Sheldon Silver, a former longtime speaker for the New York State Assembly and a legendary Albany power broker, has died in the federal prison where he was serving a six-and-a-half-year sentence for his conviction on corruption charges, the Associated Press reports. He was 77.
The AP reported that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons confirmed Silver’s death and that an official cause of death would need to be determined by a medical examiner. Supporters said the disgraced lawmaker had been in failing health. Prior to his final sentencing, Silver told a federal judge that he feared he would die behind bars.
