Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s political career came to an immediate crashing end with his conviction on Monday.
By law, Silver was automatically expelled from his 65th Assembly District seat upon the Manhattan federal jury’s guilty verdict.
And it took only moments after that for his state government site to be scrubbed of any mention of his nearly 40 years in office, including 21 as speaker.
Assembly staffers also wasted no time taking down his nameplate from his office in the Legislative Office Building as Silver’s aides huddled behind closed doors.
“All counts,” muttered one Silver staffer, incredulously. Others declined to comment.
Another nameplate remained in front of his empty leather seat and wooden desk in the Assembly chambers — about the only sign left in the Capitol of his storied but deeply tarnished career.
“Today, justice was served. Corruption was discovered, investigated and prosecuted, and the jury has spoken,” Gov. Cuomo said in a statement. “With the allegations proven, it is time for the Legislature to take seriously the need for reform. There will be zero tolerance for the violation of the public trust in New York.”
Cuomo will likely set a date for a special election to fill Silver’s Lower East Side seat, with the 65th District Democratic County Committee taking a leading role in naming a candidate.
Others could challenge the winner of the special election in a September primary, but the party’s candidate would have an edge.
The fate of Silver’s staffers, meanwhile, was not immediately clear, although as state employees, they are not necessarily out the door with their former boss.
Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), who replaced Silver after his January arrest, can decide which staffers stay and which are let go.
Silver’s former top spokesman, Michael Whyland, who was a witness in the federal case against his now ex-boss, was nowhere to be found.
Whyland and several other top Silver staffers had already transferred to Heastie’s team, maintaining their positions.
Others could take other positions with the Assembly or another branch of state government and maintain their seniority.
Meanwhile, reaction poured in from other politicians and good-government groups.
Heastie said he was “deeply saddened” by the news but vowed to work to clean up Albany. “We will continue to work to root out corruption and demand more of elected officials when it comes to ethical conduct,” he said, citing the creation of the Assembly Office of Ethics and Compliance, tougher financial-disclosure requirements, and limits on the use of campaign funds.
The New York Public Interest Research Group said in a statement, “A political earthquake has hit Albany. This is a stinging rebuke to the ‘Albany business as usual’ defense and a clarion call to clean up state ethics.”
Paul Newell, the Democratic district leader in Silver’s downtown district, who is widely viewed as a candidate for the seat, said “Today’s verdict proves it is up to us to reclaim our government.”