Horner: After Silver And Skelos, Ethics Reform Talk Not Enough

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Ian Pickus

Published May 13, 2016 at 9:45 AM EDT

Another once powerful figure in New York state politics was sentenced to prison yesterday after a corruption conviction. A judge sentenced former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos to five years in prison. Skelos will also be forced to pay $800,000 in restitution and fines. With former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver getting 12 years in prison on a corruption conviction earlier this month and former Senator John Sampson to be sentenced next week, good-government advocates say the time for reform is now. Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, spoke with WAMC’s Ian Pickus.

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Ian Pickus

A lifelong resident of the Capital Region, Ian joined WAMC in 2008 and became news director in 2013. He began working on Morning Edition and has produced The Capitol Connection, produced and hosted the Congressional Corner, and several other WAMC programs. Ian can also be heard as the host of the WAMC News Podcast and on The Roundtable and newscasts. Ian holds a BA in English and journalism and an MA in English, both from the University at Albany, where he has taught journalism since 2013.

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