Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has died in federal custody.
Silver had been serving a more than six-year sentence at a Massachusetts prison for corruption charges.Silver was known for his willingness to block proposals, and was sometimes referred to as “Dr. No.”
The cause of death wasn't immediately available. Silver's supporters had said he was in failing health from multiple medical conditions. He had been serving time at a prison medical center in Massachusetts. He became Assembly speaker in 1994, a powerful position that put him on equal footing with the governor and state Senate leader when it came to making key decisions about annual budgets or major legislation.
He helped scuttle former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg's plan to locate a football stadium on Manhattan's West Side. And he took the brunt of the blame for the collapse in 2008 of Bloomberg's congestion-pricing plan for Manhattan, which would have charged electronic tolls for driving through the borough's most highly trafficked neighborhoods.
Over time, he became a symbol of Albany's much-maligned opaque style of governance and, ultimately, a target of federal prosecutors. Silver gave up his leadership position following his arrest in January 2015 and lost his legislative seat upon his first conviction that November.
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