Silver Scandal Shakes Statehouse

The arrest of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on corruption charges on Thursday morning rattled the Albany establishment, prompting the Assembly to cancel a scheduled session and sending legislators into confusion over the future of their chamber.

Members of the Assembly Democratic Conference called a private meeting and emerged as a group to declare they would stand firmly behind Silver. Majority Leader Joe Morelle said he had not read the charges against Silver, who is accused of orchestrating a scheme to collect kickbacks for years. But Morelle said he believes Silver is innocent until proven otherwise in court.

Democratic Assemblyman Charles Barron stood alone at the Capitol — literally — in calling for Silver to step down. Several Republicans also said they did not believe Silver could be effective given the seriousness of the charges filed by the U. S. Attorney's Office.

Silver is expected to report to work in the Capitol on Monday.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, who created a commission to fight corruption, then abruptly shut it down last year, did not publicly respond to the allegations against Silver, but he spoke to the Daily News Editorial Board about it on Thursday.

"Obviously it's bad for the speaker, but it's also a bad reflection on government and it adds to the negativity," Cuomo told the Daily News. He did not call for Silver to resign.