Sheldon Silver's arrest reveals power, secrets
ALBANY – Through five governors, six Senate leaders, sexual-harassment scandals and more, Sheldon Silver has endured.
Sheldon Silver's arrest reveals power, secrets ALBANY – Through five governors, six Senate leaders, sexual-harassment scandals and more, Sheldon Silver has endured. Check out this story on DemocratandChronicle.com: http://on.rocne.ws/1BXFbtU
Albany Bureau Published 3:01 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2015 | Updated 3:37 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2015
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver arrested
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara addresses members of the media regarding the arrest of State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver during a news conference Jan. 22 in Manhattan. Mary Altaffer, AP
Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, with Democratic members of the Assembly behind him, pauses before talking to reporters at the Capitol about the arrest of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Mike Groll, AP
New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is transported by federal agents to federal court. Seth Wenig, AP
New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, center, is driven by federal agents to federal court on Jan. 22 in New York City. Silver seems determined to hold onto his power in Albany. Mark Lennihan, AP
Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, with Democratic members of the Assembly behind him, talks to reporters at the Capitol about the arrest of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Mike Groll, AP
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara addresses members of the media regarding the arrest of State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Mary Altaffer, AP
New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver leaves a federal courthouse in New York, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015. Silver was arrested Thursday on charges he used his position as one of the state's most powerful politicians to collect millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks disguised as legitimate income. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)(Photo: Seth Wenig, AP)
For 20 years, the Manhattan Democrat has exerted his influence as state Assembly speaker, cementing his status as a master of sharp-elbowed legislative negotiations and one of the most powerful figures the Capitol has seen.
He's weathered criticism of his handling of sexual-abuse complaints and an attempt at a coup, ruthlessly punishing his Democratic colleagues who unsuccessfully tried to organize his ouster 15 years ago.
Never, though, has Silver faced a foe as formidable as U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
The federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York unveiled a five-count criminal complaint Thursday accusing Silver of using his influence to pocket $6 million from private law firms — including $4 million amounting to bribes — without providing legal services in return.
The corruption case is the culmination of years of questions surrounding Silver's work with a prominent outside law firm, and it threatens to shine a light on the dark corners of New York's oft-criticized laws regulating legislators who collect salaries from private employers with business before the state.
"For many years, New Yorkers have asked the question: how could Speaker Silver, one of the most powerful men in all of New York, earn millions of dollars in outside income without deeply compromising his ability to honestly serve his constituents?" Bharara said Thursday. "Today, we provide the answer — he didn't."
For years, Silver — who maintains he will be vindicated — has been revered by his supporters and reviled by his foes.
Video: Silver addresses charges Thursday
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver claims innocence, confidence legal process will clear the air.
He's known as the Capitol's leading progressive voice, long supporting issues like an increase in the minimum wage and allowing the passage of same-sex marriage in the Assembly for years before it was finally signed into law in 2011.
In 1994, he first took over the role of speaker, the top job in the state Assembly. It gave him a seat at the negotiating table as one of Albany's infamous "three men in a room" — referring to the speaker, Senate leader and governor, who hash out details of all major budget deals and legislative agreements before they're put to the Legislature for a vote.
Silver has developed a reputation as a fierce advocate on behalf of issues favored by Assembly Democrats, even when it led to months-long budget delays during the years of Republican Gov. George Pataki and a Republican-held Senate. His staunch support for his members — even when they faced their own troubles — cemented his place as his caucus' trusted leader.
That reputation has worked to his benefit, most recently on Thursday, when Assembly Democrats emerged from a 90-minute, closed-door meeting to pledge their support for Silver continuing as speaker as he works his way through the legal process.
Former Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Greenburgh, Westchester County, said Silver is not "warm and fuzzy." But being warm and fuzzy isn't a requirement for the job, he said.
"The prerequisite is the people's work gets done, and Shelly is widely viewed as a very successful speaker in terms of things like budgets and education and tax policy," said Brodsky, who served in the Assembly from 1983 through 2010. "Members have always had confidence in him. Sometimes, allegations like this can destroy that confidence, but that's up to the members and the governor."
