Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Cancer Doctor Testifies About Sheldon Silver Ties at Trial

A prominent New York oncologist testified that he referred patients afflicted with a cancer caused by asbestos to a law firm affiliated with former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Dr. Robert Taub said during Silver’s corruption trial in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday that he hoped that by referring the patients, his clinic at Columbia University would get research funding for the mesothelioma disease.

Taub, who testified under a grant of immunity, acknowledged under cross-examination that he and Silver did not have “an explicit agreement to exchange patients for grants.”

Silver, 71, who is on trial on bribery, extortion and money-laundering charges, is accused of giving two $250,000 state research grants to Taub in return for patient referrals, a deal under which he made about $3 million in referral fees over 10 years through at least two dozen patients. The longtime speaker, a Manhattan Democrat, also reportedly arranged jobs for Taub’s children and helped arrange a charity event.

The lawmaker also is alleged to have orchestrated a second secret corruption scheme.

Silver earned a reputation as a powerful leader of New York Democrats during more than two decades serving as speaker of the Assembly, the lower house of the State Legislature. He resigned from the post after he was charged in January following an anti-corruption investigation launched by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2013, but remains a member of the Assembly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.