FBI: NYS Assembly Speaker Jew Vermin Sheldon Silver Arrested On Corruption Charges

http://nypost.com/2016/05/03/sheldon-silvers-hoping-he-gets-locked-up-at-the-nice-prison/

Sheldon Silver’s hoping he gets locked up at the ‘nice’ prison
By Kaja Whitehouse
May 3, 2016 | 11:36pm

Shelly Silver could soon be speaker of the Big House: The cushy prison where he wants to do his time features town-hall meetings for its inmates.

The corrupt ex-pol asked a Manhattan federal judge Tuesday to send him to a minimum-security “camp’’ within the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville in upstate Orange County. :rolleyes:

The facility offers “quiet time” for its prisoners between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., as well as politely organized meetings for inmates and staffers to hash out issues.

Silver, who served as New York’s Assembly speaker for more than two decades, also might fit in nicely in Otisville because it is known as the best place for observant Jewish criminals such as himself. Inmates there have access to full-time rabbis, and the site observes the Jewish holidays.

Notable crooks who have served time there include disgraced financial adviser Kenneth Starr, whose clients included Al Pacino and Caroline Kennedy.

Judge Valerie Caproni said she would recommend that Silver be sent to Otisville — which, conveniently for visits, is less than a two-hour drive from his Lower East Side co-op.

The federal Bureau of Prisons ultimately makes the decision.

Other possible new digs for Silver include the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Mass., where the prostate-cancer sufferer can receive the ultimate health care.

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The Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, New York.
Photo: AP


Ponzi-scheme-king Bernie Madoff’s brother, Peter, is there, as is hedge-fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam.

And the Schuylkill Federal Correctional Facility, north of Pennsylvania’s capitol in Harrisburg, is already a favorite destination for convicted New York legislators.

Ex-state Assemblyman Eric Stevenson is serving his three-year sentence there, while fallen City Councilman Larry Seabrook is there until 2017.

The prison has a “leisure center” complete with an arts and hobby-crafts area. There is also a music program.
 
http://nypost.com/2016/05/03/sheldon-silvers-crony-officially-sworn-into-his-assembly-seat/

Sheldon Silver’s crony officially sworn into his Assembly seat
By Kirstan Conley
May 3, 2016 | 11:01pm

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Alice Cancel
Photo: AP


ALBANY — Sheldon Silver’s vacated Assembly seat was officially filled Tuesday — the same day he was sentenced on corruption charges — by a successor handpicked by his allies.

Democrat Alice Cancel was sworn in at the state Capitol in Albany to fill the lower Manhattan seat held by Silver for nearly 40 years.

Silver lost his speaker post after his arrest early last year and was removed from office when convicted in November. Cancel was elected in a special election on April 19.

“It’s a sad day for the [Silver] family,’’ Cancel told The Post after her swearing-in. “[But] I was elected by the community to do a job, and that’s what I’m here for.”

GOP Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin, of Troy, said: “I’m glad to see that the only back-room deals Sheldon Silver will be negotiating for the rest of his life will be trading a pair of clean socks for an extra dessert during meal time.” :p
 
http://nypost.com/2016/05/07/sheldon-silver-will-struggle-to-pay-first-installment-of-fine/

Sheldon Silver will struggle to pay first installment of fine
By Kaja Whitehouse
May 7, 2016 | 2:36am

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Sheldon Silver leaves court after being sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption. Photo: GC Images


Disgraced ex-Assemblyman Sheldon Silver could be scraping the bottom of the barrel next month to find the money he needs to pay the first installment of a $1.75 million fine imposed on him by a federal judge.

At his sentencing Tuesday, Manhattan federal Judge Valerie Caproni ordered the fallen power-broker to fork over $5.3 million in illegal profits on top of a $1.75 million fine.

But after factoring out his ill-gotten gains, the septuagenarian jailbird will have slightly more than $2 million left. That includes roughly $1 million in “liquid” assets and his stakes in the Silver family homes, sources told The Post.

Silver was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison for taking millions in kickbacks.
 
http://nypost.com/2016/07/25/skelos-silver-should-be-sent-straight-to-prison-prosecutors/

Skelos, Silver should be sent straight to prison: prosecutors
By Kaja Whitehouse
July 25, 2016 | 10:33pm

Disgraced pols Dean Skelos and Sheldon Silver will not get their corruption convictions overturned and should be sent straight to prison as they go through the appeal process, prosecutors with Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said Monday.

