Sen. Neil Breslin, who has made no secret of his dislike for Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. since last summer’s coup, said today the latest charges against his colleague only proves his worst fears were correct.

Given the developments of yesterday and this morning, Espada should “resign his leadership post immediately,” Breslin told Capital Tonight’s Kaitlyn Ross.

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“The voters of the Bronx elected him, and it’s a civil action, but…let’s get back some order to the Senate pending the resolution of his civil case,” Breslin said.

“…Obviously, if it went beyond that I would have much, much stronger opinions about what should happen immediately.”

Breslin said he has personally informed Espada of his desire that the scandal-scarred lawmaker “step down voluntarily to bring some dignity and respect back to the New York State Senate.”

While he feels secure as a fellow Democrat in pressing Espada to give up his title, Breslin rejected Republican Sen. Marty Golden’s planned resolution that would force a vote to do just that, calling it “pandering.”

“There is currently not a precedent for stripping anybody because of a civil suit,” Breslin said, explaining why he wanted Espada to voluntarily take himself out of the game rather than be subjected to a formal vote by his colleagues.

“A lot of members, in not just the conference, but the Legislature, have civil suits – some of them related, some unrelated to their duties. So, right now nothing should be done until there’s a conclusion on other matters.”

During the 31-day stalemate last summer, Breslin was among the reform-minded Democrats who expressed strong reservations against accepting Espada back into the conference – even if that meant relegating themselves to the minority until the next election cycle.

Breslin continue to habor ill feelings toward Espada long after the stalemate came to an end, saying during a public gathering last September at a church in his hometown of Delmar (an Albany suburb) that Espada was a “crook” who “should be jail.”

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