‘HONEST’ GAL: Insiders say it’s highly unlikely Sheldon Silver aide Judy Rapfogel knew of hubby William’s (above) alleged kickbacks.
‘HONEST’ GAL: Insiders say it’s highly unlikely Sheldon Silver (above) aide Judy Rapfogel knew of hubby William’s alleged kickbacks.
‘HONEST’ GAL: Insiders say it’s highly unlikely Sheldon Silver aide Judy Rapfogel knew of hubby William’s (far left) alleged kickbacks. (
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She’s not staff, she’s family.
For 37 years, Judy Rapfogel has been at Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s side. Now, as her husband potentially faces jail, Silver has her back.
Those close to the state’s second-most powerful politician say the speaker has no intention of dumping his longtime chief of staff because a criminal investigation involving alleged kickbacks has enveloped her husband and a nonprofit he ran that received millions of dollars in grants from Albany.
Often described as the quintessential Jewish grandmother, Rapfogel, 58, has long controlled who has access to Silver from behind the scenes.
“She’s not an issues adviser, she doesn’t get involved in negotiating the budget, but she’s like the gatekeeper. If you want to talk to Shelly about something, you have to go through her,” said one political operative.
Like Silver, Rapfogel is an Orthodox Jew who lives in a building near his on Grand Street on the Lower East Side. She started as a campaign volunteer and has been with Silver ever since.
“She’s been his alter ego for as long as anyone can remember,” said another Albany insider, noting that her gregarious personality has been a good offset to the monotone and unexcitable Silver.
While Silver can come across as aloof, she is warm.
“She knows the district inside and out and knows what is important to Shelly,” the operative said.
Her close ties to Silver are now under a microscope after her husband, William Rapfogel — whom Silver used to coach in a youth basketball league — was fired last week as CEO of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty.
He apologized without specifying what he did wrong.
Investigators said Rapfogel bought insurance policies for the Met Council at inflated prices and pocketed some of the excess funds as kickbacks, while directing other funds from the insurer to political campaigns.
In 2006, when the Met Council received $1 million in Assembly funds, William Rapfogel said his wife “disqualifies herself in terms of any discussion that relates to the organization.”
Many who have worked with her over the years believe it.
“No one thinks Judy had any idea about this,” said the city political operative. “She’s too cautious, too smart, and too honest, frankly.”