As my last day as a 50+ year old wanes and I graduate
from the old age of youth to the youth of old, with my
age 60 Aprils, I am grateful for all of the things God
has given me. Thank you God for the beautiful people
that you sent my way who supported me, gave me
strength, lifted me from the poverty of material things
and lonelines. Your affection has been a priceless gift, 
a real treasure.

I am wealthy beyond description, I am blessed to have
lived so long.

Thank you all so very much for accompanying me
on this journey.

Embattled State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. storms off in the middle of tv inteview 

Embattled State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. stormed out of a TV interview when confronted with allegations that he really lives in Westchester, not his Bronx district.

Espada - who is facing state and federal investigations over charges he looted $14 million from his Soundview HealthCare Network - walked off the set of Ch. 2’s “Eye on New York.” The show was taped Friday and aired Sunday.

He got testy when reporter Marcia Kramer reminded him that when she approached him last year outside his Mamaroneck home, he donned an orange ski cap and held a baby in front of his face to hide from the camera before speeding off in a car driven by his wife.

“I was not hiding from anybody. I’ve owned that home since 1991,” he said. “This is not a mudslinging session, so I say. If you want to make it that, you can come hide in the bushes at my house and you repeat the same thing all over again. Human decency should prevail, even on this show.”

As the program went to a commercial break, he took off his microphone and walked out.

“Please direct me to the way out, please,” he said over the anchors’ requests to come back.

Before ending the interview, Espada insisted that the Soundview money he spent on sushi dinners, sports and theater tickets, trips Puerto Rico, and a Bronx co-op was all part of his $250,000-a-year compensation package - and that he’s worth every penny.

“I have a great job at Soundview Health Center because I developed it for 30 years when it was a shell, and there was nothing there, and now there’s 100,000 visits a year and people make great, great money out of that,” he said. “I make what I am worth.”

“The real crisis in this state is not sushi,” he said, referring to allegations he spent $20,000 of Soundview’s money on sushi dinners for his family. “The real crisis in this state is not my expense account. The real crisis in this state is the kind of political witch-hunt and prosecutorial abuse.”

EARTH DAY CLIMATE RALLY 2010 WASHINGTON MALL

WASHINGTON - APRIL 25: Musician Willie Colon performs at the Climate Rally on the National Mall on April 25, 2010 in Washington, DC. The free concert and rally was organized by the Earth Day Network to encourage Congress to enact strong comprehensive climate legislation.