New Report Hits Espada For “Easy Money”

April 3, 2012 · by fair_admin

Gannett’s Politics on the Hudson

4/3/12

Jon Campbell

http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2012/04/03/new-report-hits-espada-for-%E2%80%9Ceasy-money/

A labor-supported think tank is out with a new report surrounding former state Sen. Pedro Espada, looking at the astronomical rate in which his political fundraising increased as he began to gain power in the Senate.

The Center for Working Families released the study Tuesday that found Espada’s campaign funds increased by 650 percent after he became chairman of the Senate Housing Committee, and that more than half of the money he raised from 2009 to 2010 came from the real estate industry. Of the money he raised, only three contributions—as in: one, two, three—totaling $800 came from within his district, according to the report.

The report looked at two election cycles—2007-2008, and 2009-10. Espada, a Bronx Democrat who was a central figure in the GOP’s Senate coup in 2009, lost in a Democratic primary in 2010 to current Sen. Gustavo Rivera. He is currently on trial for corruption charges related to his non-profit Bronx health center.