Metro

Pedro trial juror hanging things up

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This hard-head could hang Pedro’s jury.

Ex-state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr.’s federal embezzlement trial screeched to a halt yesterday after the jury revealed that one of its 12 members has “refused” to deliberate from the very beginning.

Brooklyn federal Judge Frederic Block late yesterday received a note, signed by several jurors, that said, “After five or 10 minutes from day one of deliberations, one of the jurors refused to be open to deliberations, and announced that the juror’s mind was made up.”

“We have a sticky wicket here,” said Block, after being told — for the second day in a row — that the jury had a mule-like member. “One juror is allegedly not engaging in deliberations.”

The jury began deliberating Monday. On Tuesday the judge told lawyers that there had been raised voices in the jury room and complaints about one juror.

Yesterday’s note set off a buzz of speculation among prosecutors and lawyers for Espada and son Pedro Gautier Espada, who are charged with swindling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the federally supported Soundview Healthcare Network nonprofit in The Bronx founded by the elder Espada.

Block, without calling the jury out to the courtroom, told both sides that he would speak to the entire jury when they return today. He then will interview the unidentified juror separately.

Depending on what he hears, Block has two likely options:

* He can allow the juror to remain on the panel, reminding the holdout and everyone else that they have a sworn duty to deliberate the evidence and charges against the Espadas.

* Or, if Block finds that the juror is adamantly refusing to consider evidence, he could boot the juror and have the remaining 11 jurors continue deliberating.

Block has already dismissed the alternate jurors.

He noted that there is a difference between a juror who resolutely refuses to deliberate and a juror who has made up their mind after fairly deliberating the case, which is not grounds for dismissal.

Block then had his deputy tell the jurors to go home “and have a good sleep,” and then return today.

Espada said outside of court, “This is a delicate stage of deliberations, and I would ask that people respect all 12 jurors. They have a difficult job, they’ve been here for two months, and let’s just have respect for the process.”

Prosecutors in those two months laid out a staggering amount of evidence showing how the Espadas allegedly charged a raft of personal expenses to Soundview and a cleaning company they controlled. Much of those expenses were later claimed to be business-related.

The overwhelming majority of Soundview’s funding came from government grants and reimbursements for services, meaning that taxpayers allegedly footed the bill for Espada’s lavish lifestyle.

Espada earlier yesterday blamed Gov. Cuomo for Soundview’s current dire financial state.

“He’s got no moral compass, Mr. Cuomo does!” Espada sputtered, accusing Cuomo and the state Health Department of ordering health-maintenance organizations not to reimburse Soundview for Medicaid-covered treatment of poor Bronx residents, even as a state court mandates they do so.