Update 5 p.m.: A Manhattan federal court announced Tuesday that former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will spend 12 years in prison on corruption charges.
Former New York state assembly speaker Sheldon Silver will be sentenced to prison Tuesday for corruption schemes that federal officials said captured $5 million over a span of two decades.
U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni will weigh a recommendation from prosecutors that the 72-year-old Manhattan Democrat be locked up for more than 14 years, Reuters reported.
Former colleagues, constituents, and family members filed letters with Caproni on behalf of Silver, encouraging the judge to take his work with the community into account.
Silver was convicted in November on charges of "honest-services fraud, extortion, and money laundering," the Wall Street Journal reported.
Prosecutors said the former speaker coaxed real estate developers toward his law firm to net millions in referral fees, in return endorsing rent legislation supporting the company, according to Reuters. Prosecutors also said that Silver gave $500,000 in public funds to an oncologist who sent patients to his firm.
"Silver exploited the vast political power entrusted in him by the public to serve himself," prosecutors wrote. They added that Silver’s prominence in the New York assembly led a generation of state legislatures to serve "in an institution framed by his corrupt example."
Federal law requires that judges take into account the defendant’s "history and characteristics" along with the offense when issuing sentences, according to WSJ.
Defense lawyers have pressed for "rigorous community service" under a softer sentence. They have also underscored his prostate cancer diagnosis and recurring knee problems in a plea for leniency.
In an apology letter to Caproni, Silver said he "failed the people of New York."
"There is no question about it," he said.