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Cuomo Hits Espada, Son With New Labor Lawsuit
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 28, 2010
Modified May 2, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 28, 2010
Modified May 2, 2010
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Attorney General Andrew Cuomo just can't get enough of Pedro Espada these days. Today The Prince of Darkness filed yet another lawsuit against the Senate Majority Leader from Bronxchester, accusing Espada and his son Pedro G. (you remember G.) of running a "sham job training program" that enabled them to siphon money from Espada's shady non-profit health clinic, Soundview. Espada allegedly created a for-profit management company, Espada Management, which was supposed to supply janitors for the Soundview medical clinics. But according to Cuomo's lawsuit:
The program mischaracterized workers as trainees who were then paid wages that were far below what New York State law requires. The trainees typically worked for a two week period with little training or direction and performed tasks such as cleaning bathrooms, mopping floors, and sweeping—the same tasks a full-time janitor performed.
During the program, the workers were paid a fraction of the wages mandated by law, some making less than $70 per week, or the equivalent of under $1.70 per hour. Paychecks were signed by either Senator Espada or his son.
After the two weeks were up, they were typically replaced with a new crop of underpaid "trainees," Cuomo alleges. But at least they got a "Certificate of Completion of Healthcare Maintenance Internship" out of it! Cuomo claims the certificates were signed by Pedro G. Espada and were "for fulfillment of JCAHO standards maintenance training program." JCAHO stands for the "Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations"—an organization that allegedly "knew nothing of the Espadas’ program, did not authorize its name to any such program, did not provide or publish standards for janitorial services that might be the subject of a training program, and has no curriculum whatsoever that would support such a program."
Pedro G. Espada earned more than $150,000 running the training program, and Cuomo says that "since 2005, at least 100 workers have been victimized by this program." Today's lawsuit is just the latest in a series of legal troubles for Espada, who was sued by Cuomo for allegedly "looting" at least $14 million from Soundview. Federal charges are likey in connection with an FBI and IRS investigation. And as if that wasn't enough, yesterday Espada's office was surrounded by irate housing activists who say he's not protecting low-income tenants from rapacious landlords. Weird video of the singing demonstration below:
Tagged
andrew cuomo
attorney general
lawsuit
pedro espada
pedro espada jr.
pedro g
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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