Sheldon Silver, the former New York State Assembly Speaker, took an oath to act in the best interests of the people of New York State.  As a unanimous jury found, he sold his public office for private greed. 

I commend the career prosecutors of our Office’s Public Corruption Unit, whose determination in securing this important conviction fittingly underscores the importance of pursuing cases against corrupt politicians, no matter the difficulty.  One of the most worthy endeavors of this Office is combatting public corruption.  We will continue to do so with the independence and resolve the Southern District is known for and the citizens of New York so rightly deserve.