ALBANY — Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was taken into custody Thursday in Manhattan on corruption charges, The Daily News has learned.
The impending arrest of Silver, who has been one of the most powerful men in Albany for more than two decades, was first reported overnight by The New York Times.
While it’s unclear exactly what charges Silver could be facing, The Times reported the rap is linked to payments the powerful Manhattan Democrat received from New York City lawfrim Goldberg & Iryami that he did not disclose publicly, as required by law.
Silver was being held Thursday at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan, law enforcement sources said. He was afforded the right of self-surrender, as opposed to a public "perp" walk, owing to his status as a veteran state lawmaker, the sources said.
A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara had no comment.
Silver is expected to appear in court for arraignment later in the day. His spokesman, Michael Whyland, did not return calls for comment.
Silver, 70, told reporters on Jan. 7, after word of the investigation came to light, that he had not personally heard from investigators. He was less specific when asked whether his lawyer had, saying “they have not been directed to do anything.”
He has repeatedly refused to discuss the probe.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate at this time under the circumstances to be commenting on these matters,” he said two weeks ago.
The arrest of Silver, who next year would become the longest-serving speaker in Assembly history, comes as Bharara’s office has taken up the unfinished investigations of the Moreland anti-corruption commission, which Gov. Cuomo created in 2013 but abruptly ended last year when the Legislature agreed to ethics reforms.
It would also upend the power structure in Albany just as the new legislative session is beginning. Silver, along with Cuomo and Senate Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos, are known as the “three men in the room” because they negotiate most everything that gets done in Albany.
An arrest would create a power vacuum in the Assembly, where there are many new faces but no clear heir apparent. Assemblymen Keith Wright (D-Manhattan), Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) and Joseph Lentol (D-Brooklyn) are potential successors.
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