Benjamin Weiser and Susanne Craig are reporting in The New York Times former Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver, was found guilty, Mon., Nov. 30, of federal corruption charges by a jury in Manhattan. Silver held a vice grip on power for decades as one of the most feared politicians in New York state. Silver, 71, a Manhattan Democrat, was convicted on charges of honest services fraud, extortion and money laundering. He obtained nearly $4 million in exchange for using his position to help benefit a cancer researcher and two real estate developers. As a result of the conviction, Silver must automatically forfeit the Assembly seat he has held for nearly 40 years. Steven F. Molo, one of Silver’s attorneys, said the defense was “obviously disappointed in the verdict." He said post-trial motions would be filed to set the verdict aside. Reporters mobbed Silver as he left the courthouse. Asked by one reporter what he would say to constituents who supported him over the years, he responded, “Thank you.” Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, in a statement released after the verdict said, “Today, Sheldon Silver got justice, and at long last, so did the people of New York.” Read the full story in The New York Times.