May 4, 2021
Former New York politician Sheldon Silver is out of prison.
The once powerful State Assembly Speaker was released from an upstate New York prison and is now reportedly headed home, five years prior to his scheduled release date. The 77-year-old was convicted of corruption and will spend the remainder of his sentence in home confinement, with Yeshiva World News reporting his early release is due to the U.S. government's CARES Act. That bill, which was passed to provide help for millions struggling during the pandemic, included a mandate to decrease federal incarceration in order to stop the spread of COVID-19.