State Board of Elections and fines were assessed against Espada's 2000 Senate campaign for required reports that had not been filed. Espada acknowledged that mistakes had been made but insisted that some of the accusations were unfair. Espada voted in favor of same-sex marriage legislation on December 2, 2009, but the bill was defeated. June 2009 leadership crisis Though there were 32 Democrats and 30 Republicans in the Senate, on June 8, 2009, Espada and Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) were part of what was described by the Associated Press as a "parliamentary coup" and voted with the 30 Republican members to install Senator Dean Skelos (R-Nassau) as the new majority leader of the Senate, replacing Senator Malcolm Smith (D-Queens). In a press release posted to his Senate web page, Espada emphasized that "I remain a staunch, reform Democrat. I have not switched parties," and that his actions were intended to help end the "gridlock, paralysis, secretiveness, threats and partisan politics" that the Senate had experienced in the previous months and that he was not part of "a power grab or a coup" but was working to build a coalition to serve the needs of all New Yorkers with open and transparent government. However, when pressed by Wayne Barrett on June 11, 2009, as to whether he felt allegiance to the Democratic party, the Senator claimed he owed nothing to a political party that spent "hundreds of thousands" to defeat his past elections. The switch was preceded by several weeks of private talks brokered by upstate billionaire Tom Golisano. In the early evening of July 9, 2009, Espada switched his allegiance back with the Democratic Party, and was then selected the Senate Majority Leader of the New York State Senate. He is the first Hispanic to have held that post. 2009-2010 investigations and legal difficulties Espada claimed a co-op apartment in Bedford Park as his district residence. Several residents of the Bronx co-op said they never saw him there. The Bronx County District Attorney opened an investigation in 2009. In 2009, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo investigated Espada's use of the Soundview Health Clinic for personal political reasons. Clinic offices also advertised Espada's name on the front canopy, displayed campaign posters on clinic grounds, and displayed posters of Espada surrounded by smiling children. In 2010, Espada was investigated by federal investigators and the IRS for his ties with a consulting