The conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has shaken NY politics down to the granite foundations of the state Capitol, provoking fresh calls to overhaul a system that has stubbornly clung to its long history of corruption.
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The verdict caps a stunning fall for Silver, a Democrat who as speaker of the New York State Assembly enjoyed huge political influence before his arrest in January.
Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News Sheldon Silver arrives at Manhattan Federal Court on Monday.
The three-week trial wrapped up with Silver’s defense team calling no witnesses and Silver himself refusing to take the stand. Thankfully, the jury didn’t buy exhausted explanations that self-dealing and back-scratching are just “business as usual”.
Most likely, Silver’s conviction will have no bearing on Skelos’ trial, but it does signal a clear victory for Bharara, whom many observers believe staked his reputation on his crusade against Albany’s culture of corruption.
The case had hinged on determining an explicit quid pro quo: doing something to get something in return. Dr. Robert Taub told jurors he steered numerous patients with cancer caused by asbestos to Silver’s law firm, enabling the legislator to pocket $3 million in referral fees.
Molo said that because NY state has a citizen legislature that is only in session for six months a year, its members are allowed to work. Silver then gave his support to two state Dept. of Health grants totaling $500,000 for Taub’s research, according to prosecutors.
Hours after the verdict, Silver left the courthouse amid a throng of reporters, saying, “I’m disappointed right now”, before leaving in a black auto.
Other schemes involved kickbacks from a legal firm specializing in tax law. Jurors are still hearing testimony in a separate federal case against former Senate President Dean Skelos, who along with his son was charged with several corruption-related counts in May.
Now, Sheldon Silver is guilty on all seven counts against him, including extortion and money laundering.
Adam Skelos said he had heard about the Silver verdict, but declined comment because he was only focused on his own trial.
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The two were among a group dubbed the “three men in a room” in Albany, a nod to the longstanding practice of legislative leaders and the governor negotiating key bills behind closed doors.
