Fears death in jail
Shelly says he’s sorry ahead of sentencing
Fearing he will spend the rest of his days behind bars, Sheldon Silver is finally ready to say he’s sorry for using one of state government’s most powerful jobs to fill his bank accounts.
“I worry about my own age and health. I pray I will not die in prison,” the former Assembly speaker wrote to Manhattan federal Judge Valerie Caproni, who is expected to sentence him to prison on corruption charges next Friday.
“The only confidence I have left is thanks to the strength and support of my wife, who is my rock,” Silver, 74, writes in the letter, dated July 19. “[B]ut we are both crumbling.
“I worry about my grandchildren and how they will be treated because of me. I worry that my wife will be destitute. I worry about her trying to visit me while continuing to be a full-time helper for her 93 year old mother.”
Silver admits in the letter that he has “damaged the ability of my fellow New Yorkers to trust in their government,” and that everything about his long political career “has become dirty and shameful.”
“Everything I ever accomplished has become a joke and a spectacle,” he says. “My family’s chances of living a normal life and my wife’s hopes of a restful retirement have all been torn apart.”
“I hardly sleep. I think of nothing except this case, and everything and everyone that has been affected by it.”
After Silver’s first trial, Caproni sentenced him to 12 years. The feds on Friday asked Caproni to give Silver a sentence “substantially in excess” of 10 years.
“We believe that the defendant was motivated by greed. Silver is an example of why the public has lost faith in their elected officials,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Richenthal wrote.
“He had the power and the influence to be the voice of those who couldn’t be heard, but instead, attempted to reap the benefits of this scheme. To restore the faith in the public who believe in our political system and to make an example for our elected officials who are tempted to dip into the pool of corruption, we believe that a significant sentence to a term of imprisonment is warranted.”
Silver’s original conviction in November 2015 was vacated due to a Supreme Court decision that redefined public corruption.
Silver was found guilty again in May for leveraging his high office to earn referral fees from two law firms. The feds say the secret schemes earned him over $4 million.
As they did after Silver’s first trial, prosecutors said he should get a sentence “greater than any sentence imposed on other New York State legislators convicted of public corruption offenses.”