012, where he pleaded guilty to corruption charges.

After nearly two decades of dodging indictments and investigations, disgraced Bronx Sen. Pedro Espada finally said the words: “Guilty, your honor.”

As part of a package plea deal with his son, the once-defiant Democrat pleaded guilty Friday to filing a false tax return that omitted the more than $400,000 he stole from his federally funded Soundview Health Network.

“Yes your honor, I accept responsibility,” Espada said in Brooklyn Federal Court. “Guilty, your honor.”

His son, Pedro Gautier Espada, dressed like his dad in a navy blue suit, pleaded guilty on two of the more than eight criminal charges he faced in connection with the scheme. He pleaded to filing a false tax return on 2009 earnings and ripping off the network.

Because of the sheer brazenness of Espada’s crimes, sources said it is unlikely the former pol will avoid hard time.

Outside the courthouse, the usually cocky Espada — who during the trial had belittled prosecutors and waved rosary beads to ward off the federal government’s “evil spiritual powers” — was replaced by humbler version of himself.

“I want to thank so many people, not only in New York City, but in the nation, that gave us their prayers and support,” he said.

“We have accepted responsibility and are moving on with our lives. I feel blessed today as I have in the past.”

Pedro Gautier, 38 — who had not made any public statements during the protracted scandal — stood silently as his suddenly repentant pop addressed reporters.

Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Mott Haven, the 58-year-old Espada spent much of his 20-year political career dodging legal charges and fending off scandals.

But he got the smirk wiped off his face in May when he was convicted on four of the eight charges he faced for stealing $448,000 from Soundview between 2005 and 2009.

Prosecutors said Espada used the money to lavish luxuries upon himself that included fancy dinners, expensive vacations, home improvements and family parties.

The jury deadlocked on the other four charges Espada faced, along with all eight charges against his son.

They both faced a retrial, along with additional charges in Manhattan Federal Court for filing false tax returns, mainly because they did not claim the money they stole.

Now with the guilty pleas, all cases against the Espadas are closed.

“We can finally declare the Espada era over,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said outside the courthouse.

Espada faces up to 10 years in prison on each of his four theft convictions, and up to three years on the tax charge, plus $1.2 million in fines and penalties.

Most likely, Brooklyn Federal Judge Frederic Block will slap Espada with a sentence of anywhere from 70 to 87 months, based on the sentencing guidelines.

But Block didn’t make any promises Friday.

“I cannot tell you anything today as to what the sentence will be,” Block said. “The range may be less, it may be higher. All that is going to be my call.”

Espada’s son is likely to be placed on probation, sources said.

Both Espadas are expected to argue at sentencing that they should not go to prison because of their good works, and that the Soundview clinic they looted provided medical services to poor people in the Bronx for more than three decades.

But prosecutors proved Espada stacked Soundview’s board with cronies so he could pillage the nonprofit.

In recent years, the clinic missed payrolls, couldn’t afford to replace aging medical equipment and was forced this year to stop seeing patients when it couldn’t pay its malpractice insurance.

Soundview was closed in July and the space on White Plains Road is now occupied by the Stevenson Family Health Center.

“This is a whole new business here,” a manager, who declined to give her name, said when asked about the Espada guilty plea.

“We have nothing to do with Espada.”

Then she hung up.

All traces of Espada inside the old Soundview building are gone and the walls have a fresh coat of white paint. It still has a faded red awning, but the new name is tacked over the old one.

And there was little sympathy for Espada among the patients venturing in and out of the new health center.

“Thank God,” said 36-year-old Matila Perez, a recently laid off teachers assistant who was waiting to see a doctor. “He was stealing from poor income people. I’ll be doing a dance outside the courthouse” when he’s sentenced.

Tabrese Wright, 34, said she used to take her three kids to the Soundview clinic.

“The whole thing’s unfortunate,” said Wright. “When this (clinic) closed down, it left a lot of people with no place to go. It’s terrible what he did. He should go to jail.”

