NEW YORK — Prosecutors urged a judge Friday to reject former New York state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s bid to throw out an indictment accusing him of using the powerful legislative post to collect $4 million in kickbacks.
In papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, prosecutors told Judge Valerie Caproni that the Democrat is incorrect to claim there was nothing wrong with using his official position to obtain lucrative clients and millions of dollars in resulting legal fees.
“As much as Silver may wish otherwise, bribes, kickbacks, and extortion are just as illegal in New York as they are in every other state, whether or not they are practiced by a sitting legislator who also happens to be a lawyer, whether or not legislators are permitted to have outside employment, and whether or not the money is passed to Silver as cash in a suitcase or conveniently disguised as a lawyer’s referral fee,” they wrote.
