NEW YORK (AP) — Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison.

The sentencing Monday by U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni came after she insisted that the 76-year-old Democrat had to appear in Manhattan court in-person rather than appearing remotely.

This is Silver’s third sentencing for using his powerful political position for personal gain. A 2015 conviction was overturned on appeal, but Silver was convicted again in 2018.

In a handwritten letter to the judge, Silver had asked that he be spared a prison term that would cause him to die in prison. Prosecutors had urged that he go to prison for seven years for his bribery and extortion conviction.