Tom Robbins in this week’s Village Voice in a column titled – Pedro Espada's Enablers -The people who brought you Albany's greatest scoundrel, goes after various developers & landlords who have contributed to notorious State Senator’s campaign.
Robbins writes –
… it should be worth the trouble to aim some of that fury at Espada's enablers. These are the deep-pocketed sponsors who have been all too happy to profit from this scoundrel regardless of his obvious taint.
The names on the checks to New Yorkers for Espada are among real estate's most prestigious. They came from the Rudin family, the respected builders, who gave some $4,000; from Leonard Litwin, the grand old man of luxury rentals, who gave another $5,000; from Donald Capoccia, the successful developer who depends on government subsidies, who gave thousands more.
Fair enough, I say. But reviews of the last two filings by New Yorkers for Espada show that it’s not only the real estate community that serve as Pedro’s enablers.
Since it did not follow the progressive, and Robbins is nothing if not a progressive who supports organized labor, he left out of the story, following union contributors to Espada who have given him a total of $17,900 since 2009 –
NYS AFL-CIO
DC 37
Vote/COPE
Local 32BJ
NYS Association of PBAs
UFCW Local 1500
Transit Supervisors Organization
Local 372, DC 37
NYS Correction Officers PBA
NY State Court Clerks Association
Steamfitters Local 638
NYS Troopers
IBEW Educational Committee
Public Employees Federation
Detectives Endowment Association
NYS Nurses Association
Bridge & Tunnel Officers PBA
TBTA Superior Officers Benevolent Association
Suffolk County Correction Officers Association
Soft Drink Brewery Workers