The Skelos Reality Show

It was quite a show at the Skelos sentencing yesterday:

Great photos here – and nice wrap-up by @rebeccadobrien on dramatic Skelos & son sentencinghttps://t.co/4XXA6op8dS pic.twitter.com/67LBTEhs9k

— erica orden (@eorden) May 13, 2016

As Dean Skelos leaves court, a man in his group grabs and throws a woman's cell phone. Watch: pic.twitter.com/mT8iwzeHOr

— Heather Kovar (@HeatherOn10) May 12, 2016

More:

A nephew of crooked ex-state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos was arrested Thursday for grabbing a Daily News reporter’s phone, throwing it across the street and grabbing her wrist following the disgraced pol’s sentencing alongside his son.

The blue-suit-wearing goon, Basil (Billy) Skelos, pushed another photographer and shouted “You wanna go?” as he exited Manhattan Federal Court shortly before grabbing the reporter.

Billy strong-armed the reporter around 1 p.m. in full view of cameras outside the courthouse and remained silent as she and other reporters asked why he chose to pick on a woman.

The brute continued to yell at the reporter, Victoria Bekiempis, as she spoke to a police officer.
The 27-year-old bozo from Lynbrook, L.I., was charged with misdemeanor assault and given a desk appearance ticket at the 5th Precinct stationhouse.

The former lacrosse player at Sacred Heart University sang his uncle’s praises in a letter to Judge Kimba Wood seeking leniency ahead of the sentencing.

And even more:

As Gail passed Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who was sitting in the back of the courtroom throughout the sentencing Thursday, she told the federal prosecutor, “You can go to hell.”

 And even a little more:

Dean Skelos’ disgraced son is on the outs with his family — ­everyone but Dad.

Adam Skelos’ personal life has been destroyed by the corruption scandal, which prompted his wife, Anne Marie, to file for divorce, his lawyer said at Adam’s sentencing Thursday.

Adam’s ex is now planning to move in with Adam’s mom, Gail, along with their two autistic sons.

“He’s lost his wife, and he’s likely to lose his home,” lawyer Christopher Conniff told Judge Kimba Wood, who sentenced Adam to 6¹/₂ years behind bars.

Well, maybe he still has his mistress?

In recordings played at trial, jurors heard Adam discuss talking to his mistress via the video app FaceTime — and buying his wife a puppy so she’d let him stay in Manhattan instead of returning home to Long Island after work.

What a family, eh?

There's a reality show waiting for these people - from Dean and Gail to Adam and Basil (Billy) Skelos.

I'm thinking something like a mix between Growing Up Gotti and Mob Wives.

Dean Skelos Sentencing Today

Don't think those under investigation - or those rumored to be under investigation - in the Buffalo Billion case aren't watching this:

Dean Skelos was once one of the most powerful men in New York State, but on Thursday, he faces the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence for his corruption conviction last year.


Although Skelos has asked the judge for leniency for him and his son Adam, their fate will be determined at a time when scandal is fresh on people's minds. Todd Howe, an Albany lobbyist, and a former top lieutenant to Governor Andrew Cuomo, Joe Percoco, are being investigated for their role in an economic program boosting the city of Buffalo.

"With what is going on now with Mr. Percoco and Mr. Howe and Mr. de Blasio, added to what we just saw happen with Mr. Silver and what's going to happen this week with Mr. Skelos, you just reach a tipping point. And we may have reached a tipping point," said Barbara Bartoletti of the League of Women Voters.


Skelos was convicted on eight counts of bribery, which included using his public office to lean on companies to provide income for Adam Skelos.

Shelly Silver got a 12 year sentence last month.

Skelos is expected to get something in that range as well.

Fun times - with Silver and Skelos going to prison and investigations ongoing in both the Cuomo and de Blasio administrations.

I bet the governor is watching this very, very closely today - especially as the more they look into the Buffalo Billion stuff, the more connections they find between him and corruption.

