NY Senator Charged With Embezzling From His Clinic

ALBANY, N.Y. – Pedro Espada Jr. has been at the center of two of the most tumultuous years the two-century-old New York Senate has ever seen.

Now, the bold and charismatic Bronx Democrat who plied his way from freshman to majority leader in six months stands accused of embezzling state grants he directed to his Bronx health clinic in some New York's poorest neighborhoods to pay for a cool car and a hot night life.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday indicted the 57-year-old state senator and his son, Pedro Gautier Espada, 37, on six charges stemming from the activities involving the Comprehensive Community Development Corp., a federally funded not-for-profit in the Bronx known as Soundview. They are accused of embezzling more than $500,000 from clinic the senator founded for lavish spending, including a down payment on a $125,000 Bentley and $14,000 in tickets for sports and shows.

GO HERE to read more.