Dean Skelos, Former New York State Senate Leader, Sentenced To 51 Months, Son Adam Skelos Sentenced

[nitpicker]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/dean-skelos-former-new-york-state-senate-leader-sentenced-51-months-son-adam-skelos

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Dean Skelos, Former New York State Senate Leader, Sentenced To 51 Months, Son Adam Skelos Sentenced To 4 Years In Manhattan Federal Court

Robert Khuzami, Attorney for the United States, acting under authority conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515, announced today that former New York State Senate Majority Leader DEAN SKELOS was sentenced today to 51 months in prison after having been found guilty by a federal jury of using his official position to obtain more than $300,000 in bribes and extortion payments that were paid to his son, ADAM SKELOS, in exchange for DEAN SKELOS’s official acts. ADAM SKELOS, who was convicted by the same jury, was also sentenced to four years in prison. The defendants had previously been found guilty of the same offenses by a jury in December 2015, but their convictions were overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision in McDonnell v. United States. DEAN SKELOS and ADAM SKELOS were sentenced in Manhattan federal court by U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood, who also presided over both jury trials.
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In imposing today’s sentence of DEAN SKELOS, Judge Wood found that he had lied during his testimony at trial, and cited several examples of DEAN SKELOS’s dishonesties. Judge Wood increased his sentence to account for his false testimony.
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From 2011 to 2015, DEAN SKELOS served as Majority Leader and Co-Majority Leader of the New York State Senate, a position that gave him significant power over the operation of New York State government. DEAN SKELOS repeatedly used this power to pressure companies with business before New York State to make payments to his son, ADAM SKELOS, who substantially depended on these companies for his income. DEAN SKELOS and ADAM SKELOS were able to secure these illegal payments through implicit and explicit representations that DEAN SKELOS would use his official position to benefit those who made the payments, and punish those who did not. In total, DEAN SKELOS obtained over $300,000 in payments to ADAM SKELOS through persistent and repeated pressure applied to senior executives of three different companies that needed legislation passed in the New York State Senate and other official actions from DEAN SKELOS.
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