Despite Silver And Skelos Convictions, Albany Corruption Goes On

NY Post with an editorial about how not much has changed in Albany, post-Silver and Skelos, except for this:

But the only change is that everyone in Albany wonders who might be wearing a wire.

The Albany pols are keeping the Glenwood money - even Sheriff Andy, the self-annointed reform-meister of Albany.

Cuomo also says closing the LLC loophole won't do much as long as there is no campaign finance reform at a national level, an indication he's not going to push very hard to close the loophole that has proven very lucrative for him.

The self-annointed reform-meister of Albany also says the legislature must stop standing in the way of ethics reform or there won't be much in the way of reform.

Which is ironic because Cuomo has a way of pushing stuff through the legislature that he really, really wants - you know, like teacher evaluations tied to test scores increased to 50% in APPR, despite opposition to the plan.

So the inkling I get here on ethics reform is, he's not all that down for it.

In addition, it seems the "Three Men In A Room" model of governance is going to continue, with the only change that Carl Heastie has replaced convicted felon Shelly Silver and John Flanagan has replaced convicted felon Dean Skelos.

Indeed, what has changed in Albany?

The cesspool remains as noxious as ever, with Sheriff Andy Cuomo up to his neck at the center of all the filth while claiming he's as clean as can be, it's that nasty old legislature that's dirty.

Cuomo (or the attack monkey who runs his twitter account) made some wishes for 2016 on social media yesterday.

I made a wish too:

.@NYGovCuomo I'm looking forward to seeing how that Buffalo Billion Project investigation turns out.

— rbe (@perdidostschool) January 1, 2016

Here's hoping for an early Preetmas.

Cuomo Vetoes FOIL Transparency Laws On Same Day That Dean Skelos Is Convicted On Eight Criminal Counts

You just can't make this stuff up.

Yesterday former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son Adam were convicted on eight criminal counts in the corruption case federal prosecutors brought against them.

Governor Cuomo released the following statement after the convictions:

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, said in a statement that the “convictions of former Speaker Silver and former Majority Leader Skelos should be a wake-up call for the Legislature, and it must stop standing in the way of needed reforms.”

“The justice system worked today,” Mr. Cuomo continued. “However, more must be done and will be pursued as part of my legislative agenda.”

The NY Times story noted that despite Cuomo's words, he hasn't worked all that hard for "reforms":

The governor has made similar pledges before, but his efforts have ultimately led to changes that have been faulted for not being stringent enough.

Indeed, just yesterday, Cuomo did this:

Cuomo has vetoed to two FOIL, transparency bills, says @DavidBuchwald pic.twitter.com/kqOCOqFTKJ

— Joseph Spector (@GannettAlbany) December 12, 2015

Ironically:

Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos voted for the FOIL bills. No, this isn't the start of a joke.

— Robert Harding (@RobertHarding) December 12, 2015

Albany is a cesspool of corruption, Silver and Skelos certainly added their own dross to it.

But that third man in the room, the one who shut down the Moreland Commission in return for a budget deal with Silver and Skelos and nearly saved them both from criminal prosecution, remains in power and continues to make the cesspool of corruption grow by the hour.

He's going to make reforms part of his "legislative agenda"?

Sure he is.

Just like he's going to make Albany a model of transparency by using untraceable Blackberry PIN messages and private email accounts to conduct the public's business.

US Attorney Preet Bharara sent out his second ever tweet yesterday after his first one ("Stay tuned...") went out on Thursday as Cuomo was making a big development program announcement:

How many prosecutions will it take before Albany gives the people of New York the honest government they deserve? @SDNYnews

— US Attorney Bharara (@PreetBharara) December 11, 2015

Clearly at least one more.

We'll see if we get it.

Dean And Adam Skelos Found Guilty On All Eight Corruption Counts

NY Times:

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.

Skelos Trial: Cuomo Administration Gave Job To Donor's Son After Campaign Donation

This isn't "new" news, as Newsday reported it back in the spring, but it is interesting to see it surface in the Dean and Adam Skelos trials:

Skelos: Bonomo on cross admits his son got a job at NIFA shotly after he gave $50K to Cuomo.

