A member of one of the Bronx’s most powerful political families went on a lavish spending spree with taxpayer money — taking trips to Puerto Rico, dining at fancy restaurants and snapping up designer clothing — with big bucks swiped from a federally funded nonprofit, authorities charged yesterday.

Richard Izquierdo Arroyo — a nephew of City Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo and grandson of Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo — and his business partner, Margarita Villegas, were charged with embezzlement.

They stole about $200,000 from the South Bronx Community Corp. from 2005 to this past February, according to the US Attorney’s Office and the Department of Investigation.

In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, authorities said the pair squandered funds intended for management of two low-income buildings in the South Bronx on luxuries billed to the nonprofit’s two American Express cards.

Among the alleged charges: $48,000 on travel to Puerto Rico for themselves and relatives; $34,000 on car rentals, tolls and even parking tickets; $15,000 for clothing, shoes and accessories at such outlets as Coach, Tommy Hilfiger and Polo Ralph Lauren; and $66,000 at restaurants that included Tavern on the Green and Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

The pair also doled out $9,000 in campaign contributions to the campaign of “Assembly Member #1″ and $4,750 to a New York state political organization affiliated with the Assembly member, the complaint said.

In one nervy extravagance, the court papers said the nonprofit was even tapped to pay the $3,800 bill for flooring in the district office of “Assembly Member #1.”

The papers do not name the politician, but sources identified her as Carmen Arroyo, a 15-year member of the Assembly.

The nonprofit tagged by the feds is an affiliate of the South Bronx Community Corp., which received a $50,000 grant from Councilwoman Arroyo and $80,000 in other council funds in 2007.

Before they were elected, Arroyo and her mother had both at separate points run the SBCC.

Izquierdo Arroyo and Villegas were released on $200,000 bond each yesterday and are due back in court next month.

Both declined comment in court.

The councilwoman released a statement saying she was “very distressed to learn of the charges brought against Richard and Margarita,” and called them “hardworking, community-minded individuals. I am confident that, in the end, they will be able to clear their names.”

Source: NY Post