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Ex-NY Assembly speaker to be sentenced

Posted at 7:58 AM, May 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-03 12:57:14-04

Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will learn his fate following his November conviction in a $5 million corruption case.

Judge Valerie Caproni is scheduled to sentence the Manhattan Democrat on Tuesday.

The government has asked that he serve substantially more than a decade in prison. Prosecutors also want the judge to fine him $1 million. They cite the more than $2 million in assets he has and the fact that he will receive $70,000 in pension for the rest of his life.

The 72-year-old disbarred lawyer was a power broker in the assembly for more than two decades.

In a letter to the judge, he sought leniency, citing his good deeds. He also acknowledged that he "failed" the people of New York and hurt his constituents "terribly."