Pedro Espada

Good Job! New York State Lawmakers Only Violated Campaign Finance Law 103,805 Times in Two Years

Seems like you can't walk down an Albany sidewalk without stumbling over a lawmaker charged with graft these days, but the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) put out a report yesterday that shows how widely the system is failing. According to the report, New York state lawmakers have ... More >>

Schneiderman's Sandy Clampdown Continues: Non-Profits Next On NYAG's List

Last week, we reported on the subpoenas sent out by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to thirteen different gas providers in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The intention was simple: these providers, according to Schneiderman, were targeted for price-gouging consumers to profit off of the ene ... More >>

They All Look Alike: Daily News, Minority Politicians Division

​ "Throw the Bums Out!" is the lead battle cry of the front page of the Daily News' Web site this morning, and it has pix of those rascals we should all be voting against today -- a quartet of black and Hispanic politicians: state senators Pedro Espada, Kevin Parker, Assemblyman Adriano Espail ... More >>

This Week in the Voice: Subprime Candidate - Inside Rick Lazio's Biggest Wall Street Deals

​In 2007, current New York gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio was a JPMorgan Chase executive, one who sent emails like all the other JPMorgan executives. The difference, though? Some of Lazio's emails -- which the Village Voice has now obtained and published -- show the details of just how inv ... More >>

Does Cuomo's Favored AG Candidate Have Her Own Pedro Espada Problem?

Rice​It sounds like an exotic Sandra Lee recipe: pigeon and rice. Lee is the Andrew Cuomo gal pal who took time off from her Food Network on-camera cooking duties to appear with him at his gubernatorial announcement and was famously asked by Roseanna Scotto recently on Fox Five when Andrew wo ... More >>

Tom Morahan Will Not Seek Re-Election, Giving State Senate Democrats a Seat to Aim For

Morahan​As the country watches Senate primaries in Kentucky, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania today, there is news out of our own dysfunctional State Senate (now a month overdue on a budget) here in New York: Republican Senator Tom Morahan will not seek re-election. Morahan represents parts of Oran ... More >>

Efrain Gonzalez, That Other Rogue Pol, Looking at Long(er) Prison Stay

​Efrain Gonzalez, the sad sack ex-state senator from the Bronx, has somehow managed to dig himself into a hole deeper than those mysterious house-swallowing chasms up in Canada. Gonzalez was already in a legal pit up to his ample chin, facing between 7 to 9 years in prison after copping to h ... More >>

State Senate's Malcolm Smith Invents Perfect Mouth-Trap as Feds Eye Home Scam

​What with terror terrier Faisal Shahzad trying to send some of us to infidel oblivion this past weekend, we temporarily lost sight of our home-hatched wackos in Albany. On Monday came news that senate President Malcolm Smith has his own plans on sending people to oblivion, although in his ca ... More >>

Andrew Cuomo Bows Out of Paterson Probe, Clearing Roadblock to Run for Governor

A lot of people have said that Attorney General Andrew Cuomo couldn't get in the governor's race, despite his high poll numbers in prospective match-ups, because of his responsibility over the Paterson probe. Well, that's no longer a factor: Cuomo has recused himself from the probe of the governor' ... More >>

Hiram Monserrate Expelled, 53-8

​The State Senate just voted 53-8 to expel Hiram Monserrate immediately. Eric Adams, Ruben Diaz Sr., Martin Malave Dilan, Carl Kruger, Pedro Espada Jr., Kevin Parker, John Sampson, and Monserrate himself were the only no votes; Thomas Morahan was excused. Monserrate gave the final vote and t ... More >>

Former State Senator Efrain Gonzalez wants to withdraw guilty plea on fraud charges

Frances M. Roberts​Former State Senator Efrain Gonzalez Jr, whose legal troubles threw his Bronx seat into the unsteady hands of situational Democrat Pedro Espada, is floating the idea of withdrawing his guilty plea to federal charges of fraud.