— John Riley (@jriley8832) December 4, 2015

Back in June, Yancey Roy at Newsday reported this:

ALBANY - The son of Anthony Bonomo, a prominent insurer linked to the federal investigation of Sen. Dean Skelos and who until days ago led the New York Racing Association, began working for the Cuomo administration last year, state records show.

Anthony Bonomo Jr. started in 2014 as an executive assistant for the Office of Storm Recovery, which was launched by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to help residents rebuild after superstorm Sandy and other recent hurricanes. Bonomo, who handles constituent services on Long Island, was hired for the $55,000-per-year job in May 2014, a spokeswoman said.

"Anthony is a hard worker and a smart young man who has done terrific work for the Office of Storm Recovery," said Barbara Broncaccio, agency spokeswoman.

Bonomo's father runs Physicians Reciprocal Insurers, a Roslyn-based medical malpractice carrier that holds about 25 percent of the market, according to reports. The Manhasset resident also is a significant campaign contributor and racehorse owner who, until Tuesday, chaired the New York Racing Association, which operates Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga tracks.

Federal prosecutors have alleged that Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), the former state Senate leader, tried to "monetize" his political power by getting payments and a job for his son, Adam, from a developer, an environmental firm and a malpractice insurer. Among other things, prosecutors alleged that the senator arranged a $100,000 per year "no show" job with a medical malpractice insurer. Skelos and his son have pleaded not guilty.

Though Physicians Reciprocal wasn't named in the indictment, a company spokesman said it has been contacted in the probe and has been cooperating with investigators. It has not been accused of wrongdoing.

Newsday previously reported that state lawmakers tucked into this year's state budget an extension of an exemption that helps malpractice insurers such as Physicians Reciprocal.

In July, Zack Fink gave much context to the "Bonomo Connection":

Anthony Bonomo, described by one insider as “just one of those guys everyone in state government knows,” is believed by many to be cooperating with U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s case against former State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son Adam. The Skelos’ pleaded ‘not guilty’ yesterday to a superseding indictment unveiled last week that contains two new charges. Specifically, that Adam Skelos threatened his supervisor who confronted him about not showing up to work. The arrangement seemed to be that Adam got a no-show job in exchange for the elder Skelos steering state money the firm’s way. That firm ( although not named ) is believed to be Physicians Reciprocal Insurers’ or PRI, owned and operated by one Anthony Bonomo.

What is less known is just how extensive Bonomo’s ties are to state government. According to Competitive Advantage Research, Bonomo, his associates and affiliates are responsible for 126 filings over the last 15 years. The campaign contributions spread across party lines and totaling $2,719,240.93. That’s a lot of dough. Jon Reznick of Competitive Advantage explains the breakdown:

“The individual Anthony Bonomo, his friends and relations including his spouse and likely his children as well as professional associates and the businesses he operates are themselves substantial donors accounting for $2.7 million just that I’ve found in the last 15 years.”

In addition, Bonomo has hired big time lobbyists including former Senator Al D’Amato, Founder and Managing Director of Park Strategies. According to Reznick’s analysis, Bonomo and associates have spent $1,550,500 since 2007.

According to the latest indictment, Adam Skelos threatened his boss with physical violence after being challenged about his failure to show up for work. Someone then called Dean Skelos ( sitting Senate Majority Leader at the time ) to try and explain the problem and work something out. At least one GOP source believes the only person who could have made that phone call was D’Amato, who could not immediately be reached for comment.

So, here is the timeline from which you can draw your own conclusions: In March, Bonomo gives a $50,000 contribution to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s campaign committee. A few days later, Cuomo appoints Bonomo the head of the New York Racing Association or NYRA ( a job that people close to the Administration insist he was qualified for, since he was very knowledgeable of horses and racing. Fair enough ). About a month later, Skelos and his son are slapped with federal corruption charges. And in early June, just four days before the Belmont Stakes – one of the biggest days in racing – Bonomo steps down from his position at NYRA, and presumably starts cooperating with the Feds against Dean and Adam. A month after that the new indictment drops with two new charges including personal details about Adam’s behavior. This signaled to some that federal investigators were likely getting information from Bonomo which helped build the second set of charges.

