Dean Skelos' Corruption Conviction Overturned

NEW YORK CITY — A federal appeals court in Manhattan on Tuesday overturned the corruption conviction of former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, paving the way for a new trial.

Skelos, a Republican from Long Island, was convicted in 2015 of bribery, extortion and conspiracy for using his legislative power to help companies including Glenwood Management, a luxury real estate developer with buildings around New York City, in exchange for payments to his son, Adam.

Tuesday's ruling comes about two months after the same court similarly overturned the conviction of Sheldon Silver, the former Assembly speaker from the Lower East Side. Federal prosecutors plan to retry him next year.

Skelos asked the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn his conviction following last year's Supreme Court ruling in the corruption case of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, which narrowed the definition of bribery of government officials.

The appeals court's three-judge panel ruled that Dean and Adam Skelos can have a new trial because the federal jury was given some incorrect instructions in light of the McDonnell case, which came after the Skelos verdict. But the judges said the Skeloses' other objections to their convictions were "meritless."

"Senator Skelos is grateful for the Court’s careful consideration of the issues and looks forward to the next steps," Alexandra A.E. Shapiro, Dean Skelos' lawyer, 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."

Joon H. Kim, the acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said he plans to retry both Dean and Adam Skelos and expressed confidence in the strength of the case.

"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’s guilt and again give the public the justice it deserves," Kim said in a statement.

Dean Skelos and Silver's 2015 convictions saw the downfall of two of New York's most powerful lawmakers. Both served in the state Legislature for decades and held immense power over legislation and the state budget.

Glenwood Management, which runs more than two dozen ritzy housing complexes in New York, played a central role in both the Skelos and Silver cases. Skelos was accused of using his high-ranking position and influence over state legislation to secure more than $300,000 in payments for his son from Glenwood and two other companies.

Glenwood and its principal, Leonard Litwin, are among the most prodigious political donors in the state. Glenwood and Litwin have made thorough use of the so-called LLC loophole, which allows individuals to circumvent political contribution limits by giving money from several limited-liability companies.

The McDonnell case gave prosecutors a harder road to hoe in corruption cases by creating a more stringent legal definition of an "official act" that's performed in exchange for payments or gifts.

The jury in Skelos' case might have reached a different verdict if it received instructions that defined official acts in the way the McDonnell ruling requires, the appellate judges ruled Tuesday. Their decision cites the July ruling overturning Silver's conviction on similar grounds.

Good-government advocates said Skelos' victory on appeal is further proof of the need for tougher state and federal corruption laws.

"New Yorkers tired of living under the most corrupt state government in the country need to step up and demand reform in Albany," Brandon Muir, executive director of the conservative good-government group Reclaim New York, said in a statement. "And it might not hurt to send a dictionary to the Supreme Court.”

The apparent lack of political will for anti-corruption reforms aside, Citizens Union "urge(s) prosecutors to continue to be vigilant in pursuing charges against those who have shamed their public office," the group's chair, Randy Mastro, said in a statement.

Preet Bharara, the famous former U.S. attorney who first brought the case against Skelos, tweeted that the ruling was "(n)ot unexpected, but still disappointing, given there was more than enough evidence to convict as the appeals court itself found."

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated from whom Dean Skelos secured payments for his son. The more than $300,000 in payments came from Glenwood Management and two other companies, not only Glenwood Management.

(Lead image by Spencer Platt/Staff/Getty Images News)