Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Sheldon Silver Asks Judge to Dismiss All Charges in His Corruption Trial

By Irene Plagianos | November 20, 2015 3:30pm
 Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver walks towards his vehicle after his arraignment in federal court on Jan. 22, 2014.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver walks towards his vehicle after his arraignment in federal court on Jan. 22, 2014.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Lisha Arino

MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT — Lawyers for embattled Assemblyman Sheldon Silver argued in federal court Thursday that all the charges against him — including fraud, extortion and money laundering related to two bribery schemes — should be dropped.

Silver’s lawyers claim prosecutors have not made a strong enough case against Silver, 71, during the three weeks of trial, The New York Times reported.

They made their arguments for the motion to dismiss, which came after the prosecution rested Wednesday, without the presence of the jury.

"This is a thin case, and it did not go the way prosecutors thought it was going to go, " defense attorney Steve Molo told Judge Valerie Caproni, NY 1 reported.

However, prosecutors see it differently. They have laid out what they say are two separate schemes in which Silver, once one of the most powerful men in Albany, used his sway to earn illicit kickbacks for legislative favors.

In one bribery scheme, he allegedly gave funds to a Columbia University doctor for cancer research. In exchange, prosecutors say, the doctor referred cases to Silver’s law firm.

The other scheme involved Silver earning legal fees by steering a real estate developer, and large political donor, to a friend’s law firm.

Silver’s attorneys argue that there was never any illicit deal, and Silver was simply earning an outside salary, as he is legally allowed to do.

Caproni has yet to rule on the motion to dismiss, but according to reports, she did not seem swayed by the defense’s arguments.

Molo said Silver "acted responsibly on grants," to which Judge Valerie Caproni responded, "Oh, please."

"He is not a champion of transparency in Albany. He did it when he had a gun to his head," Caproni said of Silver.

Jurors are due back in court on Monday, when defense lawyers will present their case. They do not plan to call any new witnesses, lawyers said.

Closing arguments could also start as early as Monday.

If convicted, Silver faces more than 100 years in jail.