Wall Street Journal
by Sean Gardiner
September 21, 2012

A federal judge in Brooklyn allowed Pedro Espada Jr. to remain free on bond Friday, putting off a decision on a prosecution request that the former state senator be jailed for allegedly stealing from a Bronx health-care clinic after he was convicted of embezzling from it.

Judge Frederic Block said he'd give defense lawyers and prosecutors until Sept. 28 to submit papers in the case, and said he may later set an evidentiary hearing on the prosecution's motion to revoke Mr. Espada's $750,000 bond.

New York Times
by Benjamin Weiser
September 21, 2012
Espada Still Free

A federal judge in Brooklyn declined to revoke bail on Friday for former State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., who was accused by prosecutors this week of siphoning additional money from a nonprofit group that he had been convicted of stealing from.

Mr. Espada, 58, a Democrat from the Bronx who has been free on bond pending sentencing, was convicted in May of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Soundview Healthcare Network. He founded the organization and served as its chief executive.

New York Times
by Mosi Secret
September 19, 2012

It was no surprise when the Soundview Healthcare Network in the Bronx began to liquidate its assets this summer. After all, its founder and chief executive, Pedro Espada Jr., the bombastic former state legislator, had been convicted of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the nonprofit organization, and soon afterward, seemingly a casualty of corrupt management, it stopped accepting patients and began laying off staff members.

But when what was left of the network was finally sold off for $600,000, the bulk of the proceeds went to some surprising recipients: Mr. Espada, his relatives and companies they controlled.

Now prosecutors are seeking to revoke the bail of Mr. Espada, who has been free pending his sentencing, arguing in a document unsealed on Wednesday that the deal represents one final swindle.

New York Daily News
by Celeste Katz
September 19, 2012

Forgive me for not getting to this earlier, but our John Marzulli reports federal prosecutors have asked a judge to revoke the bail of convicted ex-state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. and toss him in jail for violating the terms of his release.

Espada was convicted last May of stealing more than $400,000 from the Soundview Healthcare Network he founded, prompting Judge Frederic Block to bar him from participating in the affairs of the Bronx clinics.

In a letter to the judge, prosecutors revealed that Espada and members of his family have been draining Soundview's remaining assets. It was sold to the Institute for Family Health for $600,000 in June.

New York Post
by Bruce Golding
September 12, 2012

He’s going on trial for tax evasion this time around, but the feds want jurors to learn all about the corruption of crooked ex-state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr.

In court papers, prosecutors say they should be allowed to show how the Bronx Democrat and his son scammed hundreds of thousands of dollars from their nonprofit Soundview medical clinics to pay for “lavish parties” and other personal expenses. “Evidence of these schemes is intertwined with evidence of the defendants’ willful commission of the charged [tax] crimes,” the Manhattan federal-court filing says.

New York Post
by Bruce Golding
August 25, 2012

An impatient judge yesterday told prosecutors to “forget about” adding extra charges to the tax-evasion case against crooked ex-pol Pedro Espada Jr. and his son ­ insisting their trial will start as scheduled in November.

“You indicted the Espadas back in December of 2010,” Manhattan federal Judge William Pauley III said. “I’m not going to countenance further delays.”

Pauley also ordered prosecutors to pare down their list of 103 potential witnesses, saying he wouldn’t allow testimony from “more than 25 to 30, max.”

Prosecutor Roger Burlingame countered that some witnesses only needed about five or 10 minutes on the stand to provide crucial evidence about the Espadas’ alleged tax scam.

New York Post
by Erik Kriss and Bruce Golding
July 24, 2012

Crooked ex-pol Pedro Espada Jr. scraped up enough dough to hire a new lawyer yesterday ­ even as The Post learned that he still has not accounted for nearly $400,000 in campaign cash.

The disgraced Bronx Democrat (pictured), who’s awaiting sentencing for looting the health-care nonprofit he founded, went to Manhattan federal court with his new mouthpiece after refusing to sign a financial affidavit needed to qualify for free representation on related tax charges.

“You have to file it if you say you’re indigent. He’s not indigent,” said his new lawyer, Daniel Hochheiser, outside court.

Records show three Espada campaign committees had $372,320.94 in the bank the last time they filed reports with the state Board of Elections.

Bronx Times
by David Cruz
July 19, 2012

While one health care provider takes over disgraced former Senator Pedro Espada’s now defunct Soundview Health Center, another clinic has set up shop just blocks away.

Urban Health Plan, a staple in the south Bronx for 40 years, opened its doors July 12 at the Bruckner Plaza strip mall, a four-minute walk from the old clinic, now dubbed the Stevenson Health Center and run by The Institute for Family Health.

But both sides agree there’s “plenty of work to go around.”

“The Institute is welcomed to practice here,” said Paloma Izquierdo Hernandez, president and CEO of Urban Health Plan. “The community will luck out in having two providers.”

New York Post
by Bruce Golding
July 9, 2012

A fed-up judge ordered crooked ex-pol Pedro Espada Jr. to spill his guts about his cash flow after the former state senator claimed that he can’t afford a lawyer to represent him on tax-fraud charges. “He can’t simply say he declines to answer questions about his finances, especially now since he’s seeking to have the public pay,” Manhattan federal Judge William Pauley III said today.

Pauley urged the fallen Bronx Democrat to exercise “caution” in filing an affidavit and “making a statement to a federal official,” before adding: “But that’s up to him.” Pauley also expressed skepticism about what could have changed in the month since Espada -- who’s awaiting sentencing for stealing more than $480,000 from a healthcare non-profit -- said he was shopping for a new lawyer.

Espada told the judge he’d met with about six firms, but hadn’t been able to cut a deal. Outside court, he complained bitterly that “$800 an hour is cheap” for New York City lawyers, noting: “The bottom line is, I’m unemployed.”

New York Daily News
Disgraced majority leader convicted of looting $600G from Soundview Health Clinic in Bronx can't find an attorney 'who's quoted him a fee that he can afford,' public defender tells court
by Janon Fisher
July 9, 2012

Disgraced Bronx state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr., who embezzled nearly half a million dollars in federal money from a health clinic he ran, now says he’s too poor to afford a lawyer.

The former majority leader, convicted in May for using the Soundview Health Clinic as his personal pig trough, is now facing charges of tax evasion and wants a Manhattan federal judge to allow taxpayers to fund his defense for federal tax evasion charges.

“He has been unable to find (a lawyer) who’s quoted him a fee that he can afford,” said Jeffrey Pittell, a public defender who is hoping the judge approves the request.