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Law360 (May 15, 2020, 9:26 PM EDT ) A New York federal judge on Friday refused to release Adam Skelos from prison due to COVID-19 after releasing his elderly father, former state lawmaker Dean Skelos, when he contracted the deadly virus, saying the younger Skelos is at "relatively low risk" for illness complications.
In a five-page order, U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood denied Adam Skelos' motion for compassionate release from the low-security Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury, saying Skelos hasn't claimed he suffers from any underlying health conditions that would heighten his chance of experiencing severe complications from COVID-19.
"Without diminishing the seriousness of the pandemic and the present conditions at FCI Danbury, the court finds that the danger [Skelos] faces from the threat of exposure to COVID-19 does not constitute an extraordinary and compelling reason for granting compassionate release," Judge Wood wrote.
Skelos and his father, Dean, were twice convicted on charges tied to jobs and payments that prosecutors said the former New York state Senate majority leader strong-armed out of companies that wanted him to act in their favor. Dean Skelos was sentenced in October 2018 to more than four years behind bars, while his son, Adam, was sentenced to exactly four years.
But in April, Judge Wood released the elder Skelos from prison after he contracted COVID-19. He was released from FCI Otisville on April 28 and began home confinement on April 30, according to a letter federal prosecutors sent to Judge Wood.
Dean Skelos recently urged the Second Circuit to allow him yet another retrial on the corruption charges, saying the court's recent decision in U.S. v. Silver
raises the possibility that he was convicted on an illegal theory.In the recent Silver decision, the appeals court said the jury should have been asked to find that bribes were paid in exchange for former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's action on a specific "matter or question." The court said that distinction made a difference as to some of the charges, which it dismissed, but not others, on which it upheld Silver's convictions.
The jury instructions for some of the counts in the Skelos case were worded the same as in the Silver case, requiring the Second Circuit to now consider how to apply its decision in Silver's appeal to the Skelos case, the convicted politician argued.
The Second Circuit hasn't ruled yet on the issue.
A representative for the government did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening. Contact information for Adam Skelos was not immediately available.
The government is represented by Edward B. Diskant, Thomas McKay and Douglas Zolkind of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
Adam Skelos is representing himself.
Dean Skelos is represented by G. Robert Gage Jr. of Gage Spencer & Fleming LLP, and Alexandra Shapiro of Shapiro Arato Bach LLP.
The case is U.S. v. Skelos, case number 1:15-cr-00317, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
--Additional reporting by Stewart Bishop, Mike LaSusa and Jody Godoy. Editing by Adam LoBelia.
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