BDE: Former Politician Sheldon Silver Dies while Serving out his Prison Sentence

(TF)

Former Democratic Politian Sheldon Silver who served as Speaker of the New York State Assembly until he was convicted of federal charges, has died today at the age of 77.  

Silver served in the New York State Assembly from 1977 to 2015. In 1994 he was selected as the speaker of the assembly which he held for two decades. During that time, he was known as one of the most powerful politicians in the state. 

“Shelly did many wonderful things for the community and the state,” Silver’s former chief of staff Judy Rapfogul said. 

“ I was very proud to be his chief of staff.”

In 2015 Silver was arrested and later convicted for accepting bribery which automatically disqualified him from the Assembly.  

The politician was given a 6-year sentence during which he petitioned the judge overseeing his case to allow him to complete his sentence at home due to illness.  

“Your honor, I do not want to die in prison,” Silver requested in a letter to Judge Valerie Caproni at the time, which Caproni denied.

Longtime friend Brian Meara told The Post that Silver “was a great man” despite his misdeeds and that “Shelly was dealt a cruel hand.”

“He was left in prison to die when everyone knew he was going to die.”

Photo: Flickr