The culprits in a scandal that has cast a shadow on Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo and City Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo are headed to a federal pen.
Richard Izquierdo Arroyo, the assemblywoman’s grandson and chief of staff, was sentenced to a year and a day for stealing $115,000 from a non-profit corporation that manages low-income housing.
Izquierdo Arroyo pleaded guilty in March to embezzling the funds, provided by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development through the state’s Section 8 subsidy program, which is intended to help low-income tenants afford their rent.
He served as president of SBCC Management Corp. The housing company’s executive director Margarita Villegas was sentenced to 10 months for her role in embezzling $50,000.
SBCC is affiliated with South Bronx Community Corp., a nonprofit Maria del Carmen Arroyo headed before her election to the City Council. That organization received nearly a quarter of a million dollars in state and city funds, and employed members of the Arroyo family.
According to the United States Attorney for the Southern District, Preet Bharara, some of the stolen money went to the Arroyos in the form of campaign contributions, travel expenses to Puerto Rico and a new floor for the assemblywoman’s office.
Izquierdo Arroyo and Villegas spent lavishly on clothing, restaurants, and trips to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, the prosecutor said.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein ordered Izquierdo Arroyo to pay back the money he stole and fined him $3,000, in addition to the prison sentence.
A version of this story appeared in the July 2010 issue of The Hunts Point Express.