Legislative Ethics Commission Fines Espada

The Legislative Ethics Commission has ordered former State Senator Pedro Espada $80,000 for violating the Public Officers Law by hiring his uncle — a $10,000 fine and $70,000 in restitution.

The Commission found that he violated two provisions of the state’s Public Officers Law when he “participated in the decision to hire” his uncle as a special assistant in his Senate office, paying him $70,000 over 11 months.

Espada did not respond to the Commission’s 2009 notice of investigation or its 2011 notice of reasonable cause.  JCOPE held an adjudicatory hearing in February 2012, at which it was found that Espada “knowingly and willfully” violated POL § 73(14)(a) and § 74(3)(d).

Espada has other problems as well.  He is being tried in federal court for embezzling hundreds of thousands of public dollars to support a lavish lifestyle from a nonprofit health care network.