Interestingly, today’s amNY article gives credence to Pedro Espada‘s assertion that he was the victim of a political vendetta.
Espada opened himself to scrutiny in 2009, [Hunter College political science professor Jamie] Chandler said, when he switched to the Republican party, briefly shifting control of the chamber to the Republicans and irritating powerful New York Democrats. Espada later returned to the Democrats in exchange for the post of majority leader.
“He angered a number of prominent Democrats and that made him prone for people to look into his record and go after him,” Chandler said, adding that Espada likely would have gotten busted for stealing from the health clinic eventually regardless of his skirmishes with his peers.
Missing from amNY’s pantheon of recently disgraced former city officials is Miguel Martinez who pleaded guilty (in 2009) to embezzling $106,000 in city council funds. I had forgotten about former Councilman Dennis Gallagher‘s sexcapade.
I feel Gallagher belongs on different list with Hiram Monserrate (a two-fer), Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer. I guess amNY needed a white guy for balance.
Since 2000, we’ve had Guy Velella, Gloria Davis, Diane Gordon, Clarence Norman, Roger Greene, and Efrain Gonzalez leave office under a cloud. I’d have listed the late senator Guy Velella, instead of Gallagher, because he went to prison on bribery charges.
See the full amNY political pantheon of shame here.
