Sheldon Silver, Speaker of New York Assembly, Is Arrested in Corruption Case

[brooklynite]

Source: New York Times

The powerful speaker of the New York State Assembly, Sheldon Silver, was arrested on federal corruption charges on Thursday, sending shock waves through the political establishment and upending the new legislative session.

Mr. Silver, a Democrat from the Lower East Side of Manhattan who has served as speaker for more than two decades, surrendered to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents early Thursday morning in Lower Manhattan, law enforcement officials said.

Mr. Silver, before entering 26 Federal Plaza, said, “I hope I’ll be vindicated.”

The investigation of Mr. Silver began after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in March abruptly shut down an anticorruption commission he had created in 2013.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/nyregion/speaker-of-new-york-assembly-sheldon-silver-is-arrested-in-corruption-case.html

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Sigh....this is why I won't spend a penny supporting the Democratic Party in the NYS legislature. Far more ethical and competent State Parties elsewhere.

[hrmjustin]

1. I know he is a Democrat but as a NYer I am overjoyed this guy was arrested.

He deserves whst he gets.

[alcibiades_mystery]

2. Daayyyyyuuuuuummmmm

And sheeeeeeeeeee-iit.

[geek tragedy]

3. First Vito Lopez, now Silver.

Look out, Andy Cuomo.

Albany is so, so corrupt.

[lindysalsagal]

17. Yep. I heard on the radio that Andrew let an investigation peter out

to save his nasty ass......

Popcorn, please.

[Danmel]

4. Albany is a cesspool.

As a Democrat in NY, I am embarrassed by our state government. A lot of our locals aren't so great either. Trying to out Illinois Illinois.

[hue]

5. I hope this snowballs into a big trend!!

[Raine1967]

6. Is Joe Bruno still in jail?

It was only a matter of time before they got Shelly Silver. I am surprised it took this long, honestly.

I thought they were corrupt back when Pataki was still governor.

(edited as I meant to say Jail)

[iandhr]

12. Same here

I think he just got too greedy.

[bobclark86]

18. He was aquitted...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bruno

[George II]

7. There are more details to be released, but on the surface it doesn't look as big...

....as the headline suggests.

We'll have to wait until this afternoon to see how many charges there are, but the article only mentions one - that he failed to included income from a job he has with a law firm (not a crime) on his state financial disclosure (a crime, not normally a felony). I suppose the drama of the arrest is a product of the magnitude of his failures to report that income.

Since this is a state requirement, I'm surprised the FBI has gotten involved.

We'll have to see what, if anything, else comes out later today.

[StevePaulson]

8. He Is A Democrat

I am sure his jail sentence will be 10 times as much time as if he was a Republican.

Ask Blagoyovich, or Siegelman.

Dems want all crooks to go to jail.

Republicans want only Dems to go to jail.

I wonder why......

[brooklynite]

9. UPDATE: Sheldon Silver, New York Assembly Speaker, Is Accused of Taking Millions in Graft

In a five-count criminal complaint outlining the charges, Mr. Silver is accused of “using the power and influence of his official position to obtain for himself millions of dollars of bribes and kickbacks masked as legitimate income.”

He is charged with mail fraud, wire fraud and extortion.

...snip...

The complaint maintains that for more than a decade, Mr. Silver devised a scheme “to induce real estate developers with business before the state” to use a real estate law firm controlled by a lawyer who had once worked as Mr. Silver’s counsel who orchestrated payments to the speaker for referrals to the firm.

The complaint said that “there is probable cause to believe that Silver received approximately $4 million in payments characterized as attorney referral fees solely through the corrupt use of his official position.”

[Raine1967]

13. Mail and wire fraud: the same thing they got Bruno for.

I want to say unbelievable, but it isn't.

Albany politics hasn't changed at all.

Not pointing fingers, I was a NY resident for 40 years, and now here I am in Virginia…. oopsie!

[kwassa]

14. and real estate developers are the source of the corrupt money everywhere.

This is true of many much smaller governments.

There was a hilarious case here locally:

On November 12, 2010, Jack Johnson and his wife Leslie were arrested by the FBI as part of the federal probe of political corruption in Prince George's County. They were charged with witness tampering and destruction of evidence.[1] According to court documents filed by the FBI, Johnson is accused of taking kickbacks and bribes in exchange for helping a developer secure federal funding for housing developments. Johnson can be heard on a wiretap instructing Leslie to locate and flush a $100,000 check from the developer down a toilet at their home and to hide $79,600 in cash in her bra as FBI agents knocked at the door of their home with a search warrant.[10] The Johnsons face up to 20 years in jail for each offense, but both were released and Jack Johnson is on home detention with electronic monitoring.[11] Johnson remained in office until December 6, when his term expired; Leslie was sworn in as a newly elected county council member on the same day; however, she would not be eligible to remain in office if convicted of a felony.[12][13]

...............................

On December 6, 2011, Johnson was sentenced to seven years and three months in Butner federal prison in North Carolina. He was also fined $100,000.[17]

and yes, they found the cash in Leslie's bra.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_B._Johnson

[Raine1967]

15. I remember that story… what a mess that was.

It was all over the local news at the time.

[Nye Bevan]

10. The New York State legislature. There was never a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you.

[iandhr]

11. At a Young Democrats of America national conference

We in the New York delegation joked that NY Dems have established quorum "up the river"

[George II]

16. It turns out there was a lot more involved than the NYT article. Still more to shake out, I'm sure.

[proverbialwisdom]

19. More.

http://nypost.com/2015/01/22/sheldon-silver-arrested/