Ex-Senate Leader Dean Skelos Expected to Be Released From Prison After Positive Test for COVID-19
Skelos, 72, a former attorney, has not exhibited COVID-19 symptoms since about April 8, prosecutors told a Manhattan federal judge in a court filing.
April 16, 2020 at 12:09 PM
3 minute read
Dean Skelos, right, and attorney G. Robert Gage Jr. leave federal court after Skelos' May 2016 sentencing. Photo: Rick Kopstein/ALM
Dean Skelos, the former New York state Senate majority leader, has tested positive for the coronavirus and is expected to be released from prison, prosecutors reported in court documents Wednesday.
Skelos, 72, a former attorney, has not exhibited COVID-19 symptoms since about April 8, prosecutors told a Manhattan federal judge in a court filing.
Prosecutors say the federal Bureau of Prisons informed them that Skelos will be approved for furlough and home confinement, "pending approval of his proposed residence by the United States Probation Department," according to the document.
"The Government understands that Skelos has now been cleared by medical staff at the facility for release, and release paperwork is currently being prepared," according to the court filing.
G. Robert Gage Jr. and Alexandra Shapiro were listed as Skelos' attorneys on the March 27 document.
Prosecutors said the government will update the court when it receives more specific details on Skelos' release.
Skelos was convicted in 2018 and found guilty of pressuring companies to provide jobs to his son, Adam Skelos. Those companies had business before the state.
The Bureau of Prisons website said the elder Skelos was serving time at the federal Otisville facility in upstate New York.
As of Thursday, there were five facility staff members and nine inmates at the facility infected with the virus, according to the federal prison agency.
In a letter dated last month, Skelos' attorneys said his age and prediabetic condition make him "uniquely susceptible to the COVID-19 virus pandemic." They asked for home confinement for Skelos.
The attorneys said the coronavirus risk is heightened in prisons because so many inmates are housed in close quarters. Plus a variety of workers, such as vendors and contractors, are permitted into the Otisville facility and could be carriers of the deadly virus, according to the document dated March 27.
"The sad reality is that Otisville FCI is ill-equipped for the pandemic and little can be done to contain the spread of the virus when it enters the community," they wrote.
Skelos represented Nassau County as a Republican in the state Senate from 1985 to 2015, and was majority leader from 2011 to 2015. He was disbarred subsequent to a December 2016 conviction.
Skelos' arrest came during Preet Bharara's tenure as US attorney for the Southern District of New York.
READ MORE:
Attorneys for Ex-NY Senate Leader Ask for Leniency Ahead of Sentencing in Corruption Case
Federal Prosecutors Request More Prison Time for Ex-NY Senate Leader in Repeat Sentencing
Attorneys for Skelos, Son Move to Suppress Evidence
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Federal Judge Pauses Trump Funding Freeze as Democratic AGs Plan Suit
4 minute read
Relaxing Penalties on Discovery Noncompliance Allows Criminal Cases to Get Decided on Merit
5 minute read
Bipartisan Lawmakers to Hochul Urge Greater Student Loan Forgiveness for Public-Interest Lawyers
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
