MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT — Embattled Assemblyman Sheldon Silver is headed for trial in November.
Silver, who was indicted on a host of federal fraud charges in February, appeared in Manhattan Federal Court Tuesday to plea not guilty to all charges, including additional criminal charges related to his corruption case.
During the arraignment, Manhattan Federal Court Judge Valerie Caproni set a Nov. 2 date for Silver’s trial, the Associated Press reported.
“I’m glad there is a trial date,” Silver said after the brief hearing, the Daily News reported. “I’m confident that at the end of this process I will be totally vindicated.”
Silver, who stepped down from his longtime position as Assembly speaker in the wake of the corruption case, was indicted on federal fraud and extortion charges in February related to claims that he took more than $4 million in bribes and kickbacks.
The latest criminal charges added to the indictment allege that Silver did certain “official favors” for an investor in 2006 to gain access to a variety of low-risk, high-yield investment opportunities not available to the general public.