Sheldon Silver's arrest lengthens shadow over major nonprofit

Crain's New York reports:

The criminal charges engulfing Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver are another blow to a once-prominent social-services organization with which he had deep ties: the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty.

The Met Council has been struggling since its former CEO, William Rapfogel, was sentenced last year to up to 10 years in prison for embezzling $9 million from the group. Mr. Silver was longtime friends with Mr. Rapfogel, who was at the organization for 20 years and whose wife, Judy, is Mr. Silver's chief of staff. During Mr. Rapfogel's leadership, the organization received millions of dollars in state funding for its services, which were widely acknowledged to help New Yorkers in poverty, regardless of race or ethnicity. And Mr. Silver was a centerpiece at the Met Council's annual legislative breakfast, a must-attend event for New York's elected leaders.

After Mr. Rapfogel's downfall, the Met Council hired as CEO former city Finance Commissioner David Frankel, but in August the news broke that Mr. Frankel would leave his post after a successor was found. He is still there. Sources said the council had been seeking either to merge or outsource the services it provides for about nine months.

Mr. Frankel's hiring appears to have been another misstep. He had no real background in social services and lacked Mr. Rapfogel's political connections and fundraising prowess, making him a poor fit for the organization.

The tangled web.