Political powerbroker arrested on federal corruption charges reportedly stemming from payments he received from law firm over real estate taxes

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The powerful longtime speaker of the New York state assembly, Sheldon Silver, was arrested on federal corruption charges on Thursday, the FBI said.



Silver, 70, a lawyer whose tenure as speaker since 1994 has outlasted governors, mayors and many other politicians, has been under investigation by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the FBI. Silver has served in the Assembly since 1977.



According to published reports, the charges stemmed from payments he received from a small law firm specializing in seeking reductions of New York City real estate taxes.



Silver, a political power broker who represents Manhattan’s Lower East Side, is known as one of Albany’s “three men in a room”, along with the governor and Senate majority leader, who negotiate the state budget and key legislation.



The arrest of Silver will likely spark political upheaval in Albany, the state capital, less than two weeks after he opened the new legislative session.

The New York Times said details of the charges Silver faces were unclear on Wednesday night but cited one person familiar with the matter as saying the case stemmed from payments he received from a small law firm specializing in seeking reductions of New York City real estate taxes.



The Times cited another unnamed source as saying the payments in question were substantial and made over several years, and reported that Silver failed to list them on his annual financial disclosure filings with the state as required.

Several months ago, federal prosecutors subpoenaed documents from a personal injury firm that also made payments to Silver that he did not disclose, the Times said, citing a person with knowledge of that matter.

According to the newspaper, its sources spoke about the Sheldon case on condition of anonymity because the charges had not been made public.

The newspaper said Silver’s lawyer, Joel Cohen, declined to comment on Wednesday night. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the Times’ report or to reach Silver’s legal representatives.

Selected as assembly speaker in 1994, Silver ranks as the top Democrat in the state legislature and wields enormous political clout as one of Albany’s three principal dealmakers – along with the governor and Senate majority leader – on fiscal matters and major legislation.

He also has long been criticized for his continued employment in one of the state’s larger private law practices, which some have said poses a conflict regarding legislation that could be of interest to his firm, such medical malpractice or tort reform.

The reported charges pending against Silver would mark the latest case to involve allegations of wrongdoing by state lawmakers in Albany, where at least 30 politicians have faced legal or ethics problems since 2000.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat sworn into his second term earlier this month, created an independent anti-corruption commission in 2013 but shut it down this year, prompting an investigation by federal prosecutors in New York, who are looking into the panel’s unfinished cases.