In separate memos, Bharara’s prosecutors blasted arguments by former state Senator Skelos and ex-Assembly speaker Silver that their convictions will be tossed — thanks to ex-Virginia gover Bob McDonnell — and therefore they should remain free on bail as they seek appeal.

Last month, the US Supreme Court vacated McDonnell’s corruption conviction and ruled that gifts to public officials must result in “official acts,” like legislation, to count as bribery. McDonnell received lavish gifts including money toward his daughter’s wedding, but inly helped arrange meetings and hosted a lunch at the governor’s mansion in return.

Prosecutors said both Silver and Skelos engaged in plenty of official acts, including Silver having directed $500,000 in state funds to a doctor who was sending clients to a law firm that was paying him for the referrals.

“McDonnell will not save Silver on appeal, nor should it entitle him to bail pending appeal,” prosecutors told Manhattan federal judge Valerie Caprini.

They also skewered Skelos’ bid to remain free on bail, arguing that they proved at trial that he “took or agreed to take acts” that would benefit companies giving jobs to his son Adam, including “legislation, votes, pressure on other public officials.”

“There is no McDonnell issue in this case; the defendants conduct was, and continues to be, illegal under federal law” they said of the Long Island Republican.
 
http://nypost.com/2016/07/28/sheldon-silvers-asbestos-law-firm-has-a-new-cash-cow/

Sheldon Silver’s asbestos law firm found a new gold mine
By Kirstan Conley
July 28, 2016 | 1:23pm

ALBANY – The law firm that made a fortune off asbestos cases referred by former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has found a new gold mine: it has filed the first personal injury lawsuit over water contamination in Hoosick Falls.

Earnings at Manhattan-based Weitz & Luxenberg fell after Silver was arrested and convicted of corruption, including for pocketing referral fees for cases he steered to the firm from an oncologist who received $500,000 in state research grants

Silver was sentenced to 12 years is prison, but is free pending an appeal. :mad:

The firm is now representing James Donovan, a Hoosick Falls resident, who is seeking $2.5 million in damages.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday, Donovan cited damages for lost property value on his home and medical costs associated with a host of problems he blames on the pollutants, called perfluorooctanoic acids, or PFOAs, dumped into the water by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics and Honeywell International.

In court papers, Donovan says he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, which deprives him of the ability to eat many foods, including raw vegetables, after drinking water in the village for nearly 25 years.

He also said he suffered a serious reaction to medication last year.

At least four other class action suits were filed. Weitz & Luxenberg and Faraci Lang are co-counsel on the cases.
 
http://nypost.com/2016/08/06/silver-cites-skelos-ruling-in-bid-to-remain-free-on-bail/

Silver cites Skelos ruling in bid to remain free on bail
By Lia Eustachewich
August 6, 2016 | 2:02am

If it’s good enough for Dean, it’s good enough for Shelly.

Former state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is trying to skirt prison at least a little longer — thanks to a new court ruling involving his disgraced Senate counterpart, Dean Skelos.

Manhattan federal court Judge Kimba Wood granted the requests of Skelos and his son Adam Thursday to remain out on bail pending an appeal of their conviction in light of a US Supreme Court ruling that could affect their case.

Silver’s lawyers said it was “appropriate” that the 72-year-old Democrat receive “equal treatment” when it comes to his own motion to stay free on bail.

But prosecutors told Judge Valerie Caproni in a filing Friday that Wood’s order should have no bearing on Silver’s case.

Silver and the Skeloses have appealed their corruption convictions following a recent US Supreme Court decision that tossed out the conviction of ex-Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.

It ruled that McDonnell, who was also found guilty of corruption, didn’t commit an “official act” under federal law when he accepted gifts from businessmen in exchange for meetings and a lunch at the governor’s mansion.
 
http://nypost.com/2016/08/17/court-ruling-could-allow-feds-to-seize-silver-and-skelos-pensions/

Court ruling could allow feds to seize Silver and Skelos’ pensions
By Kaja Whitehouse
August 17, 2016 | 2:46pm

​A ruling Wednesday by the federal Court of Appeals ​in New York could pave the way for​ authorities to seize the state-protected pensions of corrupt politicians like Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos.

The ruling, in the case of convicted former ​Bronx ​Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, found that his pension contributions are fair game as the feds seek to recoup $22,000 in ill-gotten gains.

