Disgraced ex-state Sen. Dean Skelos is no longer seeking bail pending his appeal, which means he will go straight to jail on his scheduled surrender date of Jan. 8, his lawyers said on Monday.
Skelos, 70, was supposed to file papers by Nov. 9 requesting to remain out of prison while he appeals his conviction for corruption.
But he missed the due date, which his lawyers Monday said was not a mistake.
“Mr. Skelos chose not to pursue bail at this time, but that is no reflection on the merits of his appeal, which we remain confident about,” said lawyer Alexandra Shapiro.
That means Skelos will fight his conviction from the minimum-security prison in upstate Otisville, where he has been assigned to serve his four-year-and-three-month sentence.
Skelos and his son Adam were convicted in July for trading the power of Dean’s office in exchange for do-nothing jobs and consulting gigs for Adam.
Adam, 36, was sentenced to four years and has already said he won’t appeal.