Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver filed a Hail Mary motion Thursday to get all the corruption charges against him tossed out, but the judge overseeing his trial indicated she wouldn’t be letting him off the hook.
“Sheldon Silver respectfully moves for a judgment of acquittal on all counts of the superseding indictment,” reads the disgraced politician’s last-ditch motion.
“Despite over two weeks of testimony and numerous witnesses, the Government has not shown that Mr. Silver committed extortion, honest services fraud, or money laundering.”
Manhattan federal judge Valerie Caproni reserved judgment on Silver’s motion, but signaled with doubting questions that Silver shouldn’t expect a lifeline from her.
“He received leads that are worth lots of money. He gives grants that are worth lots of money. And as soon as it’s going to become public, the grants cease,” Caproni said, referring to Silver’s alleged asbestos-patient referral scheme.
And when Silver’s defense attorney Steven Molo argued that the grants Silver sent the doctor weren’t even very big, Caproni said, “They don’t have to be extraordinary. You can be found guilty of bribery if you give someone $1,000.”