Posted on 06/16/2003 3:17:00 PM PDT by NYer
ALBANY, N.Y. --
A prominent legislative lawyer was placed on leave Monday after being charged with raping a 22-year-old co-worker at her apartment after a night of drinking.
Michael Boxley, who earned $130,395 as chief counsel to Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, had been absent from work since he was arrested last Wednesday and taken out of his Capitol office in handcuffs.
Boxley, 43, was charged with one count each of first- and third-degree rape. Police said Boxley offered the woman a ride home after the two met colleagues for drinks at a bar and sexually assaulted her at her apartment.
Toxicology results were pending to determine if a date-rape drug was slipped into the woman's drink. The woman told police she was unconscious during part of the incident.
Boxley had denied the rape charges through his lawyer. He was released on $25,000 bail.
Boxley requested to be placed on leave and "has ceased earning a salary as an Assembly employee," Silver said in a statement released by his office Monday. But Boxley has accrued leave credits and will continue getting paid, Silver said.
Silver's spokesman Charles Carrier could not immediately say how many leave credits Boxley has accrued.
(Excerpt) Read more at nynewsday.com ...
NY is the most corrupt state in the Union. The lawyer industry owns the crooked Assembly under Sheldon "Steal the" Silver.
Mr. Silver has not publicly criticized Mr. Boxley since his arrest, nor has he expressed sympathy for the 22-year-old woman who brought the charges. He has said only that it is not appropriate to comment on a criminal investigation.
"Pataki's date-rape measure was tucked into a comprehensive criminal justice bill aimed at enhancing the state's Sexual Assault Reform Act. The proposal was announced by the governor April 10 and, with multiple sponsors, introduced in the GOP-led Senate April 29."
Boxley is chief counsel to Silver. At the time of his arrest, the sheriff's department raided his apartment and found prescription drugs, illegal in this country, that were purchased in Canada. Any wonder he supports repeal of the Rockefeller Drug Laws.
Leave credits?? WTF, only in public service. I hope this guy gets the justice he deserves. And if he's guilty the electorate should demand the resignation of Shelly Silver.
We know about two rapes, one in 2001 and 2003. There's a posibility that many more victime have yet to surface.
Silver knew about the 2001 rape and did nothing. Silver broke the law from the getgo. It is against the law to know of a crime and not report it to authorities.
The protection racket in Albany must be exposed. Investigators should determine the scope and dimension of Silver’s collusion with other legislators and possibly staffers in covering up rapes and/or other crimes.
Silver did everything he could to protect Boxley. Boxley apparently has a hold on Silver. Investigators need to ask why Silver is running a protection racket for Boxley. One might conclude that Mr Boxley knows where Silver’s and other legislators’ bodies are buried.
Public officials involved in wrongdoing are adept at hiding their transgressions; their biggest fear is exposure by close aides who are usually witnesses to wrongdoing. That would explain Silver’s putting himself out to protect Boxley from exposure.
In actions reminiscent of a police state, Assemblywoman Susan John of Rochester was surrounded by a ring of beefy guards hurriedly dispatched by Speaker Silver to "protect" his colleague from reporters, the NY Post reported.
These are the tactics of a police state not a representative democracy. The NY Post reported that "Assemblywoman Susan John of Rochester refused to answer reporters questions since she answers to a higher authority -- Speaker Silver --."
I guess that, as a lawmaker, we can't expect Assemblywoman Susan John of Rochester to abide by the same laws we mere mortals abide by (/sarcasm).
Invstigators apparently have not charged Assemblywoman Susan John of Rochester with a coverup and colluding with Speaker Silver to coverup the rape crimes and other crimes in Albany. Silver and John know where the bodies are buried and so does Boxley.
Silver and his partners in crime are corrupt little tin gods hanging on to power, the perks of office and the insider deals making them wealthy....all on the taxpayers' dime.
These individuals think they are above the law. It's up to us to let them knew democracy doesn't work that way.
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