Judge sets start of corruption trial for ex-Cuomo aide
Joe Percoco, then campaign manager for Andrew Cuomo's gubernatorial campaign, at a press conference at New York City Hall on Sept. 29, 2010. Credit: Charles Eckert
A federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday set the start of the corruption trial of Joe Percoco, a former top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, for Oct. 30.
U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni also set Jan. 8 as a backup date if lawyer conflicts force a delay, or if she decides to grant defense motions to split the trial of Percoco and seven co-defendants in two and needs a date for a second trial.
Percoco, 47, of South Salem in Westchester County, is charged in two interlocking schemes with taking more than $300,000 to wield influence in Cuomo’s executive chamber and working with former SUNY Polytechnic Institute President Alain Kaloyeros to rig bids on upstate development projects.
Six executives from a Buffalo construction company, a Syracuse developer and an energy company are also charged in the case. Prosecutors told Caproni they couldn’t rule out a superseding indictment that might add defendants.
A dozen protesters from Orange County attended the hearing and later waited for Percoco outside a courthouse bathroom and followed him to a nearby subway, objecting to his alleged acceptance of payoffs to help grease the wheels for a gas-fired power plant in Wawayanda in Orange County.
“Don’t you care about the state? Don’t you care about the community?” one protester shouted at Percoco, huddled in a trenchcoat under an umbrella, according to a video of the incident. “Don’t you care about anything but yourself and your greed?”
'It's disappointing and it's unfortunate' Suffolk Police Officer David Mascarella is back on the job after causing a 2020 crash that severely injured Riordan Cavooris, then 2. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger and Newsday investigative reporter Paul LaRocco have the story.
'It's disappointing and it's unfortunate' Suffolk Police Officer David Mascarella is back on the job after causing a 2020 crash that severely injured Riordan Cavooris, then 2. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger and Newsday investigative reporter Paul LaRocco have the story.
