Espada 2001 v. New York City Campaign Finance Board
This case is a CPLR article 78 proceeding brought by Pedro Espada, Jr., his political committee Espada 2001, and its treasurer Kenneth Brennan, challenging a March 9, 2006 determination by the New York City Campaign Finance Board that assessed substantial penalties for alleged violations of the New York City Campaign Finance Act. Petitioners sought to annul the determination, raising arguments about timeliness of counterclaim, lack of personal violation findings, impermissible broadening of investigation scope, and insufficient detail of charges. The court annulled all penalties against Kenneth Brennan. It also partially annulled penalties against Pedro Espada, Jr. and Espada 2001 for several violations, while upholding others, resulting in a total civil penalty judgment of $50,700 against Espada, Jr. and Espada 2001 jointly and severally or solely against Espada 2001 for specific violations. The court found that some violations, such as accepting unreported corporate contributions, fraudulent contributions, and failure to provide certain financial documents, were validly imposed against Espada, Jr. and the Committee.