Relative Of New York City Politicians Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $115K From Charity He Ran

Richard Izquierdo-Arroyo, the grandson of Democrat New York Assemblywoman Carmen E. Arroyo, and the nephew of Democrat City Council member Maria del Carmen Arroyo, pleaded guilty to charges he embezzled $115,000 from SBCC Management Corp., a taxpayer-funded non-profit housing agency he headed. He is also accused of sharing some of the misappropriated funds with the assemblywoman and councilwoman, although they have not been charged at this time. According to prosecutors, Izquierdo-Arroyo used some of the stolen money to put new flooring in his grandmother's district office, donated thousands of dollars to her campaign, spent $20,000 of the embezzled funds to pay for a trip to Puerto Rico for the assemblywoman and councilwoman, paid the salaries of interns in their legislative offices and their political club, among other things. Izquierdo-Arroyo was originally indicted last June and faces up to 10 years in prison upon sentencing. He was charged together with a co-conspirator, Margarita Villegas, 54, a director at SBCC Management in the embezzlement scheme that lasted four years from 2005 to 2009. Together the two are alleged to have misappropriated some $200,000. Villegas pleaded guilty earlier this month.

Read the story here, here, here and here.

Update (3/16/10): Richard Izquierdo-Arroyo pleaded guilty to the embezzlement charges today.