Sheldon Silver Steps Down as New York Assembly Speaker
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New York State Assemby Speaker Sheldon Silver, who is facing corruption charges, will resign from his position.
Silver, 70, was arrested Jan. 22 for allegedly receiving payments from a law firm, Goldberg & Iryami, without properly disclosing them. The arrest stems from an anti-corruption investigation launched by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2013.
Silver will be replaced on Monday, Feb. 1 by majority leader Joseph D. Morelle, a Rochester-area assemblyman, according to the New York Times. Morelle will serve as interim speaker until elections are held on Feb. 1o.
Having served as speaker since 1994, Silver, an assemblyman from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, was one of the state’s most powerful politicians. He will not be resigning his seat in the assembly.
“I believe very deeply in the institution,” Silver said Tuesday, according to the Times. “I hope that they can have somebody here who can carry on the good work that has taken place.”
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