Barrett: Remembering When Chuck Schumer Was Fighting for Harold Ford -- in Tennessee (UPDATED)

​ See UPDATE after the jump "Harold Ford is a great candidate who knows how to handle himself," Chuck Schumer said in 2005. "We're very hopeful about his candidacy." Maybe a bit less hopeful today. The fine line between irony and hypocrisy is crossed every day in politics. But in ... More >>

Hookers, Slot Machines, Rats: Life at the Bronx's 2320 Aqueduct Ave

Life is a gamble when your home is a bargaining chip

Anti-Bloomberg Ad Shows New York of Future Maybe Slightly Worse Than New York of Present

This anti-Bloomberg ad, created by Communication Workers of America 1180 (dba NYC is Not For Sale), is supposed to describe Mayor Bloomberg's sixth term of office in "a city far different from the one who know today." But then they tell us that "Manhattan is home to only the super-rich" and "work ... More >>

Towns Takes Hint from Albany Dems, Locks GOP Out of Chamber

Remember, during the Albany Coup, how the state senate Democrats locked the chamber and Pedro Espada flourished the key? National Democrats are starting to pick up this method, thanks to our own Edolphus Towns. The Hill says the Brooklyn Congressman "locked Republicans out of the House Oversight a ... More >>

Cheek, in Review: 7 Days of Runnin' Scared

​ Museum of Natural History. Twitpic by ashelamb. The week was hot as hell -- which, a quick scan of our stories reveals, is an apt comparison. In a tribute to democracy, people with guns started following around President Obama. Busybodies were all over Michelle Obama's butt. Old peo ... More >>

Court Rules Ravitch Not Lieutenant Governor

Yesterday's hard day of grilling for Governor Paterson's legal team gave us a feeling this was coming: A four-judge Appellate Division panel has ruled that Paterson had no right to install Richard Ravitch as Lieutenant Governor. The court's ruling agrees with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's readin ... More >>

Paterson's Lawyers Grilled on Ravitch Appointment

Last month Governor Paterson's team of lawyers were confident that, despite Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's cavils, Public Officers Law 43 made it perfectly Constitutional for the Governor to install Richard Ravitch as Lieutenant Governor. But Paterson's team had rough sledding at a hearing yesterd ... More >>

Tom Golisano Brags on Albany Coup, Wants Another for the Assembly

Billionaire Tom Golisano, who was so disgusted with New York taxes that he bailed from the state, then helped engineer this summer's month-long state senate coup, is running an infomercial that tells upstate viewers he's happy with the recent senate chaos as it won valuable reforms, such as (per the ... More >>

Cheek, in Review: 7 Days of Runnin' Scared

​ Twitpic via kbell7. I don't believe that one should devote his life to morbid self-attention, I believe that one should become a person like other people -- whoops, sorry, wrong diary. Our week was much worse. DC37 went for Bill Thompson. But what did Mayor Bloomberg care -- he had Twitter ... More >>

Judge Blocks "Lt. Gov." Ravitch From Doing Anything; Paterson Appeals

After deliberating since Wednesday, Judge William R. LaMarca thinks there's a "likelihood of success on the merits for their claim that neither the Constitution nor legislative enactment authorized the governor to make the appointment," and so has approved a request to bar Richard Ravitch from perfo ... More >>

Letters: July 21, 2009

This Week in the Voice

Heed the Siren! Here comes the 9th Annual Siren Music Festival and related content: Gleefully hostile, says Rob Harvilla of Future of the Left. On new album: acoustic guitar. Problem? "It's irrelevant what old fans or old bands think," says Falco. "If anything, it makes it more exciting to push i ... More >>

Cheek, in Review: 7 Days of Runnin' Scared

Dance troupe, Governor's Island. Boy, what a week. Gay Pride was effulgent as ever with three D.A. candidates voguing for the cameras, but marred by a gay-bashing on the Upper East Side. The authorities got involved and the cops went to work, and now it looks like there have been more such incide ... More >>

Council Candidate Cabrera, Challenged on Residency, Defends Himself with Leftovers, Toothpaste Stains

There's been a longstanding complaint that rogue state senator Pedro Espada Jr. doesnt really live in the Bronx, which he was elected to represent, but in Mamaroneck; Espada gave Daily News reporters a tour of his Bronx address, showing off family photos as proof of his residency, which they didn't ... More >>

This Week in the Voice

Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson. Harlem, the world. Greg Tate. Michael Jackson. Bed-Stuy. Jean Grae. Michael Jackson. Gary, Indiana. Jessica Hopper. The Village Voice Michael Jackson Archives. We all know about the Albany Coup and how bad it makes everyone look. But who really benefited ... More >>

