Weiner, Ackerman have questionable investments

Shelly's Pepsi conflict

From the Daily News:

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver owns stock in 30 companies with business before the state, the Daily News has learned.

The shares are a potential cash cow - and possible conflict of interest, watchdogs say.

One of those holdings, Pepsi, was a key player in blocking Gov. Paterson's proposed penny-per-ounce sugar tax on soda the past two years - a plan that fetched little serious consideration in the Silver-controlled Assembly.

Silver's stake in Pepsi, or any other stock, is a state secret - one protected by New York's notoriously weak disclosure laws.

Silver flatly refused to disclose how many shares he holds - or how much it's worth.

Lawmakers are not required to release how many shares they own or even how much they are worth - beyond noting their value is above $1,000.

Pepsi is just the tip of the iceberg. Silver also owns shares of Verizon, which has 95 contracts with the state, and Cisco Systems - which does $1.5 billion in state business.

Silver is not likely to volunteer anything. Critics have been waiting for years for him to disclose the salary he makes moonlighting at a top city law firm.

And did you hear about his slush fund?