Former New York state Senate leader Dean Skelos has been granted a new trial after a federal appeals court threw out his 2015 corruption conviction.
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals said Tuesday, citing a recent US Supreme Court ruling narrowing the definition of what it takes to convict a public official, that the jury in the Skelos trial was wrongly instructed.
Skelos, 69, was convicted on extortion, bribery and conspiracy charges and sentenced last year to five years in prison. The Republican has remained free on appeal.
Former New York state Senate leader Dean Skelos (left) and his son Adam (right) have been granted a new trial after a federal appeals court threw out their 2015 corruption conviction. Pictured: the father and son leave court in May 2015 after being found guilty
Dean Skelos (left) was found guilty of using his position as Senate majority leader to pressure three companies seeking his political support into paying his son Adam (right) $300,000
But the appeals court said federal prosecutors can retry Skelos and his son, Adam Skelos, who was handed a six-and-a-half-year prison term, for bribery and fraud because the evidence presented at trial was ‘sufficient’ to prove their case.
The same court overturned former state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s separate conviction in a $4million corruption case this summer on the same grounds. He’s a Democrat.
Silver and Skelos were the state’s two most powerful lawmakers, hammering out deals on the state budget and legislation.
Dean Skelos was found guilty of using his position as Senate majority leader to pressure three companies seeking his political support into paying his son $300,000, including for a lucrative ‘no-show’ job.
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals cited a recent US Supreme Court ruling that overturned the corruption conviction of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (pictured in 2014)
The same court overturned former state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s separate conviction in a $4million corruption case. Pictured: Silver exists court in May 2016
Together with Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, Skelos and Silver were members of the ‘three men in a room’ in the state capital of Albany that hold enormous sway over major legislation.
The US Supreme Court last year overturned the corruption conviction of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, finding that routine acts such as setting up meetings or contacting other politicians did not qualify as ‘official acts’ under federal bribery statutes.
The 2nd Circuit has now ruled that the jury instructions at Skelos’ trial, which occurred before the McDonnell decision, were therefore improper, through no fault of the judge or the prosecutors.
Both Skelos and Silver had been prosecuted by high-profile US attorney for Manhattan Preet Bharara, who was forced to resigned by President Donald Trump in March.