FBI: NY Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver arrested, to appear in court later
JANUARY 22, 2015, 8:56 AM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015, 8:57 AM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who has been one of the most powerful men in Albany for more than two decades, was arrested Thursday.
FBI spokesman Peter Donald confirmed the 70-year-old Silver was taken into custody around 8 a.m. at FBI headquarters in New York City, but he declined to discuss the charges. Silver was expected to make a court appearance later Thursday, and the U.S. attorney’s office was expected to hold a news conference to discuss the case.
Silver’s spokesman Michael Whyland declined to comment before the arrest.
The arrest sent shock waves through New York’s Capitol as a new legislative session has begun, and it came just a day after Silver shared the stage with Gov. Andrew Cuomo during his State of the State address.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara took over the files of New York’s Moreland anti-corruption commission after Cuomo closed it in April. He said in October that investigations into Albany’s pay-to-play politics are continuing.
Judge a man’s character by whether he changes once he assumes power….
Why this story it is not in NJ?
silver has been in power for a long time.
Exactly why government should be as small as possible. Power is to tempting and corrupting for human beings (which we all are)
Sheldon Silver was the only constant in the past 20 years of budget give-and-take in New York State. What a blow to learn that he by no means merited holding such a position of trust. New Yorkers could have used to know about Sheldon Silver’s dark heart twenty years ago! Now I suppose we will have to separate the wheat from the chaff in terms of Sheldon’s budget priorities for the past 40 years.
Power corrupts
absolute power corrupts absolutely