Ari Espinal, a former New York State Assembly member who rebuilt her political career as a labor union advocate in Queens, was arraigned earlier in October on a grand larceny charge alleging she stole $33,245 from an organization identified in court records only as “an organization.” She has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on December 10, 2026.
Espinal was arrested earlier in October 2026 on felony charges alleging she stole more than $30,000 from a labor union, according to court records and a source cited by Politico. While the court paperwork left the alleged victim unnamed, a source with knowledge of the case identified the organization as the Mason Tenders' District Council PAC, where Espinal worked as political and policy coordinator. Her attorney, Anthony DiFiore, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday, per the same report.
From State Assembly to Union Advocacy
Espinal's path to the PAC ran through a brief and eventful stint in Albany. She won an April 2018 special election to succeed her former employer, Francisco Moya, representing Assembly District 39 in Central Queens, covering Elmhurst, Corona, and Jackson Heights, according to Wikipedia. That tenure lasted eight months, ending when she lost the Democratic primary later that year to Catalina Cruz, who beat her 3,825 votes to 3,093 — a 53.5 to 43.3 percent split out of 7,151 ballots cast, per official results from the New York State Board of Elections.
While in office, Espinal drew attention for becoming the legal guardian and adopting Clayton Caming, a 50-year-old man with developmental disabilities whose family she had befriended while working as a legislative aide, City & State New York reported at the time. She and former New York City Council member and Assembly member Rafael Espinal, who represented parts of Brooklyn, are family friends who jokingly called each other cousins, but they are not blood relatives. Politico separately reported that she is related to a senior aide in Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration as that aide's cousin.
A Rising Profile Before the Charge
After leaving elected office, Espinal found a new foothold as political and policy coordinator for the Mason Tenders' District Council PAC, the political arm of a council representing more than 16,000 construction laborers, asbestos handlers, and hazardous material workers across LIUNA Locals 66, 78, 79, and 108 in Greater New York and Long Island, according to the New York State Senate. The PAC itself wields serious financial muscle, having raised $5,225,270 during the 2023–2024 election cycle after pulling in nearly $5 million the cycle before, OpenSecrets data shows.
Espinal's advocacy work paid off in visible ways. In March 2026, City & State New York ranked her #94 on its Queens Power 100 list, citing her push for local labor legislation. That same report credited her with helping advance New York City's Construction Justice Act, enacted as Local Law 21 of 2026, which requires developers on publicly funded housing projects to pay construction workers a minimum package of $40 an hour and meet local hiring targets of 30 percent city residents.
Union's Broader Labor Fight Continues
The arrest comes as the Mason Tenders District Council has been pressing a separate, ongoing campaign against non-union labor brokers. Hoodline reported earlier this month that business manager Dave Bolger called on New York City officials to restrict body shops on subsidized builds, with Bronx construction workers describing low pay and stolen sick time under those arrangements.
Under New York Penal Law § 155.35, grand larceny in the third degree is a Class D felony that applies when stolen property exceeds $3,000, carrying a maximum penalty of up to seven years in state prison and fines of up to double the amount allegedly taken, according to the NYS Open Legislation database. Espinal's case now heads toward her December court date, where the mechanics of the alleged theft and any potential penalties are expected to come into sharper focus.
