NEW YORK—U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara blamed the top echelon of Albany politicians for perpetuating a culture of corruption in New York politics, one that resulted in Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s arrest on Thursday.
During a breakfast event Friday at New York Law School, Bharara pointed to the faulty set-up of “three men in a room” that Silver, who has been charged for corruption, was a part of.
The speaker faces 100 years in prison for mail and wire fraud and extortion. And others could easily follow in his footsteps “particularly when that message is coming from the top” of doing the bare minimum to stay out of trouble with the law, said Bharara.
