Judge: NY Ex-Assembly Speaker Remains Free (For Now)

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published August 25, 2016 at 4:23 PM EDT

A judge says former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver can remain free until at least late October while he appeals his conviction and 12-year prison sentence.

Manhattan federal Judge Valerie Caproni issued an order Thursday. The 72-year-old Democrat was convicted last year in a $5 million corruption scandal.

Silver's lawyers say a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this summer improves his chances on appeal. It reversed the public corruption conviction of former Virginia Republican Gov. Robert McDonnell.

Caproni says Silver can remain free until at least Oct. 27 or until two weeks after a court rules on his request to remain free for the length of any appeal.

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Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.

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