ALBANY — It took longer than they hoped — but for two former female legislative staffers, Sheldon Silver’s expulsion from the Assembly is justice served.
Elizabeth Crothers, who accused Silver’s legislative counsel in 2001 of raping her, and Chloe Rivera, who claimed Silver didn’t take sexual harassment claims seriously enough, spoke to the News Tuesday about Silver’s conviction on seven federal corruption charges.
“I’m satisfied he has been convicted of something,” Rivera said. “I don’t feel justice has been served for all the crimes he committed , including the mishandling of any sexual harassment cases.”
Rivera said Silver should have been booted as the powerful Assembly speaker long before she joined the Legislature in 2012 for his track record on sexual assault and harassment cases.
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Rivera was one of two victims in 2012 who claimed they were sexually harassed by their boss, the now late Assemblyman Vito Lopez. The two women sued Silver and the Assembly claiming they failed to take action that would have protected them after two previous women accused Lopez of harassment. Rivera and the other woman ultimately agreed to a $545,000 settlement.
“(Silver) has shown complete disregard and even contempt for ethics in how he acted as speaker,” Rivera said. “I don’t feel vindicated in my own case, but I am happy that he’s being held accountable for something because every other time he has done something, he has gotten away with it. He’s been untouchable.”
Like Rivera, Crothers — who had accused Silver of siding with his counsel, Michael Boxley, over her rape claims — praised U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for taking Silver down.
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“Someone actually accomplished something whereas I felt a bit impotent,” Crothers said. “No one was able to touch him and finally someone did.”
She said she hopes the conviction will give those lawmakers and activists who still sided with the powerful pol pause in the future about “supporting someone who they know has so little integrity.”
“Those who defend him, saying he did such and such for progressive causes, I have very little patience for that,” Crothers said. “It just makes excuses for him. I guess it depends on if you’re willing to bargain away your own integrity.”
Neither women, though, were gloating over Silver’s conviction.
“I’m not angry,” Crothers said. “It’s almost like he’s a little pathetic now. I never wished he’d be hit by a bus or anything. It was just ‘hey, let’s be normal people and have some sort of value system.'”
Rivera said she felt more relief than happiness at the jury verdict.
Both said they hope Silver’s conviction paves the way for a more ethical Albany — though both were skeptical.
“We all know there’s a lot more work to be done,” Rivera said.
Crothers called it telling that it was money, not his handling of sexual misconduct complaints, that brought Silver down.
“It was money and power, who cares about women?” she said. “Did we really expect someone to go to bat for an actual person? It’s easier to fight for money than actual people.”
Crothers added that she worries that things won’t be much different, even with Silver likely heading to prison.
“I wasn’t rooting for him, but on the otherhand, I feel almost like people are using this to divert attention from their own behavior and the systemic failures,” she said.