Now a question a reasonable observer might have is, how is it different when Dean Skelos presses Bonomo and PRI for a job for his son in return for favorable legislation to keep the company afloat and the Cuomo administration hires Anthony Bonomo's son for a $55K a year state job after dad gives $50,000 to Cuomo's campaign coffers?

Bonomo's got a non-prosecution agreement with the feds for the Skelos case, so he faces no charges for being part of the alleged quid pro quo.

US Attorney for the Southern District Preet Bharara was in the courtroom yesterday when Bonomo admitted on cross examination that his son got a state job after he gave Cuomo $50K, so clearly the feds are aware of that little doozy.

Now whether they choose to follow up on it, that's a whole other matter.

But it's just one more example in a long line of examples of Andrew Cuomo's donors getting preferential treatment from the state before and/or after giving campaign money to Cuomo or to entities linked to Cuomo (like the State Democratic Party or the Committee To Save New York, the shadowy PAC that pushed Cuomo's agenda early in his governorship but was shut down after the law changed and required PAC's like CSNY to reveal their donors.)

The impression a reasonable observer would get is, well, I think Steve McLaughlin put it best:

Nah....Cuomo's not for sale or anything.... that's just crazy talk.... https://t.co/RxTs5uTvIK

— Steve McLaughlin (@SteveMcNY) December 4, 2015

Rob Astorino Offers Mental Health Services To "Insecure" Andrew Cuomo

This made my day:

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino—the 2014 Republican candidate for governor—today suggested Gov. Andrew Cuomo suffers from “insecurities,” and offered to help connect Mr. Cuomo with therapy.

Mr. Astorino was responding to comments Mr. Cuomo made earlier today, in which the Democratic governor argued that Mayor Bill de Blasio should not appear beside the socially conservative GOP politician at a press conference calling for greater federal infrastructure investment this evening. Mr. Astorino blasted the governor, a resident of Westchester’s Mount Kisco, and said he would be willing to connect him with local mental health resources to deal with his inner demons.

“You know, it seems to me that the statement that the governor made was completely out of line, number one, and just from my observation, it seems like the governor has some insecurities,” Mr. Astorino told the Observer at the presser in Penn Station. “Since he’s a constituent of mine, I’d be more than happy to set him up with our Department of Community Mental Health if he actually needs some help on this issue.”

“I am going to work with the mayor whenever we can see eye-to-eye and can advance an issue that’s important,” Mr. Astorino continued.

Cuomo, btw, works with many Republicans, including former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, now on trial for corruption, and former deputy state Senate Majority Leader Tom Libous, soon to be under house arrest after being convicted of lying to the FBI.

And for years Cuomo has touted his bipartisan bona fides - in fact, he just touted them in a speech at Harvard the other day decrying how Washington can't get along anymore because it's too partisan.

So the phrase that comes to mind after reading about Cuomo's criticism of de Blasio for standing with Astorino on the infrastructure issue is, "full of shit."

As for Astorino's claim that Cuomo suffers from insecurities and needs mental health help, that's a keen and accurate assessment of our sociopathic governor from his former opponent.

Fun With Dean And Adam Skelos

Just a few tidbits from the Dean and Adam Skelos trial on what an affable fellow and upstanding citizen Adam Skelos is:

#Albanyontrial: Dean Skelos' son made violent threats, witness testified https://t.co/J6tgvlRMNM

— Crain's New York (@CrainsNewYork) November 19, 2015

Witness: On his 1st day of work, he told boss: "You know who I am. I'm Adam Skelos." https://t.co/6zJ3ANzvML @Newsday

— Yancey Roy (@YanceyRoy) November 18, 2015

Adam Skelos to his boss: "Guys like you couldn't shine my shoes...If you talk to me like that again, I'll smash your [expletive] head in."

