Guilty Legislators Might Benefit From SCOTUS Corruption Ruling

The Supreme Court’s recent ruling, reversing the public corruption charges against former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell, should not allow two convicted legislators to walk free pending their appeals, federal prosecutors say. Former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and ex-Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos last year were convicted of public corruption charges, and lawyers for each have asked that they be allowed to remain free while their cases are appealed. “McDonnell will not save Silver on appeal, nor should it entitle him to bail pending appeal,” prosecutors wrote. Silver was convicted of collecting $4 million in kickbacks from a cancer researcher and real estate developers, and Skelos was convicted of strong-arming a major real estate developer, an environmental technology company and a medical malpractice insurer, into giving his son around $300,000.