Lock him up, they say!
Despite his defiant vow that he’s no crook and assertion that he’ll be fully vindicated, state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. had few supporters yesterday among the furious patients of the Bronx health center he founded and allegedly looted to the tune of $500,000 in taxpayer money.
Espada, 56, the onetime Senate majority leader who has become the latest poster boy for Albany corruption, was freed along with his son, Pedro G. Espada, 35, after each posted a $750,000 bond and pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn federal court to embezzlement and conspiracy.
But clients said they’d rather see the disgraced pol behind bars.
“I think he’s a thief. I always thought he was a thief,” said outraged senior Rosalind Rahamon, a 70-year-old Bronx resident picking up her prescription medicines at Espada’s Soundview Health Center on White Plains Road. “He belongs in jail and I hope he goes to jail.”
Prosecutors said the Espadas raided the Soundview clinic’s coffers, going on a spending spree that included tickets to Broadway shows, dozens of pricey meals and a $49,000 down payment on a $125,000 Bentley — a deal that fell through when the elder Espada could not get an auto loan.
Federal Magistrate Judge Steven Gold told the Espadas they were “charged with very serious crimes and if convicted face long sentences in prison.”
The indictments against Espada and his son came just two weeks before the longtime pol — perhaps most infamous for spearheading a Senate coup last year that paralyzed state government — is due to leave office after losing his September re-election primary. He was stripped of his Senate majority-leader post Tuesday after he was indicted.
Over the past two years, The Post has chronicled Espada’s abuse of public office and his nonprofit clinic — from stocking its board with cronies to lying on his tax forms.
A smiling Espada left the crowded courthouse surrounded by friends, supporters and his lawyer. Standing on the courthouse steps, he made a rambling statement proclaiming his innocence and claiming his only interest was in helping people through the clinic.
“I have mighty faith in the justice system and the people who decide these matters, and I look forward to complete vindication of these charges,” he said.
At Soundview, few were buying it.
“I thought he was here to help us, not to pocket money for himself,” said Maria Arana, 46, another patient from The Bronx. “We’re poor people. We need help, we don’t need nobody taking from us. For him, if you do the crime, you do the time.”
Michael Rosado, 43, also from The Bronx, has visited Soundview for seven years.
“There’s no excuse for what he did, and he has to pay a price, plain and simple,” he said.
After speaking outside court, the Espadas were whisked away in a blue Cadillac Escalade.
During the plea hearing, Gold also ordered the younger Espada to surrender his passport. The elder Espada’s passport has expired and he told the court he had lost it.
The Espadas were ordered not to travel beyond New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
They surrendered to the feds a day after being hit with a six-count indictment that culminated a months-long investigation by the US attorney, the FBI and the office of Attorney General and Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo.
The Espadas each could face more than 55 years in prison.