The court sided with the government’s argument that federal law trumps state constitutional protections of retirement funds when it comes to forfeiture.

“Convicted politicians should lose pensions paid for by taxpayers they betrayed,” Manhattan US Attorney​ Preet​ Bharara tweeted after the ruling.

Bharara said he was going to start going after pensions in 2013 when testifying before the now-defunct Moreland Commission, which was established by Gov​. Andrew Cuomo to go after public corruption.

And he made Stevenson a test case.

Bharara told the Moreland Commission that his office had just adopted a new set of policies to go after public officials’ pensions — starting with Stevenson, a former member of the Bronx New York Assembly, and disgraced ex-state Sen​. Malcolm Smith, both of whom were arrested on corruption charges that year.

“A galling injustice that sticks in the craw of every thinking New Yorker is the almost inviolable right of even the most corrupt elected official — even after being convicted by a jury and jailed by a judge — to draw a publicly-funded pension until his dying day,” Bharara said at the time.

Bharara blamed New York state lawmakers for protecting corrupt politicians’ pensions.

“That error of state law, partially fixed a couple of years ago, must succumb to common sense. The common-sense principle is a simple one: Convicted politicians should not grow old comfortably cushioned by a pension paid for by the very people they betrayed in office.”

The ruling Wednesday agreed with Bharara that Stevenson’s pension should be considered an asset that could be tapped toward the $22,000 in ill-gotten gains he was ordered to forfeit. The court cited federal law, saying it trumps state laws protecting pensions.

“Stevenson argues that identifying his pension plan contributions as a substitute asset and permitting seizure by the Government was error as those contributions are protected by… the New York State Constitution,” said the three-judge panel. “We disagree,” the judges said.

The ruling also gives corrupt politicians like former Assembly Speaker Silver and former state Senate Majority Leader Skelos, le​​ss wiggle room to appeal the money they have been ordered to fork over, which is based in part on both of their pensions.

At Skelos’ sentencing, prosecutor Jason Masimore warned that his “victims are going to keep paying Dean Skelos under his pension agreement,” and asked that his fine be reflective of that.

Judge Kimba Wood agreed and ordered a $500,000 fine, which she said was more than one-half that value of his pre-tax pension.

Silver’s $70,000 a year pension was also taken into account when he was ordered to fork over $5.3 million in illegal profits on top of a $1.75 million fine.

“Mr. Silver’s New York pension, which he filed for just days after being convicted, has a present value of approximately $850,000. I have taken that into account in setting the fine,” Judge Valerie Caproni said at his sentencing in May.
 
http://nypost.com/2016/08/18/preet-bharara-wants-sheldon-silver-to-go-straight-to-jail/

Preet Bharara wants Sheldon Silver to go straight to jail
By Kaja Whitehouse
August 18, 2016 | 11:49pm

Convicted former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver should go straight to jail, Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara argued in a letter to a federal judge.

The filing late Wednesday by Bharara’s prosecutors cited an appeals court’s action hours earlier in upholding the punishment to one of Silver’s corrupt colleagues: ex-Bronx Assemblyman Eric Stevenson.

“The Second Circuit’s decision in Stevenson further demonstrates why Silver’s . . . argument raises no substantial issue for his appeal,” prosecutors wrote Judge Valerie Caproni.

Silver, 72, was hit with 12 years in jail for abusing his power, including funneling a $500,000 grant to a doctor who recommended the pol’s Silver’s law firm to asbestos victims.

He is seeking to stay out on bail pending appeal, an effort tied to a recent ruling by the US Supreme Court that has changed the definition of bribery in public-corruption cases.

But the three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals shot down a similar argument from Stevenson — in a footnote, giving Bharara’s team ammunition.

“The fact that the Second Circuit rejected Stevenson’s . . . argument in a single footnote . . . demonstrates that the court did not view the question presented as substantial,” the letter said.

Stevenson was convicted in 2014 of pushing for limits on senior centers in exchange for cash.
 
http://nypost.com/2016/08/25/sheldon-silver-avoids-jail-for-at-least-another-year/

Sheldon Silver avoids jail for at least another year
By Kaja Whitehouse
August 25, 2016 | 4:33pm

Disgraced ex-Assemblyman Sheldon Silver caught a big break Thursday when he was saved from having to begin his 12-year bribery sentence for another year or more.