— Nicole Fuller (@nicolefuller) November 18, 2015

You've got to listen to some of these Skelos Trial Wiretaps! House of Cards level corruption. #AlbanyOnTrial https://t.co/P59r18513R

— Hedge Clippers (@GoHedgeClippers) November 20, 2015

That time Adam Skelos threatened to hurt his mortgage broker. #AlbanyOnTrial pic.twitter.com/w061UbbOtH

— Susanne Craig (@susannecraig) November 21, 2015

Senator Skelos had to call his son's mortgage broker and apologize after Adam made a threat #AlbanyOnTrial pic.twitter.com/X1JxajXiFk

— William K. Rashbaum (@WRashbaum) November 21, 2015

I dunno, I'm not a defense lawyer and I'm thankfully not on trial on corruption charges, but once the wiretaps were deemed admissible as evidence in the Skelos' trial, I think I might have looked for a plea deal.

You can make a pretty good argument that Shelly Silver going to trial rather than looking for a plea deal made sense because the alleged quid pro quo schemes in his case are complex, require detailed explanations and even then, there's no slam dunk "That's definitely a crime!" moment as you hear the evidence.

I think the preponderance of the evidence in the Silver case, taken as a whole, leaves a fair observer with the impression that Silver was trying to hide where his outside income was coming from and what he was (or wasn't) doing to obtain it and those attempts at secrecy got more desperate as disclosure laws were changed over time and he risked exposure.

Whether a jury finds any of that rises to the level of a crime, well, that's hard to say, but here are the instructions the jurors will get from the judge on that point, per Joshua Saul at the NY Post:

Here's the instructions #SheldonSilver jury will hear Monday before they begin deliberations. Goodwill=OK. @nypost pic.twitter.com/nMoRMOfsc5

— Joshua Saul (@joshfromalaska) November 21, 2015

Essentially the Silver trial comes down to whether the jury buys the Silver defense argument that "friends will do favors for friends."

The Skelos case, on the other hand, has more moments of "Holy Cow, I can't believe that just happened!" than you often get in high profile trials of politicos.

It's all there - the threats and intimidation (some overt, some implied) of some pretty big players in New York by Dean and Adam, the payoffs Adam received for essentially doing nothing other than having the state senate majority leader as his dad, and Adam and Dean themselves conspiring on the phone.

We're only a few days into the Skelos trial, but the more you hear from Dean and Adam via wiretap and the more testimony you get from the prosecution witnesses, the more difficult it is to see how a jury comes in with anything other than guilty verdicts.

Earlier this week we learned that Adam Skelos' lawyer asked about a plea deal from the feds though nothing ever came from it after the feds returned communication.

I have to think Adam didn't like what he heard from the fed side about what a plea deal would entail but given how bad the evidence is here for him, I wonder if that wasn't a mistake for him.

Campbell Brown Surfaces In Dean/Adam Skelos Corruption Case Wiretaps

From the Politico NY morning email update on education:

SURPRISE GUEST IN THE DEAN SKELOS TAPES: CAMPBELL BROWN: 

From phone call between Adam and Dean Skelos Dec. 14. 2014:  

“AS: What are you up to?  

DS: Um going into the city. Meeting with some billionaires.  

AS: Who are you meeting with?  

DS: On school tax credit stuff. Campbell Brown.  

AS: Oh. Ok.  

DS. A reporter, former reporter. 

AS: Dad, you gotta take these names down….All I need is contacts. I’ll take care of the rest.” 

(Dean laughs)

Some billionaires and Campbell Brown meet with crooked Dean Skelos over "school tax credit stuff".

Love it.

Maybe they could have gotten exactly what they wanted on the "school tax credit stuff"" if they had provided Adam Skelos with a no-show job at Families for Excellent Schools.

Just so long as they didn't ask him to, you know, show up for work.

