A former Democratic New York State senator who is on trial for embezzlement is said to have collected more than $256,000 from unused paid vacation days, the New York Post reports.
Pedro Espada Jr., an embattled former state senator, reportedly siphoned the cash from his tax-payer funded nonprofit organization, an official from the charity testified at Espada’s trial.
The Post elaborates:
Espada took the massive charge-off — equal to getting paid for 54 weeks of full-time work — so that he could reimburse his Soundview Health Care Network for "personal expenses" racked up on the charity’s corporate American Express card, the nonprofit’s chief financial officer, Philip Valdez, testified.
Even with the $256,000 payout, Espada was $30,000 short for personal expenses he admitted owing the company, Valdez said in Brooklyn federal court.
So on Jan. 1, 2009, Soundview granted Espada his full, annual eight weeks of vacation — without him having to accrue it over that year — so he could take another payout against vacation time and cover the shortfall, Valdez said.