In addition to the criminal charges, the elder Espada remains the target of yet another ongoing probe.

Gov. Cuomo, when he was attorney general, launched a civil probe into Espada as part of a crackdown into public corruption. Espada charged back that the investigation was politically motived, and said Cuomo was trying to take away his “manhood.”

In a statement released Friday, Cuomo took some satisfaction in Espada’s fall.

“Mr. Espada’s reaction was to lash out again and again and to falsely disparage and accuse my office of engaging in a politically motivated witch hunt,” said Cuomo. “Today, I give Mr. Espada the last word — when he says, ‘guilty.’ ”

In 1998, Espada was indicted for allegedly using $260,000 in Medicaid money intended to support Soundview for his political campaign. He was acquitted at trial.

Then in 2002, Espada was caught trying to direct $745,000 in pork-barrel grants to Soundview. The grants were later cancelled.

Two years later, seven of Espada’s Soundview workers were charged with diverting food intended for AIDS patients to an Espada political rally. Three wound up pleading guilty.

And Espada, who claimed he lived in a Bedford Park co-op, was discovered to be living in a $700,000 house in tony Mamaroneck. His next address could be a federal prison.

With Tanyanika Samuels
jmarzulli@nydailynews.com

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/espada-pleads-guilty-tax-evasion-article-1.1181996#ixzz29BYwammq

Former state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. and son set to cop plea in nonprofit scam

• By MITCHEL MADDUX and DAN MANGAN
• Last Updated: 5:59 AM, October 12, 2012
• Posted: 3:03 AM, October 12, 2012

Disgraced ex-state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. and his son are scheduled to plead guilty today in Brooklyn federal court after reaching a deal with prosecutors over charges they looted more than $500,000 from the Bronx health-care nonprofit they founded, sources said.
The plea deal would resolve Espada’s and Pedro Gautier Espada’s pending retrial in Brooklyn federal court for which they stand accused of swindling the Soundview Healthcare Network to fund a lavish lifestyle, as well as a Manhattan federal court case in which they are accused of failing to pay taxes on that money, sources said.

David McGlynn

Pedro Espada

Terms of the plea deal were not disclosed yesterday but could include a reduction in the number of charges and an agreement on what prison sentence federal guidelines would call for.
“I expect a resolution of both the Brooklyn and Manhattan cases [Friday],” said Espada’s lawyer, Daniel Hochheiser.
A Brooklyn federal court jury in May convicted the former state Senate majority leader of four criminal counts, deadlocking on four other counts — and deadlocked on the same eight counts facing his son.
Evidence at trial showed how the Espada clan enjoyed vacations, sushi meals, cars, birthday parties, flowers and other luxuries with funds siphoned from the taxpayer-supported nonprofit.
A retrial of Pedro G. Espada, 38, and his dad for the counts on which the jury deadlocked was on hold until after the end of the Manhattan tax trial, set to start on Nov. 5.
The elder Espada, 58, was already facing up to 40 years in prison, as well as huge legal bills for the retrials.
The dramatic move to end both cases was indicated in a note yesterday by Brooklyn federal Judge Frederic Block.
In a letter to Manhattan federal Judge William Pauley three days ago, Pedro G. Espada’s lawyer wrote that prosecutors “will only negotiate a ‘package deal’ for both defendants.”
Hochheiser last night said only, “The senator is open to a fair resolution of the pending matters in Manhattan and Brooklyn.”
His son’s lawyer, Sabrina Shroff, declined to comment, as did the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office.
Hours before the expected deal came to light, it was revealed that Espada’s other son, Alejandro, demanded that federal authorities release about $81,000 in Soundview funds that had been seized after officials learned he secretly distributed about $600,000 of the nonprofit’s remaining funds to his family, cronies and employees.
Alejandro Espada, who headed the now-closed clinic in his dad’s absence, claimed he was entitled to the money for work he did.
dan.mangan@nypost.com

