AP source: Sheldon Silver ordered back to federal prison

Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is being returned to federal prison after federal authorities denied him home confinement

Ex Assembly Speaker Prison (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will be returned to federal prison after federal authorities denied him home confinement, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

The person could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Silver was released Tuesday from a federal prison on furlough while he awaited potential placement to home confinement. The 77-year-old Silver had been in prison since August, where he was serving more than six-year sentence at a prison in Otisville.

The federal Bureau of Prisons didn’t provide details or a reason for the transfer, but Congress gave the Justice Department expanded powers during the coronavirus pandemic to release inmates on furlough and home confinement to prevent them from catching the virus behind bars.