Former state Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. was back in Brooklyn federal court this morning to face new new tax-fraud charges in connection with his alleged siphoning of half-a-million dollars intended for poor patients from his taxpayer-subsidized Bronx health clinics.
Espada , 56, and his son, Pedro Gautier Espada, 35, made a brief appearance before Magistrate Judge Andrew Carter in Brooklyn federal court following the superseding indictment last week that charged them with several additional tax counts and conspiracy to defraud the US government.
They pleaded not guilty to all counts.
As Espada left the courthouse, the Bronx Democrat reiterated his position that he will be exonerated of all the charges at his trial.
“We’re fine – we’re absolutely ready, and we look forward to the September trial,” Espada said at an impromptu press conference.
His attorney, Susan Necheles, said she was “confident” that Espada would be vindicated by a jury.
In January, federal prosecutors telegraphed their intention to charge Espada with the additional counts during a court hearing and unveiled evidence from FBI warrant searches at Espada’s health-care firm, Soundview Health Center.
It includes including 90 boxes containing hundreds of thousands of documents that prosecutors have already made available to defense attorneys.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn has offered both Espadas plea deals that would require them to admit wrongdoing in exchange for reduced sentences. But the Espadas’ defense team says they will flatly refuse any plea deals.
Between 2005 and 2009, the Espadas used the Soundview Health Center, which received about $1 million a year in federal funds alone, as their personal piggy bank, prosecutors say.
Both of the Espadas were charged with taking money from the ex-senator’s health clinics to pay for lavish meals, Broadway shows and a $49,000 payment on a Bentley.
One unusual expense was $5,000 in corporate money paid to a ghostwriter helping Espada pen a memoir that was to contain an attack on then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The money was allocated by Espada’s janitorial firm and classified as a legitimate business expense, the new indictment charges.
Among the charges the Espadas face are conspiracy to commit theft, embezzlement, and misapplication of federal funds as part of an alleged conspiracy that netted them at least $500,000 intended to help impoverished clients of their network of clinics.
They each face more than 55 years in prison if convicted.
The long-expected original indictment against Espada and his son came in mid-December, just two weeks before the pol, infamous for spearheading a Senate coup in 2009 that paralyzed state government, was due to leave office after losing a primary in September. Over the past two years, The Post has chronicled Espada’s alleged abuse of power, from stacking the board of his nonprofit with cronies to lying on his tax forms.