Send Silver To Prison Already

Shelly Silver did the crime. Will he ever do the time?

The disgraced pol has yet to serve a day behind bars since his arrest on corruption charges — a full five years ago to the day. A crafty lawyer himself with strong ties to the legal industry, Silver has managed to dodge prison ever since.

True, that might soon change: Tuesday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ex-Assembly speaker’s conviction on most charges while tossing some.

Yet Silver’s ability to avoid prison is precisely what makes the public distrust the justice system: Elites are treated differently. Silver’s been free for years, collecting a $6,600 monthly pension. What happens when he’s resentenced? Another appeal?

Silver, once one of the most powerful pols in New York, was convicted in 2015 of lining his pockets with $4 million in bribes and kickbacks. He “collected millions of dollars by cashing in on his public office and political influence,” then-Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara noted at the time.

The ex-speaker drew a 12-year sentence, but his conviction was overturned in 2017. He was then found guilty in a 2018 retrial and sentenced again, to seven years, but appealed that, too, citing a 2016 Supreme Court case that limited what official actions can be considered corrupt.

On Tuesday, the appellate court ruled his cancer kickbacks were kosher but his realestate bribes were not.

Silver’s shenanigans need to end now. It’s way past time he paid for abusing his powers — and making a mockery of justice.