Senator Pedro Espada Jr. defected to the Republicans and brought the state legislature to a standstill in order to get the $2 million in pork that was rightfully his, and this is the thanks he gets: The New Bronx Chamber of Commerce, a "business advocacy group," has decided it would rather not be associated with the esteemed Senator from Bronxchester.
Before the Senate coup, Espada originally wanted his nearly $2 million in earmarks to go to two newly-created non-profit groups, but Senate Democrats nixed that when they couldn't confirm that they were legit. So then Espada said he wanted the pork to go to the New Bronx Chamber of Commerce, which seemed ill-prepared to distribute the largesse, considering its annual budget is usually $200,000. After his colleagues refused that, he defected, but came out on top when he returned to the Democrats as Majority Leader.
But the CEO of the New Bronx Chamber, Lenny Caro, has now rejected Espada's $1.77 million offering, noting that some of the cash was earmarked to host senior-citizen breakfasts: "We're not in the senior-citizen business." (But they are in the turkey-giving business!) A source tells the Post the group was "concerned over being tied to Espada. It seems like every day there's a new investigation being launched into Espada. You have to ask yourself if you want to be the next one before you do business with him."
