A former top aide to Gov. Cuomo was indicted Tuesday on official corruption charges in “pay-to-play” schemes federal authorities say reached all the way into Albany’s Executive Chamber.
Joseph Percoco, one of the governor’s closest confidantes, and seven co-defendants were named in the 14-count indictment handed up in Manhattan federal court, according to US Attorney Preet Bharara’s office.
The move followed a month-long delay in the case for plea negotiations that ultimately went nowhere following a Sept. 22 criminal complaint that rocked the state capital and tarred Cuomo’s signature “Buffalo Billion” revitalization project.
No new defendants were added to the indictment, despite speculation that the feds have sufficient evidence to charge Percoco’s wife and are holding it over his head in a bid at getting him to cooperate.
Both the complaint and the indictment — which is still subject to revision before trial — allege that Lisa Toscano-Percoco got a $7,500-a-month job in a bribery scheme involving her hubby.
“This case will come down to Joe’s choice between the governor and his wife,” a legal source told Politico.
The allegations in Tuesday’s filing largely mirror those in September’s complaint, but the indictment contains two new counts of wire fraud, neither of which involve Percoco, who Cuomo once likened to the “third son” of his late dad, ex-Gov. Mario Cuomo.
Percoco, who now works for Madison Square Garden, is charged with shaking down $315,000 in bribes from a Maryland-based power company and a Syracuse developer, and the feds say he imitated mobsters from HBO’s “ The Sopranos” by referring to the payoffs as “ziti.”
“OK. will deal with it after I get my ziti!” Percoco allegedly wrote in a a 2014 email to former Cuomo aide-turned-lobbyist Todd Howe, who has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the feds.
In addition to the allegations against Percoco, former SUNY Polytechnic Institute President Alain Kaloyeros is accused of rigging bids for a $750 million “Buffalo Billion” contract and two other development contracts in Syracuse worth $105 million.
Arraignments haven’t been scheduled, but Percoco’s lawyer, Barry Bohrer, said he would plead not guilty and issued a Thanksgiving-themed statement proclaiming his innocence.
“This case is a real turkey. We will knock the stuffing out of it at trial,” Bohrer said.
Kaloyeros’ lawyer, Michael Miller, said he was “disappointed with the government’s decision to indict Dr. Kaloyeros.”
“Dr. Kaloyeros is innocent of the charges filed against him and looks forward to being exonerated,” Miller said.