Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara wants convicted ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to be a real record breaker.
In a court filing Wednesday, Bharara and his prosecutors asked a federal judge to give Silver a jail term greater than any New York state legislator has ever received, saying his crimes were among the worst ever committed.
“Silver’s offenses indisputably were among the most serious of public corruption crimes in New York and elsewhere,” the feds wrote Manhattan federal
Judge Valerie Caproni ahead of the May 3 sentencing.
“In light of the egregiousness of Silver’s conduct and the need for deterrence, the court should sentence the defendant to a term of imprisonment substantially in excess of the 10 years recommended by the Probation Office and greater than any sentence imposed on other New York State legislators convicted of public corruption offenses,” they wrote.
If the feds gets their way, the fallen power broker will be facing at least 15 years behind bars as ex-Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. received 14 years last year — the highest so far for a New York state legislator.
The government also wants Silver to forfeit “all of his crime proceeds,” which they calculate at $5.2 million, and pay a fine of at least $1 million.
Silver, 72, long one of the Empire State’s most powerful and feared politicians, is seeking leniency due in part to his advanced age and failing health, including prostate cancer. Silver’s lawyers, in a separate filing Wednesday, also cited his “lifetime of achievements” and good works, including his advocacy on behalf of women.
In a letter filed on Wednesday, Silver offered an apology, saying he “failed the people of New York”
“What I have done has hurt the Assembly, and New York, and my constituents terribly,” he wrote. “I regret that more than I can possibly express.”
But the feds argued that Silver’s character is in question even beyond his crimes, citing the favors he gave to women “with whom he had extramarital relationships.”
One of the women, who The Post has identified as Janele Hyer-Spencer, received an $84,000 job with the state Education Department, sources have told The Post.
The other woman, who The Post has learned was lobbyist Patricia Lynch, received “preferential private access” to the powerful pol, prosecutors said.
Silver was found guilty in November of extortion and money-laundering after a jury found that he had traded political favors for more than a decade to enrich himself with millions in bribes and kickbacks.
He was found guilty, among other things, of using his position as Speaker of the New York State Assembly to get real estate developers to send their business to a law firm that was, in turn, paying him hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Silver, who gets more than $70,000 per year in pension money paid for by NY taxpayers, is disputing the amount of his ill-gotten gains.