Thursday, October 11, 2012


Disgraced ex-pol Pedro Espada and his son to plead guilty 

Former state senator was convicted of stealing $400K from the Soundview Health Network. The pair also face tax evasion charges.

Pedro Espada Jr, right, and his son Pedro Gautier Espada, left, are expected to plead guilty Friday in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Seth Wenig/AP

Pedro Espada Jr, right, and his son Pedro Gautier Espada, left, are expected to plead guilty Friday in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Convicted ex-state Sen. Pedro Espada and his son are scheduled to plead guilty tomorrow in Brooklyn Federal Court, after reaching a deal with the government on the remaining criminal charges they face for using a low-income healthcare network as their personal piggybank, then not paying taxes on the money they stole.
The elder Espada was convicted in May of stealing more than $400,000 from the Soundview Health Network he founded in the Bronx to fund personal expenses, but the jury deadlocked on one count and was also hung on the charges against his son, Pedro Gautier Espada.
They also faced a trial on tax evasion charges in Manhattan Federal Court next month.
But sources said there will be no additional trials as a result of the guilty pleas before Federal Judge Frederic Block.
A spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office declined comment.
Lawyers for the Espadas could not immediately be reached.
Espada already faces 10 years in prison on the charges he was convicted of last spring. It is unclear how the guilty plea will affect his sentence, or whether his son will also face jail time.

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