Pedro Espada

Pedro Espada (2009)

Pedro Espada Jr. (born October 20, 1953 in Coamo , Puerto Rico ) is an American politician . In 2009 he was acting lieutenant governor of New York State .

Career

At the age of five, Pedro Espada came to New York City with his parents , where he attended public schools. He then studied until 1975 at Fordham University . In the late 1970s he was involved in local politics in Manhattan and Harlem . He helped found the Soundview Health Center and focused his political work on health care. He became a member of the Democratic Party . In 1988 he failed in his party's primary election for Congress . He sat in the New York Senate between 1993 and 1996, 2001 and 2002, and again in 2009 and 2010 . In 2003 he was a member of the New York City Council .

From 2009 to 2010 Espada was the democratic group leader in the State Senate. During this time, the so-called New York State Senate Leadership Crisis occurred , in which he played a leading role. Together with another Democrat and 30 Republican state senators, he managed to temporarily reverse the majority in his favor. Since he was also President Pro Tempore of the State Senate, he was also acting as Vice Governor between June 8 and July 9, 2009. The office had been vacant since 2008 and was held by the respective Senate President until the next election. After David Paterson , Joseph Bruno , Dean Skelos and Malcolm Smith, he was the fifth lieutenant governor of his state within one term of office. By Richard Ravitch should follow then even a sixth before then in 2011 with Robert Duffy again regularly elected lieutenant governor took office. Apart from Paterson, the others only held this office temporarily.

Espada remained the Democratic leader until 2010. Then it became known that the authorities were investigating him for fraud. In 2012 he was sentenced to five years in prison by a court for embezzling money from a federally funded clinic for his private use. Despite the ongoing investigations against him, Espada ran again for the State Senate in 2010, but failed in his party's primary elections.

Web links

• Biography at the New York Senate

Individual evidence

1. ^ New York Daily News: Sen. Pedro Espada hounded by questions on ethics and residency (June 10, 2009)
2. ^ Federal Bureau of Investigation: Former New York State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr. Sentenced to Five Years' Imprisonment