Ex-N.Y. Speaker Silver sentenced to 7 years on conviction charges

July 27 (UPI) -- A federal judge on Friday sentenced former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to seven years in prison for taking nearly $4 million in bribes, prosecutors announced.

U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni of the Southern District of New York handed down the sentence -- the second time Silver has been sentenced for the charges, which included corruption, honest services mail fraud and money laundering.

Silver, 74, was convicted of obtaining nearly $4 million in illicit payments in return for taking official actions that benefited others. Silver had obtained payments on behalf of a prominent cancer researcher, Dr. Robert Taub of Columbia University, and two real estate developers, Glenwood Management and the Witkoff Group.

In addition to trading favors with the real estate developers, it was determined that Silver found jobs for two women with whom he had extramarital affairs.

"When he assumed his powerful position at the top of New York State government, Sheldon Silver took an oath to do the work of the people," U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said. "Instead, he leveraged his tremendous influence to pad his bank account and line his pockets."

Silver's sentence comes almost exactly a year after the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan vacated his conviction over erroneous jury instructions. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in his first trial.