NEW YORK — Former New York State Assembly member Ari Espinal was arrested earlier this month on felony charges alleging she stole more than $30,000 from a labor union, according to court records and a person with knowledge of the pending case.
Espinal, who remains a fixture in New York politics despite serving only eight months in the state Assembly in 2018, was arraigned on Oct. 7 on a grand larceny charge alleging she pilfered $33,245 from “an organization,” court records show. The records, which haven’t been previously reported, don’t identify the organization in question.
The person with knowledge of the case, who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, told POLITICO the organization is the Mason Tenders’ District Council PAC, which has employed Espinal as its political and policy coordinator. The PAC is the political arm of the Mason Tenders’ District Council, which represents thousands of construction workers in New York.
Espinal’s attorney, Anthony DiFiore, didn’t immediately return a request for comment Monday.
A rep for the trade union did not immediately return a request for comment either. It was not immediately clear if the union is still employing Espinal, who was released on her own recognizance after her arraignment.
Espinal’s cousin, Rafael Espinal, serves as Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s commissioner of media and entertainment.
During her arraignment, Ari Espinal pleaded not guilty to the grand larceny charge, according to court records. She’s due back in court on Dec. 10.
Court records claim she stole the funds by making “unauthorized purchases” between Nov. 20, 2024 and Dec. 17, 2025 using an American Express card “meant solely for business use.” The records don’t include specifics about the allegedly illegal purchases.
Ari Espinal was elected to the state Assembly in an April 2018 special election, succeeding Francisco Moya, who had vacated his Queens-based seat to become a New York City Council member. Prior to her election, she worked as an aide to Moya in the Assembly.
Her stint in the state Legislature was cut short when she lost the June 2018 Democratic primary to Assembly member Catalina Cruz, who continues to represent the district, which includes Jackson Heights, Corona and Elmhurst.
Cruz’s victory that year came despite the fact that State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie financially backed Ari Espinal’s primary bid, a sign of her ties to political powerbrokers. Before joining the Mamdani administration, her cousin Rafael Espinal served as a member of the State Assembly and the New York City Council representing Brooklyn.
In her role at the Mason Tenders’ District Council PAC, Ari Espinal has been credited with helping push legislation through the City Council that requires developers to pay construction workers at least $40 per hour.
The maximum penalty for the sort of grand larceny charge Espinal faces is seven years imprisonment. However, there is no mandatory minimum, meaning first time offenders can be sentenced to probation without prison time.