Coup in Review: Another Bogus Special Session; Parker Calls Paterson Fan of Coke, "Banging"

We get sick of telling you and you get sick of hearing it, but the state senate didn't accomplish anything today. Each party came in, stunk the place up, and left. The Democrats win because they took an extra minute to pander, reading a proclamation on the anniversary of the death of Chabad-Lubovitc ... More >>

Letters

Coup in Review: Paterson Calls Special Session, Skelos Spokesman Says "Bullsh*t," Bloomberg Blames Dems, Espada Shows Off Bronx "Home"

Over the weekend Governor Paterson stepped into the Albany Coup spotlight, announcing that he would summon the state senators to a special session on Wednesday (the official session ends today), and he meant all the state senators, not just the Republicans who have been meeting alone, without a quor ... More >>

Assembly Reauthorizes Mayoral Control, But Senate Too Busy with Coup to Pass It

We should mention that though the state senate has been in an unproductive state of upheaval for nine days, the other house of the legislature keeps churning out bills, and assembly speaker Sheldon Silver keeps churning out press releases to announce them. Today, along with the Unincorporated Busine ... More >>

Puerto Rican Day Parade Rocks Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn

The Puerto Rican Day Parade was Sunday, and the clouds seemed not to dampen the traditional high spirits. Sonya Sotomayor didn't make it, but given Republican concerns with her heritage, we can understand why. Neither did Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate attend. But the mayor and the governor and ... More >>

Cheek, in Review: 7 Days of Runnin' Scared

On Third Avenue. Albany went coup-coup! Pedro Espada Jr. seized the state senate with the help of Hiram Monserrate and billionaire Tom Golisano. After some skirmishes, which saw Tom Duane appearing to lean GOP to save gay marriage, the Dems locked the chamber, but Espada got the key and the GOP w ... More >>

Family Affair: Feds Indict Arroyo Relative for Housing Scams

Just as all eyes were on the mighty state senator Pedro Espada Jr. and his many escapades, along comes some strong competition for Bronx Schemer of the Week Award.A freshly unsealed indictment this morning by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District, based on a joint city-federal probe, charges ... More >>

Cheek, in Review: 7 Days of Runnin' Scared

President Obama came down on the credit card companies. They're still trying to hang the socialist and elitist raps on him, but they don't seem to be sticking. Mayor Bloomberg got mad as hell about the MTA fare hike -- but didn't bother to tell his friends in Albany. His "Puppets for Educational ... More >>

Tolls Coming Back to MTA Rescue?

Back in February it looked like bridge tolls were going to save us from the MTA Doomsday budget. But in March the tolls were tabled, and the MTA started lining up a crappier subway with $2.50 fares. But hark! What do we hear from Albany? They're talking about tolls again. Some modifications are bei ... More >>

Avella, Quinn Square Off on 80th Birthday Proclamation

Rafael Martinez Alequin, the citizen journalist last seen here getting roughed up by Pedro Espada's buddies, has obtained some hilarious correspondence regarding councilmember and mayoral candidate Tony Avella and council speaker Christine Quinn. (If Alequin's scans are broken, you can see them he ... More >>

Albany! LL Cool J Endorses Smith, Diaz Fights "Homosexual Marriage"

Say, aren't our elected representatives supposed to go to Albany and get sworn in on January 1? And isn't the fate of the elected Democratic majority -- the state's first since the Ice Age -- still unsettled? Would-be Majority Leader Malcolm Smith's biggest achievement recently was to pick up the en ... More >>

Diaz "Sanctified" Now-Dead Senate Deal with Prayer

State Senate Deal Collapsing: Espada, Maybe Smith Out?

Smith Announces Senate Chairs, Then Flees

4 State Senate Dems Continue to Defy Leadership

Hurry-Up Offense: Council Sets Term Limits Vote for Thursday

Primary: Silver Stays, Connor Out, Espada Beats Gonzalez, More

State Senator's Motion to Dismiss Charges is Rejected

Jeb & George

Bush Slated to Pay Top Dollar for Libby Pataki’s Florida Land

Letters

Still Counting

The Big Term-Limits Primary Offers Some Surprises

2001: An Election Odyssey

Races All Over the City Promise a ‘Mad, Mad’ Year

Advantage: Hevesi

City Comptroller Scores Big in Primary Races as Ferrer and Green Stumble

Alternating Currents