Manhattan federal court Judge Valerie Caproni okayed Silver’s request for bail pending appeal, putting to rest the question of when he will have to turn himself in. Silver had been facing a surrender date of August 31st, but successfully pushed it back a few months by saying he wanted to appeal Caproni if she denied his request.

Instead, she granted him permission to stay free on bail while he seeks appeal of his conviction for accepting bribes as a New York state legislator, including funneling $500,000 in state money to a doctor who was recommending asbestos victims to a law firm Silver was connected to.

Silver will have to start paying some of the more than $7 million he owes in fines and forfeitures, however. Caproni ordered the 72-year-old “begin making monthly payments on the fine equal to $5,846 per month” starting September 1 to pay the money he owes as part of his conviction.

Silver’s lawyers are asking that his conviction be overturned based in part on a recent Supreme Court ruling narrowing the definition of bribery by public officials. In July, the high court overturned the conviction of Virginia governor Robert McDonnell, saying that the gifts he received from a businessman — including fancy watches and money for his daughter’s wedding — were not bribes since they were not provided in exchange for official actions, like legislation.

Meetings do not count as official actions, the Supreme Court ruled.

Silver was convicted on all counts on November 30, 2015. On May 3, 2016, he was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment on counts one through six (the honest services and extortion counts) and to 10 years of imprisonment on count seven (the money laundering count), all to run concurrently.

The Court also ordered Silver to pay a fine of $1,750,000 and to forfeit $5,393,976.63.
 
http://nypost.com/2016/08/26/sheldon-silver-not-allowed-to-travel-outside-lower-48-states/

Sheldon Silver not allowed to travel outside lower 48 states
By Lia Eustachewich
August 26, 2016 | 6:06pm

Disgraced former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been allowed to remain free on bail for awhile longer — but he won’t be working on any serious tan or fly-fishing for salmon.

The 72-year-old Democrat’s travels are limited to the 48 contiguous states, meaning he’s barred from going to Hawaii or Alaska.

On Thursday, Manhattan federal court Judge Valerie Caproni granted Silver’s request to remain out on $200,000 bail pending the appeal of his conviction. He has remained free on bail since his arrest in January 2015 and following his corruption conviction in November.

Silver had to surrender his passport as part of his bail conditions.

But he can roam freely in 48 states, which covers his vacation home in the Catskills. :mad:

Still, come Sept. 1, he’ll have to start shelling out $5,846 a month :rolleyes: toward the more than $7 million he owes as part of his conviction.
 
http://nypost.com/2016/09/05/top-attorney-predicts-skelos-and-silver-wont-serve-time/

Top attorney predicts Skelos and Silver won’t serve time
By David K. Li
September 5, 2016 | 1:13am

Famed New York defense lawyer Barry Slotnick predicted Sunday that disgraced lawmakers Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos will never see the inside of a prison — or even have a felony rap on their records.

“They’re also going to stay out of jail forever,” Slotnick said on John Catsimatidis’ AM 970 radio show. “The cases that they were convicted on, the charges to the jury were inappropriate.” :rolleyes:

Slotnick likened the crooked politicians to former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, whose corruption convictions were vacated by a US Supreme Court ruling that redefined what constitutes “official acts.”

Slotnick conceded the dirty pols’ careers are done, and they’ll never be trusted by the public again.

“Unfortunately for them, their personal lives have gone asunder and they have been ruled out of the political world and their lives are now set aside,” said Slotnick, a veteran lawyer best known for winning acquittals on the most serious charges against subway vigilante Bernhard Goetz. “But they are not going to do jail time. You heard it here.”

Dean Skelos and his son, Adam, were convicted on federal corruption charges late last year. Weeks earlier, Silver was also convicted of influence peddling.

The Manhattan Democrat Silver and Long Island Republican Skelos are now both free on bail. But Silver’s freedom could come to an end as early as Oct. 27, when a judge could still order him into custody.
 
http://nypost.com/2016/10/18/sheldon-silver-crony-claims-columbia-is-punishing-him/

Sheldon Silver crony claims Columbia is punishing him
By Emily Saul
October 18, 2016 | 12:06am

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Dr. Robert Taub
Photo: Stephen Yang


Columbia University is still punishing Sheldon Silver crony Dr. Robert Taub, the researcher claims in court papers he filed Monday.