How Three Men In A Room Operate In New York State

Here's one of the wiretaps from the Dean and Adam Skelos corruption trial, courtesy of the Daily News:


There's one of the vaunted "three men in a room" in Albany discussing with his son how sad he is that the governor has banned fracking - something he himself says has little support - because his son stood to gain financially from the procedure: 

The recordings were admitted into evidence during the testimony of Senator Avella, who gave the jury a primer on the Senate. A prosecutor in the case, Jason A. Masimore, then questioned him about legislation that the government has alleged was part of three schemes under which Senator Skelos used his position to obtain more than $300,000 in payments for his son.

Mr. Masimore, using emails and other documents along with the tapes, walked Mr. Avella through some of the evidence that prosecutors say shows how the schemes worked. He asked the senator if he would have voted the way he did on certain bills if he had known that Senator Skelos supported them, and that his son had in some ways secretly benefited from them.

In one instance, he showed Mr. Avella a draft agreement under which Adam Skelos would have received $1 per barrel of fracking waste water treated by a company, AbTech Industries, that paid him as a consultant. Mr. Avella said each fracking well produced tens of thousands of gallons of contaminated water a day.

The prosecutor then asked if Mr. Avella, a leading opponent of fracking, had known that Senator Skelos had asked his staff to set up a meeting on the subject between AbTech and state officials. He said he had not, and when asked if that would have mattered to him as a state senator he said, “Without question.”

“Given the fact that this is one of the most significant environmental considerations that the State of New York has probably had to decide in a hundred years, that influences being made on behalf of a family member is inappropriate and, in my opinion, absolutely disgraceful,” he said.

The wiretap also makes clear how Skelos and Senate Republicans used the turncoat Dems of the IDC to maintain control of the state Senate and how he had worked with Cuomo in the past but after the fracking decision, would no longer be "buddy-buddy" with the governor:

The son used an anatomical term to refer to Mr. Cuomo, and asked, “How do we beat him, Dad?”

“We will,” the senator replied. “I’m going to run against him.”

“I wish you would, Dad,” the son said, his mood seeming to lift, adding with coarse language that he “would be so proud” if the senator soundly defeated Mr. Cuomo.

“You watch what I’m going to do in the next couple of years with him, especially starting this year,” the senator said. “No more, you know, buddy-buddy and all that stuff,” he continued, and then referred to the governor with an expletive.

Today Glenwood bagman Charlie Dorego is expected to continue his testimony and explain how Glenwood doled out millions in campaign cash to politicians through LLC's:

Mr. Dorego, as part of his testimony, gave jurors a brief primer on limited liability companies, or LLCs, explaining that each of Glenwood’s 20-plus buildings was owned by such an entity, and that each of those was in turn owned by the Litwin Family Trust. Prosecutors are expected to show during the trial that Glenwood used the LLCs to shower millions of dollars in campaign contributions on political candidates, including Senator Skelos.

Dorego, btw, just got finished testifying in the Shelly Silver corruption trial - how's that for synchronicity? - and Governor Cuomo's biggest donor was Glenwood, so the other two "men in a room" in Albany are coming up in this trial too.

Speaking of Silver, the prosecution rested their case yesterday and Silver's defense is not expected to call any witnesses, just introduce documents to the jury that will try and bolster their argument that Silver's financial dealings were not quid pro quo crimes but simply business as usual in Albany.

Quite a show we've got going on right now and with the feds investigating Cuomo's Buffalo Billion Project and campaign donors, the show may get even better before it's all said and done.

Something tells me that much hinges upon on the Silver case.

Given the evidence in the Skelos case, it's difficult to see the prosecution not getting convictions in the trial.

But the Silver case is much more complex and Silver could walk.

If that happens, the feds may be a little more circumspect in how they work through the Buffalo Billion Project investigation and the remaining Moreland cases (including looking into Cuomo's shutdown of the commission in return for a budget deal.)

But if they get Silver, well, if I were Sheriff Andy, I'd be worried about them going for the trifecta.

The Skelos And Silver Trials

The corruption trial of Dean Skelos and his son Adam starts today.

Sheldon Silver's corruption trial continues today.

On Friday, prosecutors detailed Silver's shenanigans with Governor Cuomo's favorite donor, Glenwood Management.

