The seven-year prison sentence imposed on crooked ex-state Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith was a shot across the bow of his former Albany associates, Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos — and one they’d be wise not to ignore, sources told The Post on Thursday.
“If they weren’t before, then they should be shaking in their boots now,” said a law-enforcement official familiar with Silver’s and Skelos’ corruption cases.
“Smith just got seven years [for trying to bribe his way onto the 2013 mayoral ballot] and he didn’t even steal money. What do you think’s going to happen to Skelos and Silver?
“They should both cut deals fast because they are going to get crushed and the lawyers are bleeding them dry,” the official added.
Silver and Skelos, leaders of the Assembly and state Senate, respectively, until their arrests this year, are both charged with peddling their influence in Albany for bribes and kickbacks.
A defense lawyer for imprisoned ex-Yonkers Councilwoman Sandy Annabi said he’d advise both men to seriously evaluate the evidence the feds have against them.
“I would say that public-corruption cases are serious business, and we need to be honest about our chances at trial and decide whether the case would be better fought at sentencing,” said lawyer Ed Sapone.
Silver defense lawyer Joel Cohen declined to comment. Skelos’ lawyer didn’t return a call seeking comment.