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387931 01: From left to right: Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante, James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano and Tony Sirico as Pa ulie Walnuts star in HBO's hit television series, "The Sopranos" (Year 3). (Photo by HBO) Original Filename: 899946.jpg
Ex-state senator Pedro Espada Jr. was sandbagged by his own defense witness, who described him Friday as someone who ran his health-care empire like Tony Soprano.
Its one thing for federal prosecutors to call Espada a crook and embezzler, but consultant Ruth Prorok was supposed to help him.
Proroks direct testimony began blandly with a rebuttal of the notion that Espada hid his true salary from federal regulators.
But under cross-examination by Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Burlingame, the witness revealed how she really felt about Espada and his Soundview Health Center.
The staff I met with seemed nervous and guarded, Prorok said. You could cut the tension with a knife.
It was very controlling, she continued.
It was like being in an episode of The Sopranos.
She said Espadas salary and bene fits of more than $ 600,000 were far higher than any other executive of a comparable health-care center.
She said that when she tried to determine Espada's precise compensation during an audit, he abruptly pulled his personnel file away from her, knocking her calculator to the floor.
Defense lawyer Susan Necheles tried valiantly to undo the damage.
Youre making this all up, arent you? Necheles said, suggesting that Prorok was trying to curry favor with the government because she consults for federal agencies.
It was a setup! shrieked Russell Gioiella, the lawyer for Espadas son Pedro Gautier who is also charged with fraud and embezzlement.
Brooklyn Federal Judge Frederic Block quickly squashed the Sopranos trash talk.
But Espada took the Mafia comparison with good humor.
Nobody's sleeping with the fishes, he said outside court. I've been called worse.
Prosecutors plan to rest their case Monday atop a mountain o f evidence showing the Espadas had milked hundreds of thousands of dollars from the nonprofit clinic for restaurant meals, travel, home improvements and family parties.
jmarzulli@nydailynews.com
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