Posted on 01/22/2015 7:28:03 AM PST by SeekAndFind
I will apologize in advance to our readers if this looks like coverage of a “local story” but it actually may be a harbinger for the kind of state and local level change which is required for real progress in America. The New York Times is reporting that today an arrest will be made in Albany, the state’s capital. The suspect is question is none other than the Speaker of the state Assembly, Sheldon Silver.
Federal authorities are expected to arrest Sheldon Silver, the powerful speaker of the New York State Assembly, on corruption charges on Thursday, people with knowledge of the matter said. The case is likely to throw Albany into disarray at the beginning of a new session.
The investigation that led to the expected charges against Mr. Silver, a Democrat from the Lower East Side of Manhattan who has served as speaker for more than two decades, began after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in March abruptly shut down an anticorruption commission he had created in 2013.
Details of the specific charges to be brought against Mr. Silver were unclear on Wednesday night, but one of the people with knowledge of the matter said they stemmed from payments that Mr. Silver received from a small law firm that specializes in seeking reductions of New York City real estate taxes. The total amount of the payments was unclear, but another person has said they were substantial and were made over several years.
The details of these “substantial” payments – which Silver somehow forgot to report – are not provided, and as far as I’m concerned, aren’t really important. That’s not the shocking part of this story. The truly amazing part is that anyone in New York was willing to cooperate with the Feds and actually make a move against him. For those of you in other parts of the country and the world, Sheldon Silver has been the Speaker since before some of our younger readers were born. He is a legend in New York, and has long been acknowledged as the most powerful person in the state’s Democrat machine. Rumors have swirled for years about some of his more questionable dealings, but honestly there were few who ever thought that anyone could lay a finger on him. Nothing gets done in Empire State government dealings without Silver’s say so.
But even more interesting are the implications this might have for the history of the absolute debacle known as the Moreland Commission. Originally established by Governor Andrew Cuomo, ostensibly to investigate government corruption and provide more transparency for the public, the commission was shut down by the governor long before its work was concluded. Numerous off the record reports from the Albany press corps hinted that the commissioners had done their jobs a little too well and their prying eyes had gotten a little too close to the office of the Governor himself and other members of his party.
We’ve yet to see anything about evidence of charges against the Governor, but in light of this news an entertaining new possibility rises to the surface. Keep in mind that the premature closing of the Moreland Commission was a huge political embarrassment for Cuomo. Some felt that the scandal was enough to change the Governor’s mind about possibly challenging for the 2016 Democrat presidential nomination. If he wasn’t worried that the commission had something on him, why would he open himself to such attacks by shutting it down? New theory: the commission was following a trail not to the Governor’s mansion, but to the Speaker’s offices. And if there is one person in the entire state of New York who could figuratively hold a gun to Cuomo’s head and get him to take such a politically suicidal action, that man would be Sheldon Silver.
So how does this apply on the national level? New York may be home to one of the oldest and most corrupt political machines in the nation, but it’s hardly unique. The real power in the U.S. does not reside in Washington, as we have seen over and over again. The state and local governments are where the policies which shape day to day life for citizens and businesses are crafted. And many of them have shady political dynasties holding on to power by any means possible, with plenty of money changing hands, frequently involving powerful unions and Democrat supporters. If you want to see change, that’s where it starts. And if Sheldon Silver can be taken down, then nearly anything is possible.
There may be hope for us all yet.
And a Democrat..of course. :)
Just another day for a Democrat. Looks like he’s presidential material. Gee, couldn’t Eric Holder protect him?
“Nothing gets done in Empire State government dealings without Silver’s say so.”
Hmmm, sounds a lot like a mafia Don to me.
Nothing to see here, let’s move on. Now, if he did something really, really, really, really bad like exercising his constitutional authority and vetoing a bill, that would be a horrid crime that I would want to learn more about. But accepting bribes as a democrat is expected and, I am pretty sure, part of the job description. Since they have no moral code and do not preach ethical, Christian behavior they can’t be expected to act in such a manner. MOVE ON. Gas is cheap by the way. Cheap Gas.
Arrest McConnell (for impersonating a leader and treason for not protecting and defending the Constitution).
I’m very confused. Nancy Pelosi said that the Republicans had a culture of corruption. Yet Silver is a.good Democrat. How can this be happening???
Eric H0lder, Federal Dick, ....?
Maybe he can deport him to Qatar as he does with al Qqeda perps.
Will there be a frog march?
That’s right . Rick Perry got indicted for vetoing a bill. Remember you have to know the parties involved. Since Perry is an evil Republican, his veto was a crime against humanity. Anything done by a Democrat is not held to the same standard of review by liberals.
Obama does it his way....like hiring the CEO of GE to be on his "team".
Most of them are dirty in the political class, this one just got caught. But you can be sure he won’t do time.
Yep, this is the kind of crook someone like Holder would love to protect... his kind of 'man'.
“Poor premise in the article. In Kalifornia the more legislature Dems that got arrested the stronger the Dems became.”
Yep. Here in good old Illinois we just elect the daughter of the Leader of the House General Assembly as Attorney General. Not a single public corruption prosecution in 7 years. Not one.
L
The man has been in the state assembly since 1977. He has been Speaker for over 11 years ( and counting )...
I bet you, even with this arrest, if there were another election, they’d still vote him in.
He’s like Charles Rangel, he has his position for life.
There’s a saying in Harlem -— You could catch Charles Rangel killing someone in cold blood on camera and he’d still be elected Congressman.
Same is true for Sheldon Silver.
And the cocaine mayor...Barry.
RE: And the cocaine mayor...Barry.
Yep, even when he’s gone, his name is still on the ballot. :)
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