New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver arrested on federal corruption charges

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Federal agents on Thursday arrested powerful New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D) on federal corruption charges, stemming from payments he received from two New York City law firms.

Jennifer Queliz, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York, confirmed Silver was in custody Thursday morning. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara held a press conference announcing the charges Thursday afternoon.

Silver is charged with five counts of fraud and conspiracy, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Prosecutors allege he used his position to take more than $6 million in bribes and kickbacks, which he masked as legitimate income earned as a lawyer over 15 years.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2015/01/22/new-york-assembly-speaker-is-arrested/

Nothing to see here - Move along.

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A corrupt politician? Say it isn't so.

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Andrew Cuomo Must Answer for a Culture of Corruption

Despite the governor's assertions to the contrary, public corruption is still a major problem in New York State—in many ways the root problem

Three weeks after the Moreland Commission—which Governor Cuomo founded in 2013—was due to release its report on public corruption in New York State, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was arrested by federal authorities on charges of taking millions in bribes and kickbacks.

What happened?

Andrew Cuomo abruptly shuttered the Commission in March 2014, later claiming that its work of rooting out corruption in New York State politics was a “phenomenal success.”

Reports later showed that the Governor’s office, including his top aides, interfered in the Commission’s work, requesting that subpoenas served against groups with ties to Cuomo be pulled back.

The federal charges against Sheldon Silver detail how the Moreland Commission attempted to subpoena information from the Speaker regarding his outside income.

Instead, Silver used the resources of the Assembly to fight the subpoenas at taxpayers’ expense.

After Andrew Cuomo unceremoniously shuttered the Commission, the subpoenas were withdrawn—until U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara’s office incorporated the work into its own investigation, resulting in charges of “using the power and influence of his official position to obtain for himself millions of dollars of bribes and kickbacks masked as legitimate income.”

Read more at http://observer.com/2015/01/zephyr-teachout-andrew-cuomo-must-answer-for-a-culture-of-corruption/#ixzz3PfezNWfP

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