Ex-NY Senate leader Skelos, son found guilty in corruption case

[December 12, 2015]  By Nate Raymond and Joseph Ax
 
 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former New York Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos was found guilty of bribery and extortion on Friday, the second state legislative leader convicted of corruption in as many weeks.

A federal jury in New York found Skelos, 67, and his son, Adam Skelos, 33, guilty on eight counts each, including fraud and bribery charges.

Prosecutors accused Dean Skelos of strong-arming three companies with business before the legislature into paying his son hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for his political support.

His conviction comes less than two weeks after former state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was found guilty of bribery and extortion at his own corruption trial.

As leaders of the state's two legislative houses, the Democrat Silver and the Republican Skelos were two-thirds of the "three men in a room," along with the governor, who exercise vast power over key legislation.
 

The twin convictions are a major victory for Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, who continues to pursue a wide-ranging corruption investigation into New York politics.

More than 30 legislators have been forced from office for criminal or ethical issues since 2000.

"The swift convictions of Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos beg an important question – how many prosecutions will it take before Albany gives the people of New York the honest government they deserve?" Bharara said in a statement.

In a statement, Governor Andrew Cuomo said the convictions "should be a wakeup call for the legislature."

Robert Gage, a lawyer for Dean Skelos, said they were disappointed and would "vigorously" pursue post-trial motions to overturn the verdict.

U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood set sentencing for March 3.

Prosecutors said Dean Skelos coerced three companies into giving his son payments and a "no-show" job worth about $300,000, using the implied threat of withdrawing his political support.

Company representatives testified under nonprosecution agreements, telling jurors they made the payments to ensure Dean Skelos did not torpedo key bills in Albany that would harm their business.

Defense lawyers argued that Dean Skelos was simply trying to help his son and never took any official action in return.

The jury forewoman, Cynthia Nehlsen, said there was no split among the jury during their deliberations, which lasted just over a day.

"The state gave a great timeline for us," she said. "They did a great job."

(Reporting by Nate Raymond and Joseph Ax; Additional reporting by Brendan Pierson; Editing by G Crosse and James Dalgleish)

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