- Title: Ex-Cuomo aide, eight others charged in New York corruption case
- Date: 22nd September 2016
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 22, 2016) (REUTERS) (PART MUTE) BHARARA AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, PREET BHARARA, SAYING: "What I can say at this moment is that there are no allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct by the governor anywhere in this complaint. That's all I'm going to say." NEW YOR
- Embargoed: 7th October 2016 18:28
- Keywords: Andrew Cuomo Joseph Percoco Percoco Cuomo
- Location: NEW YORK CITY + UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION IN NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / HAVANA, CUBA
- City: NEW YORK CITY + UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION IN NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / HAVANA, CUBA
- Country: USA
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA00550NEK3R
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Federal and state prosecutors on Thursday (September 22) announced charges against 10 men, including two one-time senior advisers to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in corruption and fraud cases involving state contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The charges followed a federal investigation into Buffalo Billion, a signature $1 billion economic development project of Cuomo aimed at revitalizing the area around the city of Buffalo, once an upstate industrial powerhouse.
"Today's complaint shines a light on yet another sordid side of the 'show me the money' culture that has so plagued government in Albany. It turns out that the state legislature does not have any kind of monopoly on crass corruption in New York," said Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Joseph Percoco, a former executive deputy secretary to the governor, and Alain Kaloyeros, president of the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute's, were among eight people charged in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.
"We allege that Joseph Percoco, the former executive deputy secretary to the governor, and therefore one of the most powerful people in all of New York, was on the take. Specifically we allege that over time he solicited over 320,000 dollars (USD) in bribes from two different companies with business before the state in exchange for official actions in their favor," said Bharara.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a statement says his administration is cooperating in the corruption case.
When asked about Cuomo by a reporter at the news conference, Bharara said, "There are no allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct by the governor anywhere in this complaint. That's all I'm going to say."
Todd Howe, a lobbyist and an ex-adviser to Cuomo when he led the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, pleaded guilty to federal charges and is cooperating.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced separate state charges against Kaloyeros and a real estate executive, Joseph Nicolla, over alleged bid-rigging involving three multimillion dollar contracts.
Barry Bohrer, Percoco's lawyer, called the prosecution "an overreach of classic proportions." Kaloyeros's lawyer, Michael Miller, declined to comment. Nicolla's company, Columbia Development, did not respond to a request for comment. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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