Update 1/28/2015: Sheldon Silver has resigned a Speaker of the New York State Assembly due to federal corruption charges and calls from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for his resignation.
Yesterday morning Sheldon Silver, the Democrat Speaker of the New York State Assembly since 1994 and ex officio member of the Cornell Board of Trustees, was arrested on federal corruption charges as originally reported by the New York Times.
According to the New York Post:
“Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver lined his pockets with nearly $4 million in bribes and kickbacks in a stunning abuse of power dating to at least 2000, federal authorities charged Thursday.
The Manhattan Democrat, acknowledged as the second-most powerful Democrat in the state, was hit with five felony charges involving fraud, extortion and conspiracy that each carry up to 20 years behind bars.”
Silver surrendered himself to the FBI in what was the culmination of a federal investigation that began in June 2013. The investigation was led by Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara, who has been building a name for himself as a top anti-corruption crusader. 
The New York Post reports on several “blockbuster developments” coming from the federal charges:
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“Silver was accused of collecting more than $3 million in legal fees by steering asbestos-related cancer cases from a leading Manhattan oncologist to the Weitz & Luxenberg law firm. In exchange, Silver allegedly funneled two state research grants of $250,000 each to Dr. Robert Taub, along with other official favors.
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Silver was also accused of scheming with his former Assembly counsel, Jay Arthur Goldberg, to split the fees paid to Goldberg’s tiny tax firm by two real-estate developers, including one identified by sources as Leonard Litwin, the state’s largest single political donor.
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Silver pocketed $700,000 from the scam and sold out tenants during the 2011 renewal of New York City rent regulations, the feds say.
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The feds seized $3.8 million in allegedly corrupt payments to Silver that were stashed in eight accounts spread out among six banks.”
Silver is an ex officio member of Cornell’s Board of Trustees, meaning that he holds the position by virtue of his position as speaker of the state assembly.
Just another example of corruption at the state and local levels. The fact is that state and local politics are much more corrupt than national politics. They have friends in newspapers, police departments, DA offices, etc. Silver is just another example of that.
I have always wondered why we allow any representative at the state or national level to bring in any extra income from any source. It just invites corruption.