On Thursday, Jan. 22, federal prosecutor Preet Bharara charged New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) with corruption, alleging that Silver had taken more than $4 million in bribes over the last 10 years.
The next day, New York public radio host Brian Lehrer sought insight into Silver’s arrest from former New York State Senator Seymour Lachman, founder and dean emeritus of Wagner College’s Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform.
Lachman is co-author of “Three Men in a Room: The Inside Story of Power and Betrayal in an American Statehouse.” Published in September 2006, “Three Men in a Room” is an insider’s exposé of how New York’s state government, one of the country’s largest and most powerful, became a model of corrupt, inefficient and undemocratic governance.
During the 11-minute WNYC interview, Senator Lachman shared with Brian Lehrer’s audience several disturbing anecdotes about attempts state government leaders had made to corrupt him during his tenure in Albany.
When Lehrer asked Lachman if he thought Silver should either resign from the Assembly or step down as speaker because of the federal corruption charges facing him, Lachman said, “I think it's a wonderful opportunity to bring reform to Albany and open up the democratic process. I ask Mr. Silver to be the lead in this.”
But, Lachman added, “There cannot be a functioning government ... if this continues to fester on.”
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LISTEN TO SENATOR LACHMAN’S INTERVIEW BELOW: