Sheldon Silver dies in prison at 77

 

Sheldon Silver, the Democratic powerhouse who ruled Albany with an iron fist until he was busted and later convicted on federal corruption charges in a stunning fall from grace, died Monday in prison. He was 77. 

The disgraced politician died at the Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, Massachusetts, while serving out a six-and-half-year sentence at a nearby prison after he was convicted for accepting nearly $4 million in bribes while in office, the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed. 

His official cause of death will be determined by a medical examiner but the longtime kingmaker had a history of chronic kidney disease and cancer. 

“For all our many disagreements and battles, it’s a sad day and a stark reminder that integrity in public service matters,” former Gov. George Pataki told The Post after learning of Silver’s death. 

“When I look back, I always try to think about the good, the accomplishments we achieved together and there were many, but there could have and should have been more. It’s a shame that his career in public service ended in such a tragic way, but it is a lesson that is important today.”

Silver’s family didn’t immediately return a request for comment. 

Born in 1944 to Russian immigrants, the Manhattan native first took office in 1976 and later became the Assembly Speaker in 1994, a powerful position that made him one of Albany’s “three men in a room” negotiating annual budgets and major legislation with the governor and state Senate leader.

Throughout four-decades in office, Silver served as Speaker under five New York governors, from Mario Cuomo to Andrew Cuomo, and earned a reputation as one of the most feared men in Albany. He was a harsh negotiator who blocked proposals so often, he earned the moniker “Dr. No” and was the legislator responsible for blocking a series of high-profile initiatives under former Mayor Mike Bloomberg. 

When Bloomberg tried to find a location for a football stadium on Manhattan’s West Side, Silver scuttled the plan and in 2008, he was blamed when a congestion-pricing program failed to make its way through the legislature. 

Bloomberg wanted to impose a toll on motorists driving through the borough’s most highly trafficked neighborhoods and when the plan died in Albany, the mayor put out a press release saying it “takes a special kind of cowardice” not to have lawmakers weigh in. Silver responded that he didn’t have the votes.

For nearly 25 years, Silver had a near-impenetrable powerhold on state politics until 2015 when he was arrested on federal extortion, wire fraud and mail fraud charges for running a series of corrupt kickback schemes while in office. 

Once the most powerful man in New York’s capital, Silver soon lost his grip on the statehouse and was forced to resign from the Assembly. 

He was convicted on all charges in Nov. 2015 and sentenced to 12 years in prison but used his influence and considerable means to stave off jail time for another five years. 

In 2017, his conviction was overturned after an appeals court found the jury instructions used in the trial were invalid and when he was found guilty again the following year, he appealed a second time and remained free on bail while New York’s highest court reviewed the case. 

Panelists from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals eventually upheld his conviction on four of the charges after they unanimously affirmed Silver had illegally used his office to benefit two real estate developers in exchange for money. 

In the scheme, Silver steered the real estate developers, Glenwood Management and the Witkoff Group, to do tax business with a law firm that gave Silver hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In exchange, Silver supported legislation that benefited the real estate developers, including provisions to 2011 rent legislation that were specifically tailored to help Glenwood.

In July 2020, more than five years after he was originally arrested, Silver was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, ending his years-long battle to avoid jail time by tying up his convictions in lengthy legal battles. 

“This was corruption pure and simple,” Judge Valerie Caproni told the fallen leader during his sentencing hearing. 

“The time, however, has now come for Mr. Silver to pay the piper.”

Ahead of his sentencing, Silver and his attorney petitioned Caproni to let him complete his time at home, citing his advanced age and medical issues. 

“Your honor, I do not want to die in prison,” Silver wrote in a letter at the time. 

Caproni denied the request. 

In May 2021, after completing less than a year of his sentence, Silver was briefly allowed back home on furlough under the Department of Justice’s expanded powers to grant inmates release amid the coronavirus pandemic but by the end of the month, he was back in custody. 

Despite his many misdeeds, friends and colleagues remembered Silver for his commitment to Democratic policies, his devout faith as an Orthodox Jew and the indelible impact he had on state politics throughout four-decades as an elected official. 

“He was a fighter for his constituents and his work to rebuild Lower Manhattan after the terrible events of 9/11 will never be forgotten. I will remember Shelly for his many legislative accomplishments,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said. 

“For years he was the lone voice in the room pushing back against many regressive policies that would have harmed so many New Yorkers, and he presided over landmark laws to improve the lives of our most vulnerable residents. My heart goes out to his wife, Rosa, and his children, grandchildren and many friends during this difficult time.”

Former State Sen. Majority Leader John Flanagan, who served alongside Silver for about 16 years and played basketball with him during off-hours, recalled the pol’s “scrappy” sports skills and tenacious spirit. 

“There’s no question in my mind he had a very significant influence on state government – he played a pivotal role,” Flanagan said. 

“He could be tenacious, he could be so quiet for such long periods of time – that was sort of his mantra and how he was described. He was like a sphinx. It was his way of doing business.” 

Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, who stopped by Silver’s house during his brief time at home last May to ring his doorbell and tell him “you belong back in jail,” didn’t remember the convict as fondly and said “Good riddance” when asked for comment on his death. 

“Silver was the Meyer Lansky of the Democratic Party,” Sliwa quipped, referencing the infamous Polish-born gangster known as the “Mob’s Accountant.”

“Let’s look under the mattresses.”