Albany, NY – Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will not be removed from office after his arrest Thursday morning.
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Syracuse.com reports (http://bit.ly/15CJbmb) Democrats are so far supporting Silver’s position. “We just elected him,” said Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry (D-Queens). “All of this was buzzing around when we elected him. I suspect that the members will be strong and supportive of the speaker, because he represents us.”
Aubry continued to say that he feels other Democratic Assembly members would agree.
New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, one of the state’s most powerful Democrats for more than two decades, was charged on Thursday with fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and other criminal counts after a lengthy corruption investigation. Silver was accused of getting more than $6 million in unjustified income from two law firms since 2002 (http://bit.ly/1Ckmi3e).
Reuters is reporting that The New York Assembly canceled its Thursday session after Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was arrested in Manhattan on federal corruption charges.
Information taken from Syracuse.com
But when Grimm was indicted they called for him to do so immediately but not Rangel, hypocrites.
The article is incorrect. He was not arrested for not reporting his six million. He did report it. he just did not disclose who gave him the six million. Its such a weak case
Shelly, do all of us and yourself a favor, step down gracefully and Hashem will reward you.
When you are on the FBI’s radar, they have enough to arrest you. Once you get arrested by the FBI, they have enough to put you away.
The news of Shelly Silver’s arrest for numerous corruption charges has made world news, considering that he is the biggest power broker in the most corrupt State in the U.S., New York. The case against him for bribery, incorrect reporting of income, kickbacks and possible money laundering is not weak, and is probably the tip of the iceberg. His chief of staff is Mrs. Rapfogel, whose husband was just found guilty of emptying the coffers of a NY Jewish foundation for impoverished Jews. Politicians and business leaders across the State are demanding his resignation. Is this good for the Yidden? Shelly Silver’s scheme was investigated by the FBI, the Dept of Justice and NYC attorney general, and its been going on since the year 2000. He probably won’t serve a day in jail, just like corrupt GOP leader Bruno, but his time is up.
Sad and a chilul hashem.
It is also extremely sad to see how orthodox Jews who comment here are so joyous over Silvers downfall. How low can someone stoop showing their hunger for Sheldon Silver’s blood. Let the court decide what will happen to him. But fellow Jews to be so excited over this,a real shanda
maven, you are so right.
everyone should note the word ”jew” or ”jewish” in each article. tey are having a field day even moreso due to his being a yid.
say tehillim for him and all who need prayers rather than the loshon hora some here feel the need to share.
For some reason, although I am not an attorney, I read almost the entire complaint, and want to make a few observations in Silver’s defense.
1) All those who demonize him should realize that he was engaging in protectsia that everybody seeks at one time or another. I.e., if you know the head of a school, you ask him to please admit your kid. or if you know the head of El Al, and the flight is booked, you ask him to please get you on, etc. We probably all do this, and people ask favors of congressmen all the time. In return, the congressman expects your votes, and if you have a big house, that you offer to host a fundraiser, etc.
2) In the case of asbestos mesothelioma research, did Silver do anything morally wrong in directing 500,000 to cancer research? The funds were discretionary, and using them for cancer research can indeed be considered a noble and worthy cause. Yes, Silver benefited in this round-about way, but the money he gained did not come from taxpayers, it came from the law firm. To say he was wrong for giving money to cancer research from discretionary funds, as opposed to some other worthy cause seems like quite a stretch. It is not like Silver took taxpayer money and used it on vacations or new cars. Taxpayer money was given to cancer research, only, and hard to argue that this hurt taxpayers. The government does support research regularly for all kinds of diseases.
3) The law firm was foolish for not donating directly to the cancer doctor’s lab. They could have done everything legitimately and still gotten the same referrals.
4) In the case of the real estate developers, it seems like Silver is on shakier ground, but still, he did not steer money directly to some firms, as opposed to others. These were general tax policy questions that apply across the board to everybody. He did not award state contracts that favor these particular firms. It is not clear if the tax laws that were renewed every year were changed in any way to suit these developers, or if they would have been the same laws, even if this whole story had never occurred. Nevertheless, in considering how to write the tax code, he should not have had any conflict of interest, period. However, I wonder if it doesn’t happen frequently that if a congressman lives next door to a fisherman, and they are old friends, the fisherman may ask the congressman to pass laws favorable to fishing, etc. Certainly, all these things are wrong, but it may be so common in the political arena that you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours, that that’s how the whole system works, and nobody thinks twice. I’ll speak in your shul, if you all vote for me next election, etc. I am not in any way advocating this type of behavior or kickbacks. I am just saying that those here who jump on him probably don’t understand how difficult it is to negotiate the political system, when you are getting 500 calls a day for favors and special interests. Let us give him a chance to defend himself before vilifying.