Former NY lawmaker who was paid $3.7M in law firm referral fees gets 12 years in corruption case
Photo of Sheldon Silver from the New York State Assembly.
Former longtime New York legislative leader Sheldon Silver was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in federal prison, following his jury conviction last year in a corruption case that included charges of money laundering, fraud and extortion.
Among other issues, prosecutors said Silver, then a practicing attorney, received $3.7 million in law firm referral fees as a quid pro quo for exerting his influence as a top Democratic lawmaker.
Although not a record term, the former New York Assembly speaker’s prison sentence is one of the most severe ever imposed on a politician in the state, according to the New York Times (reg. req.) and the Washington Post (reg. req.).
U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni said she wanted Silver’s stiff sentence in the Manhattan case to be a deterrent to other politicians tempted by opportunities for corruption, reports Reuters.
“Mr. Silver, those are not the actions of a basically honest person,” she told the 72-year-old, after recapitulating some of his offenses. “Those are the actions of a scheming, corrupt politician.”
Silver’s sentence also includes the forfeiture of more than $5 million and a $1.75 million fine.
Sentencing guidelines called for 22 to 27 years, reports the New York Law Journal (sub. req.), but Caproni rejected them as “draconian.”
The U.S. attorney’s office sought a sentence of at least 14 years.
Sheldon’s lawyers argued in a pre-sentence submission that “the people of this state did not tangibly suffer from any of the official acts Mr. Silver allegedly performed in exchange for receiving the referral fees at issue.”
The judge disagreed. While the public may not always know when “there is a very heavy thumb on the scale” in the state capital, revelations of corruption create cynicism and “incalculable intangible harm,” she said.
USA Today and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) also have stories.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Quid pro quo? Doctor testifies about ‘relationship’ with lawmaker who got millions in referral fees”
ABAJournal.com: “Referral fees from law firms lead to conviction of former New York Assembly speaker”
Democrat & Chronicle: “Ex-Speaker Sheldon Silver disbarred”
