Former New York State Assembly member Ari Espinal was taken into police custody earlier this month on felony charges that accuse her of stealing over $30,000 from a labor union, according to court documents and a source with knowledge concerning the pending case. Espinal, who is still, somehow, a fixture in New York politics despite the fact she’s only served eight months in the Assembly back in 2018, was officially arraigned on October 7, 2026.
She was arraigned on a grand larceny charge that alleges she stole $33,245 from “an organization” according to court records. The records, which haven’t been previously reported on, do not reveal the identity of the organization in question. The source with knowledge of the case, who was given anonymity in order to talk about the sensitive situation, spoke with Politico, saying the organization is the Mason Tenders’ District Council PAC.
The group 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 the Big Apple. Anthony DiFiore, the attorney representing Espinal, did not immediately respond to a request for comment concerning the case.
According to the Politico article, a rep for the trade union also did not provide a comment on the situation. As of this writing, it’s not clear if Espinal is still working for the organization. She was released on her own recognizance following the arraignment. Ari Espinal is family friends with Rafael Espinal, who is a former Assembly member who also served on the City Council and is now Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s commissioner of media and entertainment.
The two have wisecracked about being cousins as they share the same last name, but they are not related by blood. During the arraignment, Ari Espinal pleaded not guilty to the grand larceny charge. Her next appearance in court is set for December 10. The court documents stated that Espinal stole the cash by making “unauthorized purchases” between November 20, 2024 and December 17, 2025 using an American Express card that was “meant solely for business use.”
Ari Espinal was elected to the state Assembly in an April 2018 special election that had her succeeding Francisco Moya, who stepped down from his seat in Queens to become a member of the New York City Council. Prior to being elected, she served as one of Moya’s aides in the Assembly. Her time of service was cut short when she ended up losing the June 2018 Democratic primary to Assembly member Catalina Cruz, who is the current representative for the district.
Espinal’s role with the Mason Tenders’ District Council PAC has been given credit for helping to get legislation pushed through the City Council that requires developers to pay construction workers a wage of at least $40 per hour. Should Espinal be found guilty of the charges against her, the maximum penalty she could receive would be seven years behind bars. The good news for her is that there is no mandatory minimum sentence, so a judge could be lenient and have a first time offender sentenced to probation without serving prison time.
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