Sheldon Silver witness: There was no explicit quid pro quo
Evidence in former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's first corruption trial included this photo of Silver and Dr. Robert Taub, the government's star witness, attending an American Cancer Society fundraising dinner. Credit: U.S. Attorney’s Office
The prosecution’s star witness in the retrial of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver acknowledged Tuesday that he didn’t expect anything in return from the powerful legislator for referrals of cancer patients to a Silver-linked law firm.
Federal prosecutors allege Silver reaped more than $3 million from legal settlements and verdicts won by the Weitz & Luxenberg law firm in Manhattan on behalf of people suffering from mesothelioma, a deadly cancer. The patients were referred to the firm by Silver, who served as “of counsel” to the firm but did little work there, prosecutors said.
Silver, 74, received the patient referrals from Dr. Robert Taub, a now-retired Columbia University physician, according to the prosecution and Silver. Taub, 82, testified for the prosecution as he did at Silver’s 2015 trial.
The federal government also charges that Silver, an Albany kingmaker for nearly 21 years, caused the state to award $500,000 in research grants to Taub in return for the patient referrals.
However, under questioning by one of Silver’s attorneys in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Taub said there was no explicit quid pro quo.
“Is it fair to say you did not expect Shelly to give you anything in return” for the referrals, asked Silver lawyer Michael S. Feldberg.
“Yes, that’s fair,” Taub responded.
He also said Weitz & Luxenberg had a good track record of winning money from a federal compensation fund for mesothelioma sufferers and that his patients were not coerced into using the firm.
Feldberg said: “Did you feel your patients would be well-treated and well-represented by Weitz & Luxenberg if they were referred by Shelly?
Taub responded, “Yes.”
Later in the cross-examination, Taub said, “I didn’t have any conversation about state funding that I can recall” with Silver.
Taub, who lives in Manhattan, had initially requested $1 million from the state over four years. And the idea to ask Silver for the money came from Daniel Chill, Taub’s childhood friend, not Silver, the doctor testified.
Earlier Tuesday, prosecutor Damian Williams showed the 15-person jury an email written by Taub about his “business relationship” with Silver.
“It will probably cost us,” Taub wrote to an associate in August 2011, referring to a request for Silver’s help in securing permits for a charity run at Ground Zero. Silver “is very good at getting people to owe him. But if he says he will deliver, he does,” according to the email.
Taub said in court, “What I meant was he would expect more referrals from me” of cancer patients.
The retrial, which began Monday, is a redo of Silver’s corruption trial in 2015 and conviction in 2016. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted Silver’s appeal request in 2017 but said there were grounds for another trial.
The appeals court said Judge Valerie E. Caproni’s instructions to jurors in 2015 did not comply with a later U.S. Supreme Court decision that narrowed the acts required to convict public officials in a quid pro quo bribery scheme to formal exercises of government power, not just meetings or telephone calls.
Silver, a Democrat from lower Manhattan, has been accused of exploiting his position as one of the three most powerful people in state government to extort nearly $4 million in bribes over about 10 years. He allegedly invested the money, making an additional $1 million, according to the federal indictment.
Besides the alleged scheme involving Taub, prosecutors said Silver improperly profited from tax work performed by a second law firm in Manhattan.
Two real estate developers hired the law firm to represent them in tax challenge cases in return for Silver allegedly backing the renewal of state tax incentives for developers of large housing projects that include affordable units, according to the indictment. One of the developers is mega-landlord Glenwood Management.
Tuesday’s second witness was Victor Franco Jr., a budget expert employed by the Assembly Ways & Means Committee for 17 years. He testified about Silver’s immense power over even the smallest actions of the State Legislature’s lower chamber.
“The speaker was the ultimate decisionmaker,” Franco said, referring to Silver but refusing to say either his first or last name. In court, Silver has worn a pin with the Assembly’s official seal on his suit jacket lapel.
Franco also said Silver could unilaterally steer state money to Taub, the cancer doctor, using the controversial member-item process in which many lawmakers legally dole out grants to favorite causes. Silver determined each lawmaker’s allocation. The prosecution alleges Taub received the state grants as part of a quid pro quo with Silver.
Franco said Assembly staff knew to give Silver’s grants top priority. “I enjoy my job,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to drop an item by the speaker.”
However, under cross-examination by Silver’s attorney, Franco said Silver’s powers were derived from the state constitution and not exclusive to him.
Another Assembly employee, Steve August, is expected to testify when the retrial resumes Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.
James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.
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