Disgraced Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Convicted on All Corruption Charges
This image has been archived or removed.
Photo: Daily News
Disgraced former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, hailing from the Grand Street political block of the Lower East Side, was found guilty yesterday in the ongoing federal corruption trial. The jury convicted the crooked 71-year-old politician on seven counts of honest services fraud, extortion, and money laundering. He’s now forced to forfeit his seat in the Assembly.
Thus caps a high-profile five-week trial, and a disgraceful end to a once-powerful political career. Facing up to 130 years, he’ll likely spend the rest of his life in prison. The first domino has fallen…
The New York Times reports:
In the Silver trial, the government built a case that he had orchestrated two schemes through which he obtained nearly $4 million in illegal payments in return for taking official actions that benefited a prominent cancer researcher, Dr. Robert N. Taub, at Columbia University, and two New York real estate development firms.
Testimony and other evidence showed that Mr. Silver had arranged to have the New York State Health Department make two grants totaling $500,000 to Dr. Taub, whose research focused on mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer related to asbestos exposure.
In return, Dr. Taub sent mesothelioma patients with potentially lucrative legal claims to Mr. Silver’s law firm, Weitz & Luxenberg, which then shared a portion of its legal fees with the speaker.
In the other scheme, prosecutors charged, Mr. Silver had the two developers, Glenwood Management and the Witkoff Group, move certain tax business to a law firm, Goldberg & Iryami, which secretly shared its fees with Mr. Silver.
In return, the speaker lent his support to critical rent legislation backed by Glenwood, in particular, and met with its lobbyists.
This image has been archived or removed.
Sheldon Silver’s puppet show, Photo: Art Y.R. Minor
Here are some additional links to story coverage:
“Albany, roiled by Mr. Silver’s arrest in January, now faces a crisis of conscience on whether and how to respond to the conviction of someone who dominated state politics as long as most legislators or anyone in New York’s political orbit can remember.” [Wall Street Journal]
“Silver walked out of court just before 6 p.m. He only said that he was disappointed, and that he will fight the verdict on appeal with his attorneys.” [CBS Local]
“Silver’s successor, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, said efforts at cleaning up Albany were already underway.” [The Daily News]
“His absence from the Assembly — and the fear his conviction might cause — could lead to some big changes in Albany.” [New York Magazine]
We'll be convening a conference of imprisoned New York state legislators at the earliest opportunity. I believe we have enough for a quorum.
— Fake Sheldon Silver (@ShellySilver) November 30, 2015
Recent Stories
Clayton’s Corner: One More for the Door [PHOTOS]
Lower East Side documentarian Clayton Patterson returns with his eponymous photo essay series, Clayton’s Corner. Patterson has documented thousands of locals posing at his front door on Essex Street over the last three decades. This unassuming neighborhood portal is legendary amongst locals, even though you probably haven’t heard of it. Hakki Akdeniz. Known professionally as Famous […]
Lower East Side Partnership is Leaving Orchard Street for Essex Crossing
The Lower East Side Partnership is packing up and on the move. Headed toward the greener pastures of Essex Crossing. And now, the space it called home for the last decade-plus is again available. A leasing sign is currently pasted in the window of 54 Orchard Street. The local business improvement district signed a ten-year […]
Bowery Building Razed for New Office Development
The old Bowery tenement that previously housed a restaurant supply company is coming down. In its place, a new five-story office building. Passing by 216 Bowery this week, we spotted half the structure eliminated behind a Black death shroud. Approved permits on file with Department of Buildings indicate that the stout brick tenement at 216 […]
Burned-out Bulbs on the Williamsburg Bridge for Months
Lights are burning a bit dimmer over on the Williamsburg Bridge. Readers point out that numerous bulbs lining the Manhattan side of the span are dark. And have been for months. Presumably the necessary approvals must snake through the bureaucracy before the necklace lighting is fully restored. So, it might be awhile yet. Department of […]
Report: Protected Bike Lanes Underway for Alphabet City
Protected bike lanes may be on the way to Alphabet City. With the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project on the near horizon, the Department of Transportation is attempting to make good on its recent promise to cyclists, by improving city bike infrastructure surrounding the project. “DOT, in consultation with Council members and other local stakeholders, […]
