Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Sheldon Silver Faces New Trial After Corruption Conviction Overturned

An appeals court has overturned the corruption conviction of Sheldon Silver, for decades the most powerful figure in New York State government, but prosecutors say he’ll face another trial.

Silver, who represented the Lower East Side in the New York State Assembly, faced years in prison following his 2015 conviction on corruption charges. The appeals court decision overturned the conviction based on a 2016 Supreme Court decision that changed key definitions used in the jury instructions.

“We recognize that many would view the facts adduced at Silver’s trial with distaste,” the court wrote.

In a statement, the U.S. Attorney’s office that convicted Silver said that they would seek to try him again. “Although it will be delayed, we do not expect justice to be denied,” said acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim in a statement.

The decision is a blow to the legacy of former United States Attorney Preet Bharara, whose conviction of Silver was a key achievement in his campaign against Albany corruption.

Silver was a major Jewish leader on the Lower East Side, where his conviction marked the end of an era.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected] or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

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.