Let Espada inspire ethics reform

Hours before state Sen. Pedro Espada was indicted Tuesday on federal charges of embezzling more than a half-million dollars of federal and state Medicaid funds from his Bronx health care clinic, he released a self-aggrandizing report celebrating his "sweeping and uncompromising ethics reform agenda" in Albany.

He can't make that claim yet. But one day soon Espada, who lost a Democratic primary in September, should get the credit he so deserves. Next session the legislature should pass Pedro's Law - one that would require disclosure of outside income, bar conflicts of interest and give investigators powerful tools for rooting out corruption.

There isn't a more compelling poster child.

This is some of what Espada says he is wrongfully accused of doing with $14 million of taxpayer money: trying to use $49,000 as a down payment on a Bentley, spending $100,000 on tickets to shows and concerts, running up a $20,000 sushi tab, and putting 19 relatives and friends on the payroll of his clinic.

Not too long ago, Espada's colleagues on both sides of the aisle were buying his vote, and the Senate majority, with perks and power.

Only if Espada's shameful two-year tenure embarrasses the legislature into action can his name honestly be mentioned in the same sentence as "ethics reform." hN