Leslie Acosta (born July 7, 1971) is a former Democratic member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

representing the 197th House district in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. She is the daughter of former state representative

Ralph Acosta Ralph D. Acosta (born September 28, 1934) is an American politician. He is a former Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He was the first Latino to be elected to the state House. Background Born in Sabana Grande, Puer ...

and the first Latina elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature. Acosta graduated from Jules E. Mastbaum Area Vocational Technical School in Philadelphia. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in social work and theology at

Cairn University Cairn University is a private Christian university in Langhorne Manor and Middletown Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1913, the university has six schools and departments: Business, Counseling, Divinity, Education, Liberal Arts ...

Langhorne, Pennsylvania Langhorne Borough, formerly known as Attleboro, is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,643 at the time of the 2020 census. The mailing address "Langhorne" is used for Langhorne Borough but also broadly ...

. In September 2016, it was reported Acosta pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge of conspiring to commit money laundering in connection with an embezzlement scheme. Her crimes were committed between 2002 and 2012, before she took public office, in relation to the prosecution of Renee Tartaglione, sister of state Senator

Christine Tartaglione Christine M. "Tina" Tartaglione (born September 21, 1960) is an American politician from Pennsylvania currently serving as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 2nd District since 1995. The district is located ...

, who is charged with embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a publicly funded clinic for low income patients. Acosta's mother, Sandy Acosta, also pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the stolen funds. Acosta pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering for her role in embezzling money from a not-for-profit organization. She was sentenced to 7 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $623,000. Acosta's guilty plea remained under seal, and by the time the guilty plea became known, it was past the deadline to find a replacement candidate. Facing the prospect of being automatically stripped of her seat upon sentencing (Pennsylvania, like most states, does not allow convicted felons to hold office), Acosta resigned at the beginning of January 2017, shortly after being reelected to a second full term. A

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

was held in March to fill her office.

References

External links

PA House profileOfficial Party website
American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American people in Pennsylvania politics Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Pennsylvania Living people Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Cairn University alumni Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Women state legislators in Pennsylvania 1971 births 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly {{Pennsylvania-PARepresentative-stub