Editorial: Is Silver's conviction a turning point?

The evaporation of Sheldon Silver's career and steely public persona — decades of political power turning to dust like at the end of a fable — feels like a turning point for New York. He was the embodiment of why people hate government, Albany in particular. He collected, wielded and re-arranged power like a dark wizard. Legislators feared him, knowing that a false move could ruin them. Silver's stoic visage and casual stroll seemed to say: "This is my show. Out of my way."

That Shelly Silver was corrupt has surprised few. But his conviction Monday on all seven corruption charges he faced has given New Yorkers a new faith that crime may not pay in Albany, after all. If Silver can go down, anyone can. In fact, former Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos, now standing trial, may soon be next. Energized legislators and good-government groups are rushing forward with proposals for ethics reform.

Kudos to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who has now become a household name, for successfully slaying Silver. He is now charging after Skelos, unafraid to face down the Capitol's culture of corruption.

But is this an actual turning point — or a feel-good moment that will turn out to be a mirage? Yes, Albany has disappointed before.

So much will depend, of course, on Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the new cast members of Albany's dark comedy, "Three Men in a Room," Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Silver's successor. Heastie has shown little interest in ethics reform. During a recent visit to New Rochelle, Heastie sadly suggested that the state of corruption in New York was over-stated by the media. We hope that reactions to the Silver conviction will make him think again.

Cuomo's response has been tepid and not reflective of the tremendous interest in Silver's fall. He reacted by praising recent reforms, including the notable achievement of lawmakers having to disclose outside sources of income.

It's not enough.

As we have said before, Cuomo and the Legislature need to close a flaming loophole that allows lawmakers to take vast donations through limited liability companies — known as LLCs. Corporations seeking influence in Albany can easily set up LLCs, which are considered to be individuals rather than corporations when it comes to campaign donations. Both Silver and Skelos owe their downfalls, in part, to money that flowed to them from LLCs, which can donate up to $150,000 in a calendar year. Corporations are capped at $5,000 a year. Big difference.

Cuomo has supported closing the LLC loophole. Now is the time.

At the same time, lawmakers must pass greater restrictions on their own outside income. There are growing calls for a full-time Legislature with full-time salaries and a ban on outside income.

Cuomo says he's "intrigued" by calls for a full-time Legislature: “Where legislators get into trouble, it’s always the same thing: It’s in their outside income, and are they getting paid as a legislator or are they getting paid as an attorney or as a dentist or a consultant?”

State Sen. David Carlucci, D-New City, who at 34 is one of the state's youngest legislators, told the Editorial Board that he would support a ban on outside employment for lawmakers. He suggested that an outside commission be charged with setting new wages.

"I would like a system that is cut and dry and black and white," Carlucci said Thursday. "That will eliminate conflicts of interest and restore the public's trust in government."

Earlier this year, the Senate Democratic Conference, led by by Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers, released a comprehensive legislative package on ethics that would: close the LLC loophole; restrict outside income to 15 percent of gross salary; require additional financial disclosures; strengthen regulations for use of campaign funds; retroactively strip pensions from state or local officials convicted of a corruption-related felony (through a constitutional amendment); and more.

"I urge the Senate Republicans to end their opposition to cleaning up Albany," Stewart-Cousins said.

It was hard not to laugh when a national report last month gave New York a D– for transparency and accountability. Nearly 40 state legislators have faced ethical or legal charges since 2000, a record that would make Tony Soprano proud. But New York's record is just not funny.

There may not be a more opportune time for Albany to deliver tougher ethics laws that New Yorkers can believe in. It's time for Cuomo, Flanagan and Heastie to open their "room" instead of setting the state's entire agenda behind closed doors.

Will Albany operate differently in the future? Or will Silver's downfall serve only as a measuring stick for the ethical lapses of future lawmakers of the Empire State?