Sheldon Silver, who served as speaker of the New York State Assembly for two decades, was arrested January 22 on charges that include mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, using his official position to commit extortion, and extortion conspiracy. While we have only heard one side of the story so far, if true, these are damning allegations. And after hearing rumors of corruption for years—and a criminal complaint saying he’s been doing this for 15 years—why did it take so long? Buffalo Law Journal interviewed me recently on Silver’s arrest.
“While it’s unlikely that Silver, if convicted, will face all of the time possible, given the amount of money and the significance of the charges, along with other allegations involved, he could be looking at a significant amount of jail time,” I told the Law Journal.
“Historically, public corruption cases have been difficult for prosecutors to prove. They need an overwhelming amount of evidence to show that money or items were actually exchanging hands for the purpose of improperly influencing a politician to introduce legislation or regulations.”
Click here for the full interview.
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