Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was sentenced Tuesday following his November conviction in a $5 million corruption case. Manhattan federal court Judge Valerie Caproni sentenced the Manhattan Democrat to 12 years in prison. The government had asked that he serve substantially more than a decade in prison. Prosecutors also wanted the judge to fine him $1 million. They cited more than $2 million in assets and the fact that he will receive $70,000 in pension for the rest of his life. The 72-year-old disbarred lawyer was considered a power broker in the assembly for more than two decades. In a letter to the judge, he sought leniency, citing his good deeds. He also acknowledged that he “failed” the people of New York and hurt his constituents “terribly.”
