Alejandro pays a visit to the clinic in the family Mercedes. (J.C. Rice)
Pedro Espada is still leeching off his Soundview Health Center even in its dying days.
The former state senator, about to face trial on charges of looting the clinics, continues to show up at the Bronx facilities — and collect his outsize salary — despite a judge’s stern suggestion to stay away, a source told The Post.
A Soundview spokeswoman insisted Espada has had “no association” with the clinics since December. But both Espada and his son Pedro Gautier Espada have been seen at the centers, sources said.
The elder Espada refused to answer questions about his salary. His pay package hit $611,901 in 2008, according to Soundview’s tax return for that year, which was filed July 2011, almost two years late.
While the Espadas continue to squeeze every dime out of the taxpayer-funded nonprofit they founded, the clinics are gasping their last breath.
On Friday, while some workers were allegedly getting pink slips, another of Espada’s sons, Alejandro — who was installed as Soundview’s executive vice president with a six-figure salary — pulled up to the headquarters in the family’s $62,000 Mercedes SUV.
Soundview denied there were layoffs Friday. But a dental assistant who was laid off two weeks ago said that there were, and that remaining workers were performing grim tasks, like sanitizing and reusing dental tools because new supplies aren’t being ordered.
“He made a lot of bad choices that affected everybody,” the ex-employee said of Pedro Espada.
Soundview may not last beyond next week. The state is set to boot it from the Medicaid program Feb. 19, cutting off the major source of its funding.
Espada and his son flouted a judge’s August order to stay away from Soundview. State Supreme Court Judge Stanley Green told the pair to have “no presence, no communication with anybody who is running the facility” in order to get a reprieve and continue to collect Medicaid funding, which totals about $10 million a year.
But they continued to work at Soundview. Pedro Espada even signed an Oct. 3 federal grant application as the clinics’ authorized representative.
The $1.8 million grant went to another health center, and Soundview has launched a $135 million lawsuit to get it back.
In December, another judge lambasted the pair for continuing their affiliation, saying they “had nobody to blame but themselves.” He offered one last chance, saying the state might look more favorably on continuing the Medicaid funds if they severed their ties.
Espada, 57, and son Pedro, 38, are to stand trial on March 13 in Brooklyn federal court. They were arrested in December 2010 on charges of embezzlement and conspiracy for using money intended to care for poor people.
The Democratic ex-senator billed $20,155 worth of sushi dinners and $4,260 in Chinese food to Soundview, prosecutors charge.
The depth of the alleged greed is only now being revealed in just-filed court papers. Soundview picked up the tab for the Espadas in 939 transactions at 125 restaurants, according to Espada’s own legal filings.
Espada was also entitled to 14 weeks’ paid leave every year, which he could turn into cash to pay for personal expenses, according to a 2010 civil complaint filed by the state Attorney General’s Office.
In 2008, Espada was paid $265,880 in salary, plus $256,196 in personal expenses; $34,900 in life insurance; and a housing allowance of $30,000 so he could rent a Bronx apartment in order to run for office. He also received $8,136 for car expenses because Soundview paid for the lease on a Mercedes.
But chief among the perks is an iron-clad $9 million severance package for Espada, which makes selling off Soundview an unattractive proposition.
Additional reporting by Cynthia Fagen