Luis Olmedo
Luis A. Olmedo (born 1935) was a New York City Councilman from 1973 to 1984. He represented the Bushwick section of Brooklyn in the city council, as a Democrat.
Life
[edit]Luis Olmedo was of Puerto Rican descent. After graduating from college Olmedo was employed in New York City as an anti-poverty worker. He worked as chairman of Los Sures to create, and then headed up the Southside United Housing Development Fund Corporation.[1][2] He organized a number of protests against the racially biased allocations of public housing.[2]
Olmedo was first elected in 1973 to the New York City Council from the newly redrawn 27th District, which included major portions of the Williamsburg and Bushwick sections of Brooklyn.[1] The district as drawn was predominantly Puerto Rican.[1] Over the course of his decade on th Council, became vice chairman of its Black and Hispanic Caucus, as well as chairman of the Council's Youth Services Committee.[3]
Corruption charges
[edit]Council member Olmedo was arrested in 1983, and charged with extorting money from two food production companies. In evidence, it was alleged that he received $12,000 from an undercover investigator.[4] It was alleged that Olmedo and his assistant, Carlos Castellanos, had demanded the $12,000 before approving plans by a Brooklyn fish-processing company to move to a city-owned site in Mr. Olmedo's district. He was tried the following year[5] and convicted in federal court of conspiracy and attempted extortion.[3] Olmedo received a sentence of a year and a day in prison.[6]
Olmedo was automatically expelled from his councilman's seat upon conviction.[3] He was succeeded by Nydia Margarita Velázquez, who was appointment by the Council.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Gigante is Victor in Council Race". The New York Times. 14 June 1973. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
- ^ a b Schneider, Cathy (2005). "Political Opportunities and Framing Puerto Rican Identity in New York City". In Johnston, Hank; Noakes, John A. (eds.). Frames of protest: Social movements and the framing perspective. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 163–181, page 172. ISBN 978-0-7425-3806-1.
- ^ a b c Fried, Joseph P. (3 March 1984). "Olmedo and Co-defendant Guilty in Extortion Plot". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
- ^ Fried, Joseph P. (3 November 1983). "Councilman and 2 others indicted in payoff case". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ Fried, Joseph P. (1 February 1984). "Extortion Trial of Councilman Gets Underway". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
- ^ "Ex-Councilman Gets Prison Term". The New York Times. AP. 19 May 1984. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
- ^ Lemoyne, James (25 May 1984). "Olmedo Seat on Council Filled". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
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