A Democrat arrested on corruption charges?! The devil, you say!
Hell has apparently frozen over, because one of the biggest corruptocrats to hit New York since Boss Tweed has finallybeen put in cuffs and hauled off to jail for “using the power and influence of his official position to obtain for himself millions of dollars of bribes and kickbacks masked as legitimate income.”
Sheldon Silver, the longtime speaker of the New York state Assembly, was arrested Thursday morning on corruption charges.
Silver showed up at 26 Federal Plaza in downtown Manhattan at 8 a.m. where he was arrested by FBI agents.
He’s set to make his initial appearance before a federal judge Thursday afternoon.
Silver’s spokesman, Michael Whyland, declined comment before the arrest.
US Attorney Preet Bharara scheduled a press conference at 1 p.m. to detial the charges.
The powerful Manhattan Democrat Silver has been the target of an on-going federal probe of undocumented payments he received from a law firm, sources said.
The speaker’s arrest sent political shockwaves from Albany to New York City.
“He needs to step down as speaker while the justice process takes its course,” said Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island).
Democratic District Leader Paul Newell, who ran in an unsuccessful primary against Silver in 2008, called the arrest a “sad day for lower Manhattan, and a sad day for New York.”
“I can’t speak to the specific charges against the Speaker,” said Newell.
Well, I can. Scribd user Tom Liddy was kind enough to share the Complaint with the interwebs.
Enjoy!