Appeals court upholds National Arts Club's vote to boot ex-president from club

• By DAREH GREGORIAN
• Last Updated: 3:14 PM, October 11, 2012
• Posted: 3:12 PM, October 11, 2012

And stay out!
A state appeals court has upheld the National Arts Club's vote to boot its disgraced ex-president from the club.
In a ruling released today, the state Appellate Division said the Gramercy Park club was well within its rights when it voted to expel its longtime president Aldon James amid allegations he'd been treating the club as his own personal piggy bank and Manhattan Mini-Storage.
James had contended the vote to expel him, his twin brother John and their friend Steven Leitner was the result of "bias" by members of the club's board, many of whom they'd butted heads with over the years.

PatrickMcMullan

Aldon James

This past March, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead sided with the what the club refers to as "the James gang," invalidating their expulsion and directing a new hearing before a neautral arbitrator.
The Appellate Division found Edmead had overstepped her authority "by interfering with internal, private club proceedings."
They said the vote had been carried out in accordance with Arts Club bylaws, and the Jameses failed to show the board was biased.
Lawyers for the club and James did not immediately return calls for comment.
The ruling came just three weeks after the state Attorney General's office filed a $2 million lawsuit against James, charging he'd cheated it out of big bucks during his tenure as president.
The oddball — famed for his rose-tinted glasses — and his twin brother James hoarded a dozen apartments at the club for their personal use and used club cash to go on shopping sprees at antique fairs and out to dinner, the suit charged.
"For years, Mr. James took advantage of his role as the leader of the National Arts Club to deprive the organization of valuable assets that should have been used to advance its charitable mission," AG Eric Schneiderman said.
James has said in court papers that both he and his brother are hoarders, and they needed the apartments to hold their belongings. The AG charged the apartments they were using could have — and should have — been rented out to club members and their friends.
The suit also charges the Jameses would often go on "shopping sprees" armed with the club's debit card or check book. James "lived off the club; he regularly treated the club's property as his own in order to fund nearly every aspect of his comfortable lifestyle," the suit says.
The action is still pending. James has denied any wrongdoing.

Espada to Plead Guilty to Remaining Charges After Being Convicted of Theft

By MOSI SECRET 9:55 PM ET

A guilty plea by Pedro Espada Jr. is expected to resolve all remaining charges against him and his son, Pedro G. Espada.

Espada & son expected to cop to two fed cases related to looting $500G from non-profit(NYP) * Espada to Plead Guilty to Remaining Charges After Being Convicted of Theft(NYT) * Espada & son expected to plead guilty tomorrow(NYP)

Disgraced ex-pol Pedro Espada and his son to plead guilty 

Former state senator was convicted of stealing $400K from the Soundview Health Network. The pair also face tax evasion charges.

By John Marzulli / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, October 11, 2012, 4:47 PM

Seth Wenig/AP

Pedro Espada Jr, right, and his son Pedro Gautier Espada, left, are expected to plead guilty Friday in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Convicted ex-state Sen. Pedro Espada and his son are scheduled to plead guilty tomorrow in Brooklyn Federal Court, after reaching a deal with the government on the remaining criminal charges they face for using a low-income healthcare network as their personal piggybank, then not paying taxes on the money they stole.
The elder Espada was convicted in May of stealing more than $400,000 from the Soundview Health Network he founded in the Bronx to fund personal expenses, but the jury deadlocked on one count and was also hung on the charges against his son, Pedro Gautier Espada.
They also faced a trial on tax evasion charges in Manhattan Federal Court next month.
But sources said there will be no additional trials as a result of the guilty pleas before Federal Judge Frederic Block.
A spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office declined comment.
Lawyers for the Espadas could not immediately be reached.
Espada already faces 10 years in prison on the charges he was convicted of last spring. It is unclear how the guilty plea will affect his sentence, or whether his son will also face jail time.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ex-pol-pedro-espada-son-plead-guilty-article-1.1181135#ixzz291vSmW3Z