Opinion

Shelly the 1 percenter

Turns out Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is a member of the 1 Percent.

For years, Silver has refused to disclose his earnings from the Weitz & Luxenberg law firm. But newly required disclosure forms listing the outside income of legislators give a window into Shelly’s wealth.

The forms show that his income last year from the tort-law powerhouse was between $350,000 and $450,000. That’s on top of his $121,000 legislative salary. Not to mention the money he earned from a separate business founded by his partners that paid him between $100,000 and $150,000 in interest. Or the six-figure payout he earned in dividends from his stock holdings.

It’s all perfectly legal. And he’s hardly the only Albany pol who makes more on the side than he does from the day job. Look at Dean Skelos on the Republican side, who earns more from Ruskin Moscou Faltischek than he does as a state senator.

We don’t begrudge a man getting rich. But it does make one wonder about loyalties. Over the years, for example, Shelly has killed any attempt at tort reform, which would cut into his firm’s earnings. The Post has also reported how Shelly is leading the legislative fight against fracking even as Weitz & Luxenberg is drumming up lawsuits against the practice in other states.

There are other illuminating connections. Shelly named firm founder Arthur Luxenberg to a judicial-screening commission, giving him the power to help name judges who will preside over and review W&L’s multimillion-dollar awards. And The Post has reported how three upstate counties, which rely on Silver for funding, hired W&L to help recover allegedly overbilled Medicaid funds.

Again, none of this violates any laws. But it does suggest that those in the Occupy movement who railed about how Wall Street allegedly rigs markets might want to go to Albany and see how the pros do it.