The fact that mixed martial arts is still illegal in New York is an absurdity steeped in political agendas that are hidden behind façades quoting barbarism.
But today could be a significant milestone as one of the main political players behind the failure to recognise mixed martial arts as a legitimate sport in New York has been arrested on corruption charges.
The Wall Street Journal reports that New York state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been arrested and charged with a “scheme to defraud, depriving the public of honest services, mail fraud, and extortion and alleges Mr Silver received more than $6 million in outside income from two law firms since late 2002.”
A five-count criminal complaint discusses the charges, including the accusation that Siver, who has held the role since 1994, is accused of “using the power and influence of his official position to obtain for himself millions of dollars of bribes and kickbacks masked as legitimate income.”
The New York Times quotes the complaint which claims that “there is probable cause to believe that Silver received approximately $4 million in payments characterized as attorney referral fees solely through the corrupt use of his official position.”
According to that article: “Prosecutors seized approximately $3.8 million of Mr. Silver’s money on Thursday morning.”
The arrest in no way means that he has lost his job because, as pointed out by the same publication: “State lawmakers who are arrested can continue to serve. Upon conviction of a felony they must leave office.”
If Silver was to leave office, it would remove the biggest stumbling block that has hindered the continued efforts of the UFC to host events in one of the biggest sports markets in the United States.
A report by Kevin Iole of Yahoo in the summer 2013 highlights the political strength held by Silver and the unlikelihood of the UFC being given the go-ahead in New York while he was in office and, sadly, that stranglehold hasn’t changed in the past 18 months.
Silver’s power is held in the fact that he is responsible for deciding whether or not a bill ought to go before a full-floor vote which he denied to the MMA legalisation issue despite the bill receiving support in the senate and Assembly committees over a number of years.
Silver’s continued resistance to bringing mixed martial arts into the only state in the U.S.A. in which it is illegal is said to be based on his connection with the Las Vegas Culinary Union.
Iole alleges in his article that Silver is “doing the bidding of Las Vegas Culinary Union local 226, which has a long-time vendetta against UFC co-owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta. The Fertittas own Station Casinos, which is not unionized. The culinary workers have gone to extraordinary lengths to get back at the Fertittas in an attempt to pressure them into allowing its workers to unionise.”
Stay tuned to this one folks.
