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One of New York State's most powerful politicians, former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, was found guilty on Monday, in a federal corruption trial, according to multiple reports.
Silver, 71, served for more than two decades as the Assembly speaker before he was forced to resign in January following his arrest. He retained his Assembly seat but now will forfeit that because of the conviction, said the New York Times.
The jury’s verdict came in the fifth week of Silver’s trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan, in which he was convinced on seven counts of honest services fraud, extortion and money laundering, reported the Times.
“Today, Sheldon Silver got justice, and at long last, so did the people of New York," Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.
Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino also applauded the news, posting this tweet: "Preet Bharara delivers justice where Andrew Cuomo wanted to turn a blind eye."
During the trial, the government presented evidence that showed he had organized two schemes that netted him nearly $4 million in illegal payments for taking official actions that benefited a cancer researcher, Dr. Robert N. Taub, and two New York real estate development firms, the Times reported.
Click here to read the entire New York Times story.
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