Disgraced former top state pol Sheldon Silver will be hauled before a Manhattan judge Monday to be re-sentenced in a $4 million bribery scheme.
Lawyers for the convicted 76-year-old ex-Assembly speaker tried to convince a federal judge last week to allow him to appear by video feed for his sentencing because of the coronavirus, but the jurist balked.
“The Courthouse has reopened to the public and implemented screening at entry, mask and social-distancing requirements, and sanitation protocols, among other precautions,” federal Judge Valerie Caproni wrote in her ruling.
“This Court is currently holding in-person proceedings where those measures are all observed. Accordingly, it is the Court’s preference to conduct Mr. Silver’s re-sentencing at the Courthouse.”
The shamed elderly con refused to comment to The Post on Sunday as he hopped in his car dressed in a blue polo shirt and wearing a mask outside his Grand Street home in Lower Manhattan.
Silver was convicted in 2015 of misusing his powerful position to rake in bribes and sentenced to seven years behind bars. He remained free on appeal, and the verdict was tossed on a technicality.
He was then retried in 2018 and convicted again. He appealed and won somewhat, with a few of the counts tossed. But he still faces sentencing on the remaining counts.
Prosecutors have said Silver still deserves the seven-year sentence, while he says he should not be serve any time in prison, given his age and the health risks associated with COVID-19.