Jury Sent Back To Deliberate In Espada Corruption Trial
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Brooklyn judge has told a jury to continue deliberating in the corruption trial of former Sen. Pedro Espada, one day after they said they were deadlocked.
Six of the 12 jurors sent a note to the judge Wednesday saying one of the jurors decided within the first 10 minutes of their meeting that he or she would not deliberate.
Thursday morning, the judge told jurors to keep an open mind and sent them back to the deliberation room.
Espada said he agreed with the judge's decision.
"I can't talk to them, I don't want to talk to them but I want to salute them for the wonderful work they are doing," Espada said Thursday outside the courthouse. "Each and every one of them is a valuable voice and a valuable conscience that makes our judicial system what it is."
The former Bronx state senator is accused of stealing more than $500,000 from his Soundview Health Clinic.
On Wednesday, Espada said Gov. Andrew Cuomo is behind a Department of Health's decision to withhold hundreds of thousands of dollars in Medicaid funds. As a result, Espada said, there's no money to pay the staff and patients are being told the clinic can no longer serve them.
Espada said Cuomo is worse than former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who once called himself "the steamroller."
Cuomo had no comment.
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