Dean Skelos corruption conviction overturned

Janelle Clausen
Former state Sen. Dean Skelos, who was convicted of corruption charges in 2015, has been released from prison after testing positive for the coronavirus. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

A federal appeals court overturned the 2015 corruption convictions of Dean Skelos, the former Republican majority leader of the state Senate, and his son, Adam, on Tuesday.

The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit cited a U.S. Supreme Court case involving former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, which narrowed the definition of an “official act” and what constitutes corruption. Because of this, the court said that jurors in the Skelos case were not instructed properly.

“Because we cannot conclude that the charging error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, we are obliged to vacate the convictions,” the decision said.

Skelos’ defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro applauded the decision.

“Senator Skelos is grateful for the Court’s careful consideration of the issues and looks forward to the next steps,” Shapiro said in a statement. “We believe that as events unfold it is going to become clear that this is a case that never should have been brought.”

Prosecutors, meanwhile, said they intend to retry the Skeloses.

“While we are disappointed in the decision and will weigh our appellate options, we look forward to a prompt retrial where we will have another opportunity to present the overwhelming evidence of Dean Skelos’ and Adam Skelos’ guilt and again give the public the justice it deserves,” acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said in a statement.

The appeals court said the evidence in the case was adequate “to allow a correctly charged jury” to return a guilty verdict.

The decision follows another one by an appellate panel vacating the conviction of Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who was initially convicted in November 2015 for federal corruption. That decision also cited the Supreme Court’s decision, which was handed down in 2016 after the Skelos and Silver trials.

Skelos and his son were convicted in December 2015 of bribery, extortion and conspiracy. Dean Skelos and Adam were accused of using the former’s political power and influence to secure more than $300,000 in payments for Adam from Glenwood Management, a New Hyde Park real estate development company, Physicians’ Reciprocal Insurers in Roslyn and Arizona-based environmental technology firm AbTech Industries.

Glenwood, its limited-liability subsidiaries and principal Leonard Litwin, who died at 102 this year, had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Skelos’ political campaigns.

The three firms’ executives testified that they feared retribution from Skelos, with his significant influence on laws the companies depended on, if they did not pay his son.

“The threat was if this was going to create a problem, I didn’t want that to get in the way of legislation not passing,” Physicians’ Recriprocal CEO Anthony Bonomo testified on Dec. 3, 2015.

Prosecutors also said that Skelos helped AbTech Industries, where his son secured a paycheck, get a $12 million Nassau County contract.

Following the initial decision, the Nassau County district attorney’s office launched a review of Nassau County’s contracting practices and recommended installing an independent inspector general and better conflict-checking procedures.

“The Second Circuit’s order should not detract from the continuing need to embrace comprehensive and meaningful reforms to fortify our government contracting processes from manipulation, self-dealing and pay-to-play corruption,” Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a statement.

The candidates for county executive also weighed in.

“The legal system should be fair, impartial and thorough. Today’s ruling by the Circuit Court of Appeals is one step in that process, and our collective hope should be that justice is ultimately served,” Jack Martins, a Republican former state senator, said in a statement.

“Regardless of the final outcome of this case, or, prospectively, the trial of County Executive Ed Mangano, I am committed to implementing a zero tolerance policy for corruption or even the appearance of impropriety in Nassau County,” Martins added.

Martins has been among the legislators calling for Republican County Executive Ed Mangano, who faces charges of extortion, bribery and conspiracy, to resign.

But while Skelos was facing corruption charges, Martins defended him for a time.

In May 2015 in the state Senate, Democrats sought to suspend Senate rules to permit a vote to remove Skelos as leader, The New York Times reported.

Martins was presiding over the Senate when Democrats staged a dramatic attempt to force a vote to oust Skelos.

Martins denied the vote on procedural grounds — over the shouts of state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), whose microphone was eventually shut off.

During the heated exchange, Gianaris told Martins he “cannot single-handedly make up the rules of this Senate.” Martins said the Democrats’ motion was incorrectly filed and called Gianaris “out of line.”

The Democrats then walked out, in what The Times called “an oddity that might occur only in Albany.”

Martins also signed a statement from 16 state senators saying Skelos should remain in power.

Martins told the Daily News at the time that Republicans should not move to replace Skelos because “I don’t think he’s let anybody down.”

Laura Curran, the Democrats’ nominee for county executive, said she was “disappointed” in the decision to overturn the conviction, “despite the Court’s finding there was sufficient evidence to convict.”

“The decision doesn’t change the fact that Skelos ripped off taxpayers for his personal gain and aided and abetted the culture of corruption we see running rampant in Nassau County,” Curran said. “Corrupt career politicians like Dean Skelos are the reason all of us are forced to pay a corruption tax to support their illicit behavior. We deserve better from our elected officials.”

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