Solo, silent and shoved. That’s how former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver arrived for his sentencing in Federal District Court this afternoon.
Silver headed in through an alley, looking for a side door and trying to evade the horde of photographers awaiting him. He made it to within about 40 feet of the door before being besieged, trying his best to continue to move. He did not speak, pausing briefly as his hat was knocked out of his hand. A hard glance and a quick grab got him his hat back and, with a push from a U.S. Marshal, he stepped inside and headed to hear his sentence.
His departure was even more tumultuous. Silver and his lawyers emerged from that same side door into a pack of dozens of reporters, photographers and videographers, speaking very briefly. As the press pack pulsed around Silver and his lawyers an intra-press argument erupted and Team Silver headed toward Centre Street, about 75 yards away. A half dozen U.S. Marshals barked commands and pushed the unruly press pack as Silver shuffled along, both a captive of the pack and its focus, his usual inscrutable expressions particularly useful for this short journey.
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