The papers allege that Columbia — which is unable to fire Taub, despite his connection to the crooked pol’s thievery — has now slashed his staff’s salaries and cut his own by two-thirds, according to request for a restraining order filed Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Taub whined in the papers that his employer had “disregarded” the court’s July 2015 ruling that the school cannot fire him or adjust his or his staff’s salaries.

A Columbia rep declined to comment.
 
http://nypost.com/2016/12/13/sheldon-silver-spent-big-money-during-last-election-cycle/

Sheldon Silver spent big money during last election cycle
By Kirstan Conley
December 13, 2016 | 11:43am

ALBANY – He wasn’t on the ballot, but former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver spent more in the last election cycle than any other member of the State Legislature, records show.

Silver, who was convicted of corruption, tore through $3.6 million from his campaign funds since December 2014.

That easily surpassed the $2.7 million spent by state Sen. Todd Kaminksy on two races this year.

Most of Silver’s money — $2.96 million, or 82% — went to cover legal fees.

The former speaker paid $2.2 million to Mololakmen LLP and $730,000 to Stroock, Stroock & Lavan.

Silver was arrested on corruption charges in January 2015 and convicted in November 2015 on all seven counts, which included extortion and money laundering.

Under state election law, politicians can tap their campaign funds to pay for lawyers if they face charges connected to their official duties.

Former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, who was also convicted of corruption, spent $1.6 million on legal bills to fight the charges.

That made him the fourth highest spender during the cycle.
 
http://nypost.com/2016/12/14/sheldo...f-high-awards-in-asbestos-suits-against-city/

Sheldon Silver left legacy of high awards in asbestos suits against city
By Julia Marsh
December 14, 2016 | 10:59pm

New York has cut a worm out of the Big Apple with the conviction of corrupt former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, but its courts are still rotten to the core when it comes to asbestos litigation, according to a new report.

The American Tort Reform Association’s 2016 “Judicial Hellholes” report ranks New York City’s special asbestos-litigation division as the third most friendly to plaintiffs in the nation.

The top two are St. Louis and the state of California.

The report blames New York state’s highest court, whose judges are appointed by the governor, for expanding liability to companies that neither manufactured nor sold cancer-causing asbestos.

A ruling against Crane Co. left the industrial corporation saddled with an $8 million jury award in favor of a Navy technician named Ronald Dummitt — even though he got cancer from another company’s product.

The New York Court of Appeals found that while Crane Co. manufactured innocuous valves for Navy ship boilers, the valves were fitted with asbestos-laden gaskets. The court made that determination after finding that Crane execs were aware of dangers associated with the gaskets and promoted the two products together in a catalogue.

The appellate judges “simply enlarged the stream of lucrative asbestos litigation,” said Lester Brickman, professor emeritus at *Cardozo School of Law.

The average award for asbestos cases in New York — $16 million per plaintiff between 2010 and 2014 — is at least two times larger compared with other courts nationwide, according to data mined by Bates White Economic Consulting.

The report notes that Silver’s former law firm, Weitz & Luxenberg, still has a heavy hand in influencing the courts, with partner Arthur Luxenberg serving on a judicial-screening committee.

Brickman said the report shows Silver left a troubling legacy.

“When he was speaker, he exercised influence, but he also set up a system which now operates without him as effectively perhaps as it did when he was speaker,” Brickman said.

Silver was sentenced to 12 years in prison for *using his elected position to take $5.4 million in kickbacks and bribes *related in large part to *asbestos litigation.

He remains free while he appeals his conviction. :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
 
http://nypost.com/2016/12/28/firms-linked-to-skelos-silver-corruption-cases-fined-270k/

Firms linked to Skelos, Silver corruption cases fined $270K
By Carl Campanile
December 28, 2016 | 5:43pm

The state ethics agency Wednesday slapped $270,000 in fines on two firms that figured prominently in the corruption trials of disgraced ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos.

Powerhouse real estate firm Glenwood Management was slapped with a $200, 000 penalty for multiple violations on the state’s lobbying laws, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics announced.

Administration for the Professions was hit with $70,000 in fines.

Glenwood Management — headed by 102-year-old Leonard Litwin — was a key player in the pay-to-play corruption cases of both convicted felons Silver and Skelos.

Glenwood retained the property tax law firm of Goldberg & Iryami in 2012 and 2013 “knowing that the firm paid Speaker Silver a referral fee and that Speaker Silver performed no work in connection with the Goldberg firm’s services to Glenwood,” JCOPE said in the settlement agreement.

