NYS Government In Danger Of Shutting Down -- Again
Paterson: 'Rogues' Espada, Diaz Endangering Residents By Threatening To Side With GOP On Emergency Budget Bill
Reporting
Marcia Kramer
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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There's a new show in Albany, but the same old ring leader.
Like he did a year ago when he created chaos in the state capital, Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada is at it again.
Only this time he could shut down New York's entire government.
He's baaack.
Scandal-scarred Espada brought state government to a halt last year, and he's trying to do it again this year -- only with far move devastating consequences.
Espada, a Democrat, and his Democrat ally, the Rev. Ruben Diaz, are threatening to side with Republicans and vote against an emergency budget bill to keep the wheels of government moving. Without Espada and Diaz the Democrats can't pass the bill.
It led to a nasty confrontation Wednesday at a meeting of legislative leaders.
"That is not a sound bite. That is not a joke. Shutting down government means there is no one to pay the prison guards, no one to pay the state police, the emergency workers," Gov. David Paterson said.
Paterson took out his frustration at Republican Minority Leader Dean Skelos, who backed Espada's coup last year and appeared to welcome Espada and Diaz voting with him to stop the governor's decision to propose emergency spending extender bills every week that impose harsh budget balancing cuts the Legislature doesn't want to do itself.
"We believe the drip, drip, drip torture every week is not the way you do a budget," Skelos said.
"But to shut down government, or even talk about a shutdown of government would lead to severe consequences that maybe we would never recover from," Democratic Senate Leader John Sampson said.
Paterson labeled Espada and Diaz "rogues" who weren't concerned about the needs of state residents
"Suppose two Democratic senators said they wouldn't vote for the extender that would be our fault? We're in the minority, the government is being closed down," Skelos said.
"I would suggest that when 30 people vote the same way it doesn't happen by accident," Paterson responded.
The key vote will be Monday and Senate and Assembly sources said they are trying to find a solution to avoid a shutdown.
But Espada is the wild card.
He faces a civil suit that accuses him of stealing $14 million from his tax payer subsidized health clinics.
And then there is a criminal probe by the feds.
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Apr 29, 2010 5:40 am US/Eastern
Cuomo Says Espada Violated Labor Laws
Victim Claims He Was Paid $150 -- Or $1.87 An Hour -- For Training Program At Senator's Soundview Clinic
ALBANY (CBS) ―
Reporting-
Click to enlarge
- New York Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr.
CBS
- Cuomo Says Espada Violated Labor Laws
(4/29/2010) - Angry Protestors Storm Espada's Office
(4/28/2010) - Eye Off New York: Angry Espada Jilts CBS 2
(4/25/2010) - RAID: Feds Invade Espada's Bronx Office
(4/22/2010) - Should Pedro Espada Step Down?
(4/22/2010) - Cuomo Accuses Espada Of 'Looting' Clinic
(4/21/2010) - More Legal Troubles Surface For Senator Espada
(4/17/2010) - Sen. Espada Says He Complied With Subpoena
(2/5/2010) - Cuomo Subpoenas NY Senate In Espada Case
(4/23/2010)
Carlos Gonzalez said he is one of Espada's victims.
"I was paid $150," Gonzalez told CBS 2.
That's $150 for two weeks work – 80 hours – or about $1.87 an hour. The state minimum wage is $7.25
And that's why New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed suit against Espada on Wednesday. He charged that Espada and his son, Pedro G. Espada, created a bogus janitor training program at his Soundview Health Clinic that sucked in about 100 people with promises of good training and a good job.
"The job training program was a sham. There was no training, there was no program," said Cuomo.
Gonzalez in January described to CBS 2 what he learned during his time at Soundview.
"All she had taught me was keep the bucket straight when you are filling it up with water," he said. "I was shocked. I mean, I thought I was going there to get prepped and it was like I worked for nothing."
Cuomo said the state was shortchanged because no tax deductions were made, no unemployment
Shortchanged too were the employees.
"These people are vulnerable, needy, desperate, people who go for help, go for training, are trying to better themselves and getting a better life for themselves and their families, and they're exploited by Mr. Espada," said Cuomo.
Espada denied the latest charges.
"This is a political assassination, or an attempt at a political assassination, delivered in installments, and deliberately so, designed to keep you from asking him the tough questions about when he announces, and what his view and vision of leadership would mean to the budget," he said.
Last week, Cuomo charged Espada with looting $14 million from his health clinic and using the funds for himself, his family, his friends and his campaigns.
The FBI, the IRS, and the U.S. attorney are also investigating Espada.
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Albany Edges Closer to the first government shutdown in New York history
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AP
State officials began preparing on Wednesday for what they said would be the first government shutdown in New York history. As a result, administration officials have started huddling with their counterparts at the state comptroller’s office to work through the consequences of a shutdown, warning that if the Legislature fails to approve the next emergency budget bill, due on Monday, the state would face unprecedented consequences.
“We don’t have an answer to many of these questions because we’ve never shut down the government before,” said Robert L. Megna, the state budget director.
On Monday, with negotiations seemingly at an impasse, Mr. Paterson inserted sweeping cuts to health care spending in the latest emergency bill, essentially forcing lawmakers to accept a portion of his budget proposal. (The cuts will affect hospitals, nursing homes and a lengthy list of other health-related programs, and marked the first significant step in weeks toward an agreement on the state’s annual budget, now more than two months overdue. The legislation also requires the state to save an additional $300 million a year by cracking down on Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse.) “I’m shocked, and I’m appalled,” Mr. Paterson said. “Senator Skelos has told us that he and the Republican senators are going to shut down the government, and they would shut down the government over something about meetings they haven’t been invited to and process issues.” Mr. Skelos said. Regarding a shutdown, he said: “It’s an unfortunate way to go, but we are not going to just automatically vote for something because they have failed, as leaders, to put something together.”
Mr. Skelos softened his tone later in the day after a private meeting with Mr. Paterson, suggesting that some Republicans might vote for the next emergency bill if the governor included some of the Republicans’ proposals to further cut Medicaid and other spending. Since the last budget expired on March 31, the State Senate and the Assembly, both controlled by Democrats, have not come close to reaching a budget deal with Mr. Paterson.
State lawmakers approved $775 million in cuts and other savings from New York’s health care budget on Monday after Gov. David A. Paterson inserted the reductions into emergency spending legislation submitted to the Legislature to keep the state government from shutting down. With no agreement yet reached on a budget for the fiscal year that began April 1, the state has been relying on a series of emergency bills to stay in operation.
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