Jun 18, 2009 6:06 am US/Eastern
CBS 2 Probe Puts Espada Back In Hot Water
Official Documents Show Bronx Senator, 1 Of The Renegade Democrats In Albany Coup, Listed His House In Mamaroneck
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Bronx Sen. Pedro Espada does his best to dodge CBS 2's Marcia Kramer when approached about his home in Mamaroneck in May 2009.
CBS
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Sens. Dean Skelos (l) and Pedro Espada (r) are sworn in in the New York Senate chambers on June 8, 2009.
CBS
The Bronx politician at the center of the Albany coup has new problems, CBS 2 has learned exclusively. Official documents we obtained show Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. listed his residence as a home in Mamaroneck, not his Bronx district.
When Espada was first asked by CBS 2 HD whether he actually lives in the district he represents, he laughed. But now it's no laughing matter.
CBS 2 HD acquired documentation filed on June 24, 2009, by Espada and his wife Connie to post bail for their nephew, Carlos Mocete, who was arrested in Bridgeport, Conn. Twice, on two separate pages, Espada listed his residence as 115 Beechwood Drive in Mamaroneck, not the Bronx coop where he claims he lives to fulfill state residence requirements that he actually live in the district he's serving.
Espada did his best to dodge the questions when we approached him in the past. He may not be so lucky anymore. The documents are important because Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson now has an expanding criminal probe of whether Espada is violating state law by living in Mamaroneck.
Sources tell CBS 2 that Johnson has subpoenaed box loads of records from the state Senate, including Espada's travel vouchers and requests for pork barrel money. The DA wants records for Espada's present Senate stint, which began in January, as well as two other terms from 1993 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2002. CBS 2 has also learned the prosecutor also wants to know about a request made by Espada for $2 million in pork barrel money for two non-profits that were started in the spring.
Espada claims the DA's probe is retribution from the Democratic Party because he sided with Republicans in the state Senate coup. But CBS 2 first reported the probe over a month before the coup took place.
The DA and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo are also investigating the health clinics that Espada owns in the Bronx.
Only time will tell whether investigators will take action against Espada as a result of CBS 2's findings.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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