Photo: Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada/AP

Posted: Tuesday, 11 August 2009 7:42PM

Son of Key State Senate Coup Figure Gets State Job
COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN A LOCAL ONE IATSE DEPARTMENT HEAD

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP/1010 WINS) -- The son of a powerful state senator instrumental in this summer's Senate coup was given a newly created $120,000 job in the chamber in the latest political appointment during the governor's hiring freeze.

Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada's son, Pedro G. Espada, now holds the new job of Senate liaison between governments, Senate Democratic majority spokesman Austin Shafran confirmed Tuesday.

The elder Espada, a Bronx Democrat, is the dissident who created a June coup in the Senate when he joined a Republican-led coalition, taking the slim majority from his Democrat party in exchange for a lucrative leadership post. Five weeks later he returned to the Democratic conference, restoring its majority to the Democrats, in exchange for another lucrative leadership position.

Senate Majority Leader Espada denied on Tuesday that his son's hiring to the majority's central staff was part of any deal.

``Let me make it unequivocally clear that this is not the result of a quid pro quo or a contingency to my ending the Senate stalemate,'' Sen. Espada said. ``He has been expressing a desire to return to government service in some capacity and saw this opportunity. I encouraged him to pursue it. That was the extent of my involvement.''

The hiring first reported by New York magazine comes during a ``hard'' hiring freeze instituted by Gov. David Paterson. He called for only essential hires in the executive branch because of the state's continuing fiscal crisis that has resulted in billions of dollars in deficits and billions in additional taxes and fees.

Pedro G. Espada, a former Democratic assemblyman and New York City councilman, was hired Thursday for the job, the title of which is deputy director for intergovernmental relations, a new title as part of a reorganization that resulted in a net add of one job, Espada's.

The Legislature, which added more than $5 billion in taxes and fees to the current budget, is as a separate branch not legally bound by Paterson's hiring freeze.

Last month the Senate's director of intergovernmental relations, Indira Noel, was charged with misdemeanor forgery and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. Prosecutors said Noel faked the signature of a fellow legislative staffer in order to obtain his college transcripts. They say she was trying to get him fired for lying about his academic credentials.

Noel, a friend of Paterson's, paid a $250 fine but has kept her job and her salary of $118,000, which was recently raised by the Legislature.

Earlier this month, Paterson took heat for hiring another friend, Gabrielle Turner, to the $88,000-a-year job as legislative assistant in the state's Washington office.

There was no immediate comment from Paterson.

Shafran said Pedro G. Espada will be part of a new department of intergovernmental affairs in the Senate's Democratic majority.

``Pedro comes with a vast experience both in government and private sector and he'll be valuable asset to the majority conference,'' Shafran said.

The job helps Democratic senators work with New York City and Washington elected officials, most of whom are Democrats.