The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan just announced that two people from the Bronx were indicted on charges of spending money from a Section 8 housing program on personal expenses and steering the housing money to the campaigns of a New York State Assembly member and City Council member.
According to a public statement from the U.S. attorney’s office, Richard Izquierdo Arroyo and Margarita Villegas allegedly made “contributions to the campaign accounts of a New York State Assembly Member; paying for flooring installed at the Assembly Member’s office; and paying for airline tickets to Puerto Rico for the Assembly Member as well as for a New York City Council Member and Izquierdo Arroyo himself.”
The complaint only describes these lawmakers as “Assembly Member #1” and “City Council Member #1.”
UPDATE: Richard Izquierdo Arroyo is listed as a contributor to City Council member Maria del Carmen Arroyo. And he’s listed as the chief of staff to the City Councilwoman’s mother, Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo.
A message left at Assemblywoman Arroyo’s office in Albany was not immediately returned. A spokeswoman for Council member Arroyo said she’ll send over a statement about this issue shortly.
UPDATE II: Councilwoman Arroyo thinks the two people accused of wrong doing will, ultimately, be cleared. Her spokeswoman emailed me this statement from the Council member:
“I am very distressed to learn of the charges brought against Richard and Margarita. They are both hard working, community minded individuals. I am confident that in the end, they will be able to clear their names. At this point, I will not make any further comments and will await the outcome of the legal process.”
