ALBANY - Gov. Andrew Cuomo's former right-hand man will learn his fate Thursday when he will receive his sentence for accepting more than $300,000 in bribes from companies with business before the state.
Joseph Percoco, once Cuomo's most-trusted aide, campaign manager and brother-like confidant, is scheduled to learn his fate at 2 p.m. in Manhattan federal court, where he's expected to receive jail time and be forced to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars in ill-gotten gains.
He was convicted of three felonies in March in connection with the bribery scheme, which saw Syracuse-based developer COR Development and Maryland-based energy company Competitive Power Ventures pay him and his wife while leaning on him for a variety of favors in state government.
Federal prosecutors are urging U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni to impose a prison sentence that "meaningfully exceeds" five years, the term recommended by the U.S. Probation Office.
Percoco's attorneys, who haven't ruled out an appeal, are pushing for a far shorter sentence: No greater than two years.
Percoco says he's sorry
The defendant himself wrote to Caproni last week, pledging remorse for his actions in a bid to receive a more lenient sentence.
In his letter to the judge, Percoco, who lives in South Salem, Westchester County, expressed regret that he "brought shame and embarrassment" to his former government colleagues, though he never mentioned Cuomo — who was not accused of any legal wrongdoing — by name.
"I lay awake at night filled not with the fear of what is to come from me, or the pain and embarrassment that I have brought upon myself, but with tremendous remorse for my actions and regret for the damage I have caused to others," Percoco wrote. "I live with those feelings and that weight every minute of every day of my life."
Percoco was convicted by a jury along with COR executives Steven Aiello, who will be sentenced at a later date. Joseph Gerardi, another COR executive, was acquitted.
A mistrial was declared on charges against CPV's Peter Galbraith Kelly, who later agreed to a plea deal to avoid a second trial.
Todd Howe, a former lobbyist and aide to Cuomo when he was federal housing secretary, also pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme. He arranged payment from COR and CPV, his clients, to Percoco, his close friend.
Howe also played a central role in the conviction of former SUNY Polytechnic President Alain Kaloyeros, who was found to have rigged the bids to major state-funded construction projects at the center of Cuomo's economic-development program.
Bribes to Percoco
A jury found Percoco guilty of two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and one count of solicitation of bribes or gratuities after a marathon six-week trial and two weeks of deliberations.
Prosecutors claimed Percoco was struggling to pay for his $815,000 South Salem home, which Percoco's attorneys disputed.
The bulk of payments at the center of his conviction were paid to Percoco's wife for a low-show job, which Kelly arranged to pay through an intermediary to hide his tracks.
CPV, which was building a power plant in Orange County, then pushed Percoco to try to get approval for a power-purchasing agreement that would have saved the company millions in costs and a separate deal that allowed the company to use New York emission credits for pollution from another plant in New Jersey.
COR paid Percoco $35,000 before leaning on him to help reverse a state decision that would have increased the company's labor costs on a specific project, free up state funds due to the company and approve a raise for Aiello's son, who worked in Cuomo's office.
In their sentencing recommendation, the U.S. Attorney's Office for New York's Southern District called on Caproni to impose a stiff sentence to send a message.
"(Percoco) swore an oath to serve the people of New York — the people whose taxes paid his salary — and outwardly purported to do so," the prosecutors' memo reads. "But for years, he did just the opposite. He monetized his power and influence, demanding payments for action, and betraying the people of New York."