The reversal of the 2015 fraud conviction stems from the Supreme Court overturning the conviction of former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell.
ALBANY, N.Y. — Former New York Senate Majority leader Dean Skelos will face a new trial after his felony corruption conviction and five-year prison sentence were overturned Tuesday by a federal appeals court.
A three-judge panel from the 2nd U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in favor of Skelos, a Republican from Nassau County, N.Y., and his adult son, Adam, tossing out their convictions but leaving the door open for the pair to be re-tried.
The decision Tuesday found the instructions given to the jury in the 2015 case did not line up with a 2016 Supreme Court decision, which effectively narrowed the law Skelos and his son were convicted of breaking.
Dean and Adam Skelos were originally found guilty on extortion, bribery and fraud charges, with a jury finding the elder Skelos used his influence to steer work to his son and the companies that employed him.
“Because we cannot conclude that the charging error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, we are obliged to vacate the convictions,” the judges wrote.
Tuesday’s decision was widely expected.
A similar conviction against former Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat from Manhattan, was vacated earlier this year on the same grounds. A new trial for Silver is scheduled for 2018.
Both the Skelos and Silver appeal decisions were based on a 2016 Supreme Court decision involving former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell, a Republican who was convicted of corruption-related charges.
The Supreme Court overturned McDonnell’s conviction, finding that an official must do more than just set up a meeting in order to take an “official act” that would make them guilty of accepting bribes or extorting someone.
The McDonnell decision came after Skelos and Silver’s original convictions, which were overturned because the jury instructions no longer lined up with the post-McDonnell definition of “official act.”
The appeals court’s decision Tuesday explicitly allows prosecutors to seek a new trial against Skelos, just as they did against Silver.
Prosecutors plan to re-try both cases .
“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,” Joon Kim, acting U. S. Attorney for New York’s Southern District, said in a statement.
Skelos was the Senate’s Republican leader from 2008 to 2015, holding the powerful role of majority leader for much of that time. He was first elected a senator in 1984.
He stepped down as majority leader after he was charged and was ousted from office entirely upon his December 2015 conviction.
At his first trial, prosecutors accused Skelos and his son of scheming to use Dean Skelos’ powerful position to secure more than $300,000 in work for his son from New York City real-estate developer Glenwood Management, an environmental firm with strong ties to the developer and a medical-malpractice insurer on Long Island.
Adam Skelos, however, did little work for the money, with the insurance gig amounting to a no-show job.
In a statement Tuesday, Dean Skelos’ attorney said the former senator is “grateful for the Court’s careful consideration of the issues.”
“We believe that as events unfold it is going to become clear that this is a case that never should have been brought,” said Alexandra Shapiro, the attorney.
Jon Campbell writes for the Gannett Albany (N.Y.) Bureau. Follow Campbell on Twitter: @JonCampbellGAN
