Goodell: Silver's Prison Sentence Is Fair and Reasonable
5/5/2016 5:50:52 PM
By Greg Larson
Chautauqua County's representative in the state Assembly says the 12-year prison sentence handed down to former Speaker Sheldon Silver is "fair and reasonable." Those are the feelings of Republican lawmaker Andrew Goodell, who says his Democratic colleagues feel the term handed down a Manhattan federal court was too stiff. But at the same time, Goodell says most everyone knew Silver was up to no good...
Andrew Goodell on Silver sentence
Goodell says Albany insiders basically knew that Silver was receiving kickbacks for his influence that added up to "hundreds of thousands of dollars" over a long period of time. Given that fact, Goodell feels the sentence is just. At the same time, he says Silver should have to forfeit his full New York state pension, which he is still receiving. That's because both the Assembly and state Senate have not approved the same bill to take those away...
Andrew Goodell: lack of effort for reforms
Goodell says last year, each passed a pension forfeiture bill. However, the language was not exactly the same in each one, so they had to be reconcilled, but that never happened. The local Republican says he will continue to push for that.