Silver s release from prison splits Albany lawmakers PUBLISHED 6:37 PM ET May. 04, 2021 PUBLISHED 6:37 PM EDT May. 04, 2021
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Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is back home in Manhattan after serving less than a year of a prison sentence set to last until 2026.
His release has split lawmakers in a Capitol he once ruled with little question for a generation in state government. On the one hand, some lawmakers wanted to see Silver remain in prison, a sign that even after leaving office more than five years ago, the former speaker remains a lightning rod. But other lawmakers called for compassion amid word of Silver s failing health and during a pandemic.
By Dave Smith
Albany, N.Y. - Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is out of jail.
The disgraced former speaker is reportedly at home five years early according to the Yeshiva World News.
He reported to jail in August but was freed due to the “CARES Act”. That bill, which was passed to provide help for millions struggling during the pandemic, included a mandate to decrease federal incarceration in order to stop the spread of COVID-19.
He was first elected to the Assembly in 1976 and served as its speaker from 1994 until he was charged in 2015.
Silver was sentenced last year for secretly taking $800,000 in legal fees from real estate developers from 2005 to 2015.