Sheldon Silver

Quick Summary

Sheldon Silver served as Speaker of the New York State Assembly for 21 years, making him one of the "three men in a room" who controlled New York's government. In January 2015, he was arrested on federal corruption charges alleging he used his office to obtain approximately $4 million in illicit payments disguised as legal fees from two law firms. The schemes involved steering state grants to a cancer researcher who referred mesothelioma cases to Silver's law firm, and obtaining real estate tax reduction referrals from developers who benefited from his legislative actions. After a complex legal journey involving two trials (the first conviction was overturned due to a change in federal bribery law), Silver was ultimately convicted in May 2018, sentenced to 6.5 years, and died in federal custody on January 24, 2022, at age 77.

Timeline of Events

The Details

The Mesothelioma Scheme

Silver's most lucrative corrupt arrangement involved Dr. Robert Taub, a prominent mesothelioma researcher at Columbia University. Silver, using his power over the state budget, directed approximately $500,000 in state research grants to Dr. Taub's research program. In return, Dr. Taub referred mesothelioma patients from his practice to Silver's law firm, Weitz & Luxenberg, one of the nation's leading asbestos litigation firms.

Silver was "of counsel" at Weitz & Luxenberg, meaning he received referral fees for cases brought to the firm. The mesothelioma cases referred by Dr. Taub generated approximately $3 million in referral fees for Silver. Silver never actually practiced law or performed legal work on these cases; he simply collected referral fees that existed solely because of his corrupt arrangement with Taub.

The Real Estate Tax Scheme

Silver also received approximately $700,000 in referral fees from the real estate tax law firm Goldberg & Iryami. The scheme worked as follows: real estate developers who had business before the Assembly, particularly regarding rent stabilization laws and tax abatement programs that Silver's speakership controlled, would send property tax reduction cases to Goldberg & Iryami at Silver's direction. Silver received referral fees for these cases.

The developers understood that directing business through Silver was the price of maintaining a relationship with the most powerful person in the Assembly. Silver, in turn, used his official position to benefit the real estate industry on key legislative matters.

Power of the Speaker

Understanding Silver's corruption requires understanding the enormous concentration of power in the New York Assembly Speaker. As one of the "three men in a room" (along with the Governor and Senate Majority Leader), Silver controlled which bills came to the Assembly floor, appointed committee chairs, controlled the chamber's $2 billion in member items (state grants), and wielded effective veto power over any legislation. His power over the state budget was particularly significant: he could direct hundreds of millions in state grants, making him indispensable to hospitals, universities, nonprofits, and developers across the state.

What Happened

Silver was convicted twice. His first conviction in November 2015 was overturned by the Second Circuit in July 2017, following the Supreme Court's 2016 decision in McDonnell v. United States, which narrowed the definition of "official act" in public corruption cases. At his retrial in May 2018, Silver was again convicted on all counts under the stricter standard.

He was sentenced to seven years (later reduced to 6.5 years) and ordered to pay approximately $5.3 million in fines and forfeiture. Silver reported to the Federal Correctional Institution at Otisville, New York in August 2020. He died in federal custody on January 24, 2022, at age 77.

Silver's arrest and conviction were part of a broader anti-corruption effort by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who also prosecuted Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (convicted in 2015, overturned, reconvicted in 2018). The back-to-back convictions of both legislative leaders highlighted the systemic corruption in Albany. However, the McDonnell decision made future corruption prosecutions more difficult nationwide.

Financial Impact

Silver received approximately $3 million in referral fees from the mesothelioma scheme and approximately $700,000 from the real estate tax scheme, totaling roughly $4 million in illicit payments over 14 years. The broader economic impact includes the corruption of the state budget process and the diversion of state resources to benefit those who paid Silver.

Connections

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