Sheldon Silver Begins Prison Sentence In Corruption Case

NEW YORK (AP) — Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has started his prison sentence.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons says the 76-year-old reported to a federal prison on Wednesday in Otisville, New York after he was sentenced earlier this year to 6 1/2 years behind bars in a corruption case that toppled his longtime position as one of the most powerful politicians in the state.

Messages were left on Tuesday seeking comment from Silver’s lawyers on the surrender.

The Democrat was ousted as speaker in 2015 and convicted later that year, but appeals had kept him out of prison.

In the part of the case that survived the appeal process, Silver was convicted in a scheme that involved favors and business traded between two real estate developers and a law firm.