At the time, Glenwood, which operates two dozen buildings in Manhattan, was lobbying Silver on issues affecting the real estate industry.

Glenwood associates also recommended that an environmental technology firm, Ab Tech Industries, hire Skelos’ troubled son, Adam, as a consultant and also arranged for a title insurance company to pay a referral fee to Adam.

Glenwood admitted it violated the law by failing to submit lobbying registration and reports that spelled out its meetings with Skelos.

Executives of Administrators for the Professions hired Adam Skelos at the behest of his father, Dean Skelos, then the senate majority leader, as a program manager for $75,000 plus health benefits.

The firm later retained Adam Skelos as a $3,000 per month consultant — again at his father’s urging — after supervisors complained that Adam was mostly a no-show.

The lobbying act bars firms from offering or providing gifts to public officials, such as a job to Skelos’ son.

The firm and a client, Physicians Reciprocal, depended on Albany for medical malpractice insurance funding and legislation.

Both firms agreed to cooperate and provide evidence in related investigations.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/03/15/sheldon-silvers-lawyers-want-his-corruption-conviction-tossed/

Sheldon Silver’s lawyers want his corruption conviction tossed
By Kaja Whitehouse
March 15, 2017 | 7:36pm

Lawyers for Sheldon Silver have 12 minutes on Thursday to argue before a three-judge appeals panel that the disgraced ex-Assembly Speaker’s conviction should be tossed — or that he be granted a new trial.

The appeal lawyers think Silver deserves another shot because, they argue, the definition of public corruption has changed since he was found guilty in November 2015. :rolleyes:

They plan to cite the US Supreme Court’s move in June to toss the public corruption conviction of ex-Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell, who accepted more than $165,000 in loans and gifts from a business executive in exchange for promoting a dietary supplement because there was no proof the McDonnell took the Ferraris, Rolexes and ball gowns in exchange for an “official act” like legislation.

The government’s case against Silver also included allegations of corruption that might now be deemed innocent, such as help he provided a co-conspirator’s daughter to land a job interview, Silver’s lawyer Steven Molo said in court filings.

“This Court can only speculate which arguments the jury found persuasive and which acts formed the basis for its verdict,” Molo said in filings.

Prosecutors plan to argue that Silver was found guilty due to actions that even the Supreme Court would shake its head at, like funneling $500,000 in state money to a doctor who recommended asbestos victims to a law firm that helped Silver get rich.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/04/04/sheldon-silvers-doctor-pal-fired-again-after-losing-appeal/

Sheldon Silver’s doctor pal fired again after losing appeal
By Julia Marsh
April 4, 2017 | 3:17pm

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Sheldon Silver and Dr. Robert Taub pal around in a photo presented by prosecutors at the ex-speaker's trial.


The Columbia University doctor at the center of ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s corruption scandal is out of a job​ ​– again.

After Dr. Robert Taub was reinstated to his $300,000-a-year position by a trial court judge in 2015, an appeals court ruled Tuesday that the university “had a rational basis” for his ouster.

The oncologist was accused of taking $500,000 in state research grant for his Mesothelioma Center in exchange for referring sick patient’s to Silver’s law firm.

Silver was convicted of corruption in May 2016. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, but is free pending appeal of the guilty verdict.

Taub was booted shortly after the scandal broke. He sued for his job back arguing that the university broke its own rules by denying him a hearing. But a unanimous appeals panel found that CU is only required to hold a hearing for canceling a faculty member’s title.

Columbia found a loophole by preserving Dr. Taub’s position in name only, while stripping him of his job duties, salary, lab space and administrative support.

Taub can seek leave to appeal the ruling to the state’s highest court, but it is a high bar because the Appellate Division’s ruling is unanimous.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/04/10/cuomo-touts-sheldon-silvers-control-over-state-budgets/

Cuomo touts Sheldon Silver’s ‘control’ over state budgets
By David K. Li and Mark Moore
April 10, 2017 | 4:26am

He might be a crook, but Sheldon Silver sure knew how to ram through state budgets.

Gov. Cuomo curiously paid a compliment to the disgraced former Assembly speaker on Sunday, praising Silver — who was convicted last year on corruption charges that could send him to prison for 15 years — for having kept “total control” of state Democrats. :mad:

Radio host John Catsimatidis asked Cuomo how working with current lawmakers compared to the reign of Silver and former state Sen. Majority Leader Dean Skelos. Both Silver and Skelos have been convicted on federal corruption charges.

