The former State Senate majority leader Dean G. Skelos and his son were found guilty of federal corruption charges on Friday, a quick and devastating follow-up punch to the state Capitol in Albany, which has now seen two entrenched leaders convicted and removed from office.Mr. Skelos had been one of the three most powerful men in state government until his arrest earlier this year, and his conviction close on the heels of his former colleague, the longtime Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, is sure to have repercussions beyond the courtroom.
US Attorney Preet Bharara is investigating Governor Cuomo's shutdown of the Moreland Commission and has subpoenaed both Cuomo donors and state entities involved in Cuomo's Buffalo Billion Project.
Yesterday Bharara tweeted his first ever tweet - "Stay Tuned" - at the exact moment Cuomo was announcing the winners in his Buffalo Billion Part Deux for the rest of the state.
Those were the words Bharara used in his press conference announcing Shelly Silver's arrest back in January when he was asked if more arrests were coming.
Some read yesterday's coy tweet as an ominous announcement for what is to come.
We'll see about that.
For now, two of the three most powerful men in Albany have been convicted on corruption charges and the third isn't out of the woods in these matters by a long stretch.
Overwhelming evidence. Slam dunk. If the two biggest legislators are crooked any chance any of the others are crooked too?
ReplyDeleteYes, the Silver conviction was the real wonder. The wiretaps made the Skelos case an easy one for a jury to come back with guilty on all counts.
DeleteWhat are your thoughts on Cuomo? Is Preet going for him too?
All I can conclude at this point reference Cuomo is that if they (Silver and Skelos) had any info helping Bharara make any case against Cuomo, he (Bhahara) would have made a deal for it.
DeleteGiven the slam dunk nature of both cases (more Skelos than Silver I admit...but both slam-dunky in the eyes of the respective juries) one would think both of the fellas would have been happy to avoid trial...but they had no goods to offer Bharara.
(This does not rule out other potential wrongdoing of course...)
As a NYC public school teacher for more than 30 years I confess my support and respect for Sheldon Silver. He will pay for his corruption yet his support for public education was more than any other politician in my life time. I am a constituent of Skelos and he is slime and his son appears to be even worse. I applaud their convictions. I can only hope that they are saving the best for last as if ever someone deserved to be taken away in handcuffs it is Andrew Cuomo. This sham of the Common Core retreat is but another attempt by Cuomo to escape the wrath of public school students, parents and educators. I hope that he does not have the opportunity to be voted out by New Yorkers and instead wish that he is treated to several years of tax payer funded rehabilitation in a Federal Jail.
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