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Sheldon Silver disbarred from practicing law
Ruling "a mere formality" after former speaker's corruption conviction last fall
Former state Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver, who lost his seat in Albany after his conviction on federal corruption charges last year, has now been officially disbarred from practicing law.
The five-member Manhattan Departmental Disciplinary Committee, which handles attorney disciplinary matters on behalf of New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, ruled unanimously to disbar the disgraced politician, according to findings released Tuesday.
The committee ruled that the decision “to strike [Silver’s] name from the roll of attorneys is a mere formality” in wake of the former speaker’s conviction last year, according to the New York Post.
Silver is scheduled to be sentenced on April 13 and faces up to 20 years in prison after being found guilty on all seven counts of honest services fraud, extortion and money laundering that he faced over five weeks of trial last fall.
The powerful lawmaker’s misdeeds featured a real estate angle, with Silver receiving nearly $4 million in illegal payments from law firms in exchange for diverting tax business from the likes of developers Glenwood Management and Steve Witkoff to those firms. [NYP] – Rey Mashayekhi