There's precedent in having an indicted lawmaker continue as speaker.
In 1991, then-Assemblyman Mel Miller, D-Brooklyn, held on to the speaker's post after he was indicted as part of his role in a real estate deal. When he was convicted in December of that year, Miller was forced from office; the conviction was later overturned on appeal.
Video: Bharara says public should demand better from its leaders
Bharara: Public should demand better from leaders
It's also not the first time Democrats have stood behind Silver in troubled times.
In May 2013, Silver's Democratic colleagues flanked him as he publicly apologized for approving a secret, $103,000 settlement with two former employees of then-Assemblyman Vito Lopez, D-Brooklyn, who had been accused of sexual harassment.
The settlement allowed Lopez to remain in office, and two other accusers later stepped forward. The latter two accusers have since sued Silver and the Assembly, and the case is pending in civil court. Lopez later resigned in disgrace.
In 2001, Assembly counsel Michael Boxley was accused of sexual assault by a legislative employee. Silver defended Boxley at the time and the Assembly's investigation didn't produce conclusive results. Two years later, Boxley was led from the Capitol in handcuffs on a separate rape charge and later pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct.
Silver has also garnered a reputation as being unafraid to punish political foes.
When Syracuse-area Assemblyman Michael Bragman unsuccessfully tried to rally support for a leadership coup in 2000, Silver stripped Bragman of the title of majority leader and the perks that come with it while demoting others who supported him.
"(Silver's) thing is to control everything and everybody," said former Assemblyman David Koon, D-Fairport, who supported Bragman. "He certainly has the power to do it. I couldn't get a pay raise for my people or an extra phone or an extra computer or anything without going through the speaker."
Silver is expected to return to the Capitol on Monday to address his conference, according to several Democrats who attended the news conference Thursday.
Video: Dems stand by Silver
Assembly Majority Leade Joseph Morelle leads a news conference Thursday in which Assembly Democrats pledged support for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who was arrested Thursday.
His arrest, however, drew new calls for overhauling New York's oft-criticized laws regarding legislative pay. The Legislature is considered to be part-time, so lawmakers can earn outside income.
A 2011 law first required lawmakers to reveal more detailed information about their rate of outside pay. Silver reported receiving between $650,000 and $750,000 in 2013 from New York City-based injury law firm Weitz & Luxenberg. Prosecutors accuse Silver of obtaining a $500,000 state grant for a New York City doctor who was referring asbestos complaints to the prominent law firm, which was in turn paying Silver referral fees.
Prior to Silver's arrest, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday proposed creating a two-tiered system for paying lawmakers: one salary for those who earn outside income, and one salary for those who don't. He also wants to create a commission that would consider whether to cap outside income for individual lawmakers.
As it stands, lawmakers earn a $79,500 base salary, though most collect leadership stipends of between $9,000 and $41,500. According to the New York Public Interest Research Group, about half of lawmakers earn some sort of outside income, whether it's from a rental property or a private job.
"The fact that it takes the feds to come in and deal with this underscores the huge ethics problem Albany faces. "
Blair Horner, NYPIRG's legislative director
Now watchdog groups said the ethics laws again need to be reformed.
"We don't know if (Silver) has done anything illegal, but if the facts are true, the complaint tells a story of someone using their public office for private gain," said Blair Horner, NYPIRG's legislative director. "The fact that it takes the feds to come in and deal with this underscores the huge ethics problem Albany faces."
Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit, and others said it's important to remember that Silver is deemed innocent until proven guilty. Morelle is currently the chamber's second-in-command, a post Silver first appointed him to in 2013.
The external pressure on Silver will be greater than any he's faced in his 20 years at the helm. But only the members of his conference could vote him out of power if he vows to stay — which he appears poised to do.
"We have every confidence that the speaker is going to continue to fill his role with distinction and the members in this conference were overwhelming in making that clear," Morelle said Thursday.
JCAMPBELL1@Gannett.com
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New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was arrested on corruption charges and accused of using his position as one of the most powerful politicians in Albany to obtain millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks masked as legitimate income. (Jan.
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