NY Assembly Speaker Arrested on Federal Corruption Charges

The powerful speaker of the New York State Assembly, Sheldon Silver, was arrested on federal corruption charges on Thursday and accused of using the power of his office to solicit millions in bribes and kickbacks, including mail fraud, wire fraud, and extortion according to court documents.

The arrest of Mr. Silver, a Democrat from the Lower East Side of Manhattan who has served as speaker for more than two decades, sent shock waves through the political establishment and upended the new legislative session.

Mr. Silver surrendered to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents early Thursday morning in Lower Manhattan, law enforcement officials said.

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.”

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara took over the files of New York's Moreland anti-corruption commission after Cuomo closed it in April 2014.  He said in October that investigations into Albany's pay-to-play politics are continuing.

The commission and Bharara were looking into lawmakers' earnings outside their state salaries.  Silver's outside income has long been a subject of discussion and controversy.  Last year, he reported making up to $750,000 for legal work, mostly with the trial firm of Weitz & Luxenberg. But there seems to be no indication of what the work was.

But sources said that money Silver received from a small real-estate tax law firm was also a problem.  The firm, Goldberg & Iryami PC, made the payments over about a decade, but Silver failed to list the income on his financial-disclosure forms.

Mr. Silver allegedly accepted $6 million since 2002 related to his work for the two law firms, the complaint says.

Mr. Silver’s lawyers, Joel Cohen and Steven Molo, said in a statement: “We’re disappointed that the prosecutors have chosen to proceed with these meritless criminal charges.  That said, Mr. Silver looks forward to responding to them — in court — and ultimately his full exoneration.”

CLICK HERE to read the indictment.











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