Before Senators Pedro Espada Jr. and Hiram Monserrate formed a coup d'état in the New York State Senate this past June, Senator Malcolm Smith was the Senate Majority Leader. Was Senator Smith given (like Senator Espada recently was) $350,000 by his Democratic colleagues to hire staffers and assistants when he obtained the Senate Majority Leader role back in January? That information is unavailable, but Senator Smith’s "Leadership Team" consisting of fellow Senators, cost the New York State tax payers over $400,000 in stipends.
Here are some facts. Base legislative salary for a Senator is $79,500, which doesn’t include stipends and reimbursements. On record, Senator Espada has hired Jerry Love Jr., a special assistant, for $36,912 and has given a raise of $36,000 to Curtis Tucker, who is a legislative aid. Mr. Tucker now makes $120,327, which is more than a normal Senator makes in a given year including stipends. That still leaves Senator Espada a little under $280,000 to allocate towards whatever he pleases. Mind you, all these salaries and stipends are being paid for by New York State tax payers.
Further more, Senate Democrats hired Khari Edwards back in July as a special assistant to Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson for $75,204. This hiring has be labeled negligent, as Mr. Edwards was dismissed from his previous employment after his credibility was put into question and he was found to have gainsaying statements while talking to Inspector General John Fisch over the resignation of allegedly corrupt former Governor Paterson aide, Carl Andrew (Mr. Edwards former boss).
Lastly, how can we forget Senator Espada’s son, Pedro G. Espada, who recently was forced to relinquish his $120,000 newly appointed position as deputy director for intergovernmental relations because of such a blatant misuse of power and tax payer money on behalf of Senator Espada and his Democratic colleagues.
What is sad is that the Senate Democrats have denied any wrong doing. They believe that New Yorkers are naïve enough to think that Senator Espada came back to the Democrats in July out of the goodness of his heart and it had nothing to do with their desperate attempt at bribing him to come back in order to retain the majority in the Senate. This unashamed and wreak less spending of tax payer money just proves how selfish New York State politicians have become.
Senator Espada says that the $350,000 given to him,
"...has nothing to do with the coup, but has everything to do with being responsive to and serving the residents and families of my district."
That’s kind of contradicting when his constituents are funding that $350,000. That’s money out of their pocket now isn’t it? What ever happened to nobility?