Who is Sheldon Silver?

Sheldon Silver, the Democratic troublemaker who dominated Albany politics until his revelation and conviction on federal corruption charges, died Monday.

He was 77 years old at the time his death.

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Who is Sheldon Silver?

Sheldon Silver is a convicted felon and former Democratic Party politician from New York City who served as Speaker of the New York State Assembly from 1994 to 2015.

Silver, a native of the Lower East Side, was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1977 to 2015.

He was elected President of the Council in 1994 and served in that capacity for two decades.

During this time, Silver was considered one of the most influential politicians in the state.

Why is Sheldon Silver in prison?

Silver resigned as Speaker of Congress shortly after his arrest on federal corruption charges in early 2015.

He was found guilty on all counts during his trial in November, and the felony conviction resulted in his automatic expulsion from the Council.

Silver’s conviction was overturned on appeal, but he was found guilty of the same charges after a retrial in May 2018.

Guilty convictions for three of the counts were overturned on appeal, while guilty verdicts for four other counts were confirmed.

Silver was sentenced to six and a half years in prison and a $1 million fine in July 2020.

He was held in Otisville, New York’s federal prison.

Silver was released on May 4, 2021, using a provision of the CARES Act that empowered prison authorities to release prisoners judged to be vulnerable to COVID- 19, but he was recalled two days later on May 6 of the same year.

On January 24, 2022, Silver died while serving his sentence.

How did Sheldon Silver die?

The disgraced politician’s former chief of staff confirmed his death to the New York Post on Monday but did not provide a cause of death.

While serving his sentence, the New York-born man had a history of severe kidney disease and cancer.

Silver sent a letter to Judge Valerie Caproni asking him to be allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence at home.

Silver wrote to Caproni at the time: “In your honor, I do not wish to die in prison.”

Caproni rejected him.

In November 2015, Silver was found guilty of seven counts of corruption and sentenced to 12 years in prison the following year.

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