By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver reportedly owns stock in 30 companies who do business with the state, posing possible conflict of interest issues, the Daily News reported.
The lawmaker's stakes in companies like Pepsi, Verizon, and Cisco Systems is questionable given their business with the state, the paper reported.
Pepsico has $1.8 million dollars in state contracts; Cisco Systems has $1.5 billion; Verizon Communications has $391.6 million, according to the paper.
Pepsi played a major role in shooting down Gov. David Paterson’s proposed soda tax, the News reported.
When asked, Silver would not reveal the value of his investments with state-contracted companies, according to the News.
"Like many New Yorkers, the speaker makes investments in individual stocks on the advice of a financial planner," Silver spokeswoman Sisa Moya told the paper.
"These investments have no impact on his legislative decision making."
New York state law does not require officials to reveal how many shares they own or their value, aside from acknowledging that they are worth at least $1,000.
"Someone who owns half a million dollars in stock is likely going to be more susceptible to Pepsico’s arguments than someone who owns $1,000 in stock," Susan Lerner of the government watchdog group Common Cause, told the paper.
