Disgraced former Assembly Speaker
Sheldon Silver dies in prison
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Sheldon Silver, the former
Manhattan lawmaker
and Assembly speaker
who rose to become one of
the most powerful people in
New York state only to fall to
a scandal of his own making,
died in federal prison on Monday
at the age of 77, according
to reports.
Federal records indicated that
Silver was incarcerated at the
time of his death at the FMC
Devens, a minimum-security
federal prison hospital in Massachusetts.
The disgraced former
lawmaker was serving a
6 1/2 year prison sentence after
being convicted on federal
corruption charges.
His death in federal custody
marked an ignominious end to
a politician who had once been
one of the biggest power brokers
in New York state. As Assembly
speaker, Silver was regarded
:
POLITICS
Three years later, Silver succeeded
the late Saul Weprin
as the Assembly Speaker, and
would hold that title for the next
two decades.
Despite being a staunch Democrat,
Silver found himself crossing
the aisle and working with
Republican Governor George
Pataki in 1995 to pass legislation
reinstating the death penalty
in the Empire State. No one
was ever executed in New York,
however, and the state Court of
Appeals eventually ruled the law
unconstitutional in 2004.
Silver was also instrumental
in helping to enact new rent
regulations in 1997 and, two
years later, a repeal of the commuter
tax on non-resident earners.
Healso took heat for failing
to schedule a vote on a congestion
pricing plan for Manhattan
in 2007.
The Assembly speaker also
faced heavy criticism in the late
2000s for failing to act on sexual
Tiny Desk meets globalFest
Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver
harassment or misconduct
cases, specifi cally those involving
his former chief counsel, J.
Michael Boxley, and Brooklyn
Assemblyman Vito Lopez.
But two weeks after his 11th
re-election as Assembly speaker,
in January 2015, Silver wound
up under arrest on federal corruption
charges. for accepting
kickbacks from a law fi rm working
with real estate brokers to
lower their city real estate taxes;
and for also pocketing millions
in referral fees that Silver received
Jerry Metellus
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REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON
from the Weitz and Luxenberg
law fi rm in exchange for
directing clients to there with
asbestos-related cases.
Silver ultimately resigned as
Assembly speaker, but retained
his seat in his Manhattan-based
Assembly district. In November
2015, he was convicted of the
charges against him, which under
state law led to his automatic
expulsion from the Assembly.
Silver is survived by his wife,
Rosa, and their four children.
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Oliver Holmes
Erik Carter
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as one of the infamous “three
men in the room,” alongside the
governor and the state Senate
majority leader, that (for better
or worse) hammered out budget
deals and set the legislative
agenda.
Silver grew up on the Lower
East Side of Manhattan and
went on to graduate from Yeshiva
University and the Brooklyn
Law School. He jointed the law
fi rm of Schecter and Schwartz
between 1968 and 1971, then
was hired by New York City Civil
Court Judge Francis N. Pecora
as a law secretary.
He won a seat in the State
Assembly in 1976. The Lower
East Sider rose through the
Democratic party ranks and
became chairman of the powerful
Assembly Ways and Means
Committee in 1991.
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