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 A federal jury in Manhattan found Silver, 71, guilty of all seven
counts he faced, including fraud, extortion and money laundering,
following a three-week trial.
The verdict caps a stunning fall for Silver, a Democrat who as
speaker of the New York State Assembly enjoyed immense political
influence before his arrest in January.
It also represents a victory for Preet Bharara, the top federal
prosecutor in Manhattan, who has brought criminal charges against
several lawmakers in a broader probe into corruption in Albany, the
state capital.
Among those legislators is former Senate Majority Leader Dean
Skelos, a Republican, who is currently on trial for corruption.
As the leaders of New York's two legislative houses, Silver and
Skelos comprised two-thirds of the "three men in a room," who
together with the governor control important legislation under New
York's governance system.
 Both Silver and Skelos resigned their leadership posts after their
arrests but kept their seats. Silver, who represented Manhattan's
Lower East Side, will automatically lose his office after his
conviction.
"Today, Sheldon Silver got justice, and at long last, so did the
people of New York," said Bharara, who was in court to hear the
verdict.
Hours after the verdict, Silver left the courthouse amid a throng of
reporters, saying, "I'm disappointed right now," before leaving in a
black car.
One of Silver's defense lawyers, Steven Molo, said they would file
motions seeking to set aside the verdict. Silver's lawyers had
accused Bharara of overreaching by trying to criminalize the
horse-trading that typifies Albany politics.
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"With the allegations proven, it is time for the Legislature to take
seriously the need for reform," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said
in a statement.
Prosecutors said Silver awarded $500,000 in secret state grant money
to a cancer researcher, Robert Taub, who in turn referred asbestos
patients to Silver's law firm. The firm then paid Silver millions of
dollars in referral fees.
Silver was also charged with steering developers to another law firm
in exchange for kickbacks and then supporting rent legislation
favored by the developers.
Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause in New York, a good
government group, said: "This jury is saying that self-dealing and
back-scratching is not an acceptable way for a public servant to
behave."
(Reporting by Nate Raymond and Joseph Ax; Additional reporting by
Brendan Pierson; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Jonathan Oatis,
Grant McCool and Leslie Adler)
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