“Shelly Silver was ultimately indicted and is . . . looking for a final sentencing agreement,” Cuomo said in the AM 970 chat.

“But he was a longtime Albany pro. He had been speaker for a long time. He was either the longest-serving speaker or one of the longest-serving speakers. So he had total control over the conference. They did what he said. Period. So this is a different day and a different group.”

A federal jury convicted Silver of corruption in 2015. The disgraced Manhattan Democrat was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2016, but he is free pending appeal.

Cuomo didn’t offer any such praise for Skelos.

The delay in this year’s state budget stems from congressional hostility that amounts to “war” on New York state, Cuomo said.

“That was a big sticking point in [our] budget,” Cuomo said. “I don’t know what is going to happen this year . . . A lot of people in Congress have declared war on New York.”

The governor said a combination of factors — including federal reforms that could eliminate deductions for state and local taxes, and a potential $6 billion hit that the state could take if Congress passes a health-care overhaul — sowed confusion in the budget process.

He said the state budget includes a “federal financial response mechanism” that gives “my administration the authority to implement a [budget] plan if we get cut.”

Overall, Cuomo praised the $153.1 billion budget as one that benefits the middle class through tax cuts, tuition help and controlling property-tax increases.

“This agenda was structured around helping the middle class, because the middle class feels it’s left out,” he said. “We hear you. We hear your tension and anger, and the state is behind you.”
 
http://nypost.com/2017/07/10/corrupt-new-york-politicians-just-got-some-really-bad-news/

Corrupt New York politicians just got some really bad news
By Kaja Whitehouse
July 10, 2017 | 2:51pm

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Dean Skelos, William Boyland Jr. and Sheldon Silver. ZUMAPRESS.com; Riyad Hasan; Getty Images


New York’s growing list of convicted politicians — including ​ex-Assembly Speaker ​Sheldon Silver and ​former Senate Majority Leader ​Dean Skelos — just received some very bad news about their efforts to avoid jail ​under the Supreme Court’s new definition of bribery.

A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the bribery conviction of former ​Brooklyn Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. — despite acknowledging that some of the jury instructions at his trial were technically wrong under the new rules. ​​

Boyland’s overall bribery scheme was so blatant that tweaks to those instruction​s​ would not have mattered, the court found.

The ruling bodes poorly for the slew of other pols seeking appeal on similar grounds, including Silver, the disgraced former head of the NY Assembly, and Skelos, former majority leader of the New York state Assembly.

The Supreme Court opened the floodgate for corruption appeals ​in June 2016 when it​ overturned the corruption conviction of former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell, rul​ing that only official acts, like legislation, can be traded for bribes.

Money provided for things like meetings — or asking other officials for help — don’t count​, the High Court ruled​.

Boyland claimed he was wrongfully convicted because his jury was told that he could be ​found guilty for things like “contacting . . . other governmental agencies” — along with official acts like legislation.

But the ​Manhattan ​appeals court Monday disagreed that taking that language​ out ​would have resulted in a different outcome.

“We see no reasonable possibility, in light of the record as a whole, that that flaw affected the outcome of the case,” the court said of Boyland’s complaints about his jury instructions.

Boyland, a Democrat, was convicted in 2014 of accepting $13,800 in bribes for helping to a carnival promoter get a carnival permit, and of funneling more than $84,000 in state funds for a nonprofit in his district to his campaign coffers.

Silver and Skelos could still win their appeals on other grounds.

Skelos, for example, may seek to win a new trial based on recently disclosed information that a key witness in his 2015 corruption trial has been accused of being a very naughty businessman.

Anthony Bonomo, founder of Roslyn-based Physicians Reciprocal Insurers, was booted from PRI on Thursday after ​the state’s Department of Financial Services accused him of bleeding his company dry for his own personal benefit, including $90,000 toward a recreational baseball field that he allegedly named after himself.

Skelos’ lawyers are expected to demand information about what the feds knew of Bonomo’s alleged shenanigans ahead of trial, source said.

If they had information they didn’t share, Skelos could win a new trial.

Skelos and his son Adam were convicted of strong-arming executives Skelos had legislative power over to give Adam do-nothing jobs.

Bonomo testified at the trial that he couldn’t fire Adam for not showing up for work because he feared he’d “have a problem in Albany” if he did.
 
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