Crooked former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been ordered back to prison just two days after he was released early less than a year into his 6.5-year sentence for corruption.
Silver, 77, was released Tuesday on furlough while awaiting a decision over whether he could serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement.
A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he will now be returned to federal prison after federal authorities denied his request.
Silver had been locked up in Otisville prison in Orange County, New York, over a corruption scheme where he took $800,000 in payments from real estate developers dating back as far as 2005.
As one of the most powerful state officials in New York, he avoided prison for many years before he was finally put away for his crimes last August.
Crooked former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (pictured in July leaving US District Court in New York after his sentencing) has been ordered back to prison just two days after he was released early less than a year into his 6.5-year sentence for corruption
Sources told NBC New York, Silver could be back behind bars as soon as Thursday afternoon.
His return to prison comes after the US attorney's office in Manhattan, which prosecuted Silver's case, said it had notified the Bureau of Prisons that it had opposed Silver's release.
Other New Yorkers also blasted his early release this week.
Nick Langworthy, the New York State Republican Chairman, called it a 'gross miscarriage of justice and slap in the face to every New Yorker.'
'He abused his power to personally profit to the tune of $4 million,' Langworthy said Tuesday.
'New Yorkers need to send a message that they are fed up with corrupt politicians escaping accountability while taxpayers are left holding the bag.'
Meanwhile, Guardian Angels' Curtis Sliwa was seen putting up posters reading 'Send him back to Jail' at Silver's apartment building.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons didn't provide details or a reason for Silver's transfer out of prison earlier this week.
A spokesperson had told The New York Post Silver was still 'designated' to Otisville Prison, but added that it has the power to transfer inmates to their homes on furlough.
'We can share that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has authority to transfer inmates to their home on furlough for periods of time while they may continue to be considered for home confinement designation,' a spokesperson said in a statement.
Congress gave the Justice Department expanded powers during the coronavirus pandemic to release inmates on furlough and home confinement to prevent them from catching the virus behind bars.
Silver's supporters have said he is in failing health and suffering from multiple medical conditions that make him more vulnerable to the virus.
Guardian Angels' Curtis Sliwa arrives to the doorstep of Sheldon Silver's New York City home and puts up posters of 'Send him back to Jail'
Sliwa put up the posters calling for Silver to be returned to federal prison this week
He was pictured being pushed in a wheelchair into his Manhattan apartment Tuesday afternoon, accompanied by his wife Rosa Mandelkern and Rabbi Akiva Homnick.
Homnick said he was focusing on Silver's health and would not answer other questions about his return to prison Thursday.
Homnick said earlier this week that the 77-year-old had 'serious' ongoing health issues.
'At this time the family is asking for privacy to deal with Mr. Silver's medical issues which he has some serious ones that are ongoing,' Homnick told City & State.
'He's expected home momentarily.'
Silver, a Democrat from Manhattan, was once one of the three most powerful state officials in New York.
He was first voted into the Assembly in 1977 before leading it for more than two decades before his abrupt ouster in 2015 after the corruption allegations emerged.
He was ultimately convicted in a scheme that involved a type of illegal back-scratching that has long plagued Albany.
Silver leaving federal court in New York in May 2018 over his corruption case
He was released Tuesday on furlough while awaiting a decision over whether he could serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement
He supported legislation that benefited real estate developers he knew. In return, they referred tax business to a law firm that employed Silver, which then paid him fees.
Appeals kept Silver out of prison for years. His initial 2015 conviction was overturned on appeal before he was convicted again in 2018.
Part of that conviction was then tossed out on another appeal, leading to yet another sentencing in July.
At his sentencing, Silver's lawyers had begged the court to allow him to serve his sentence under home confinement, rather than at a prison, because of the danger of contracting a fatal case of COVID-19. A judge turned him down.
The Bureau of Prisons moved more than 7,000 federal inmates to home confinement, according to Bureau of Prisons statistics obtained by ABC. The agency released nearly 25,000 prisoners to their homes since last March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the bureau's guidelines, priority for home confinement is supposed to be given to those inmates who have served half of their sentence or inmates with 18 months or less left and who served at least 25 per cent of their time, ABC reported.
But the bureau has discretion about who can be released.
Silver had been locked up in Otisville prison in Orange County, New York, (above) over a corruption scheme where he took $800,000 in payments from real estate developers dating back as far as 2005
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