Published: August 9, 2010

Thanks, helpful reader, for passing along this robocall against incumbent Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr. of the Bronx.

As you can hear below, the call went out courtesy of Democratic consultant and Get Out The Vote President Steve Kramer, whom I most recently blogged about back when he was helping Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter, an Espada rival who's since withdrawn from the fight.

It's true Espada is under heavy investigation from all sides, but so far, I am unaware that he's actually been convicted of anything. I'm also trying to get a sense of how far and wide this call went out.

The call comes as two major unions -- 1199/SEIU and 32BJ -- are uniting behind Espada rival Gustavo Rivera.

Update: I'm told by several people that the call came in at around 8 a.m., or, as one Queens reader put it, "probably a rude awakening for anyone not living in a political junkie household who is well outside of the Bronx!"

And here's the script:

"Please stand by for an important message regarding soon-to-be-ex-State Sen. Pedro Espada. Over the last two years, the people of New York have grown continually dissatisfied with their representatives in our state government. However, if you ask anyone in Albany who is most at fault for this dysfunction, they will tell you, 'It's that crook, Pedro Espada.' Currently, the following are investigating Pedro: The Bronx District Attorney, Robert Johnson; Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Thankfully, in September, voters in the Bronx have the opportunity to defeat that crook, Pedro Espada, in the Democratic primary. This message was paid for and endorsed by Steve Kramer."