Silver Is Found Guilty On All Charges

Statement

Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney (R,C--New Hartford) and candidate for Congress in New York's 22nd Congressional District, expressed relief that former Speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver was found guilty on federal corruption charges.

"Silver used his Assembly position to take advantage of the people of New York and steal millions from taxpayers by lying and violating our ethics rules. Under Silver's power, business as usual in Albany was synonymous with secrecy, bribery, cronyism, backroom deals and three men in a room. I am relieved that he will no longer be a member of the Assembly. The hard-working taxpayers of New York can breathe a sigh of relief that his criminal behavior will not tolerated by our justice system," said Tenney.

Tenney was the first elected official to demand Silver's resignation in 2012 after it emerged that Silver used tax-payer money to cover up the payoff of sexual harassment victims. Tenney renewed her call once Silver was arrested by federal authorities and demanded that the governor and entire legislature join her in calling for Silver to step down.

"The end of the Silver-era is here and we must take this opportunity to once again value honorable service on behalf of the people we represent," said Tenney. Tenney has put forward numerous proposals which would reform the Assembly ethics rules. "I have continuously fought for reforms to our ethics rules and have sponsored a number of bills that would empower individual members, strengthen the committee process and hold legislators accountable; however, the Assembly continues to ignore these needed changes. We must enact serious reforms to finally restore the public's trust," concluded Tenney.

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