Sheldon Silver Built Power by Speaking Softly While Punishing Foes
The state assembly speaker practiced politics the old-fashioned way.
New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver walks out of the Federal Courthouse after his arraignment on January 22, 2015 in New York City.
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New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver became the state’s most powerful lawmaker by practicing politics the old-fashioned way -- rewarding friends, punishing enemies and keeping words to a minimum.
Silver, 70, accused by federal prosecutors of using his power to gain millions of dollars in undeserved legal referral fees, used his political skills to tend to two distinct constituencies: the 150-member assembly’s Democratic majority and his ethnically diverse district in lower Manhattan.