Zach Fink reported that defense attorneys aren't disputing any of the details the prosecution is presenting, just claiming that none of the actions Shelly took amount to crimes:

Prosecutors have been busy outlining an alleged corruption scheme in which Sheldon Silver steered Glenwood Management, a large real estate company with business before the state, to a small law firm for tax work. Silver then collected referral fees. Prosecutors say this amounted to a quid-pro-quo.

Defense attorneys aren't disputing any of the details. They just maintain that the former Assembly speaker never broke the law.

Testifying Friday was lobbyist Brian Meara, who represents Glenwood Management. He explained how lobbying works for advancing legislation. He also testified that Silver had a longstanding relationship with Glenwood management that included drafting bills that were - if not necessarily helpful to Glenwood - certainly not as harmful as they could have been. Meara said Silver had a private relationship with Glenwood, while at the same time advocating publicly for tenant rights over issues like the rent regulations which need to be renewed every four years.

Meara said he had no knowledge of the fees Silver was receiving from the law firm, but did say he had concerns for Silver politically in terms of how it might look for him to be working so closely to keep Glenwood satisfied.

Testimony continues on Monday. The government is expected to call two witnesses who work for the state Assembly. They are Lisa Reidm who works in compliance, and Michael Whyland, who served as Silver's spokesman and now works for current Speaker Carl Heastie.

Fink said yesterday, given the way the case has gone so far, he wouldn't be surprised if Silver is acquitted:

.@ZackFinkNews says on @EffectiveOnAir this a.m. that he would not be surprised if Preet Bharara fails to get a conviction of Shelly Silver.

— Morgan Pehme (@morganpehme) November 15, 2015

I think there's something to that - the Skelos case, with the wiretaps, seems like a slam dunk case while this one is much more complex.

Given that one juror fell asleep during the Meara testimony, you have to wonder what the jurors are thinking about all of this.

The sleeping juror doesn't look good, that's for sure.

If Silver walks, that will be a big hit to Bharara's prestige and could affect the other cases the feds are working on - including the one into Cuomo's Buffalo Billion Project.

Dean And Adam Skelos Schemed To Go After Sandra Lee As Leverage Against Cuomo

Ken Lovett in the Daily News:

The governor's girlfriend and even his daughter were fair game for former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son, according to court transcripts.

Facing a nagging corruption probe, and looking for a leg up in budget negotiations, the embattled Republican floated the idea of raising a stink over the outside income of Democrat Cuomo’s live-in girlfriend, Sandra Lee, and using it as leverage, transcripts of wire-tapped conversations between Skelos and his son Adam reveal.

In the March recordings, Skelos apparently outlined a plan to make an issue out of celebrity chef Lee’s income and use the political swipe as a bargaining chip.

“Later today, I’m going to go after (the governor) and I want him to disclose, you know (the governor’s significant other), and all this other stuff,” Dean Skelos is heard saying.

“Keep sticking with that,” his son replies. “You guys are smarter and just more experienced. “So, you know, you flip it on him. Then (the governor) goes crazy and then he comes back and he negotiates.”

“That’s exactly right,” Skelos said.

“I love it, though,” Adam Skelos said. “I think it’s hilarious.”

More:

Prosecutors argue that the recordings should be admissible because they show how Dean and Adam were discussing ways to pressure the governor as lawmakers tried to pass legislation that would benefit Adam.

“[The phone calls] involve discussions between Dean Skelos and Adam Skelos about the ways in which Dean Skelos can maximize his leverage with the Governor during the budget negotiations — the same negotiations during which the Government alleges Dean Skelos attempted to insert legislation that would benefit Adam Skelos and the Environmental Technology Company in the charged schemes,” prosecutors say in the court filings.

These Skelos wiretaps keep yielding gems.

Shelly Silver's fighting his charges, but given the wiretap transcripts we've seen already of conversations between Dean and Adam, I can conceive of a strategy where they say "You know, maybe a plea deal isn't such a bad idea..."