Federal appeals court upholds conviction of former top Cuomo aide

A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld the 2018 conviction of ex-aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) Joseph Percoco after he was charged in connection to the alleged solicitation and acceptance of more than $300,000 in bribes. 

Attorneys for Percoco appealed to the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, arguing that there was not enough evidence to convict the former top Cuomo aide. 

However, federal judge Richard J. Sullivan wrote Wednesday that evidence presented during the trial demonstrated that Percoco understood that he “accepted payment in exchange for promising to use his position to perform official actions.” 

Sullivan noted that the court reaffirms “our decades-old decision holding that a person who is not technically employed by the government may nevertheless owe a fiduciary duty to the public if he dominates and controls governmental business, and is actually relied on by people in the government because of some special relationship.”

The appeals court also upheld the conviction of Steven Aiello, a Syracuse real estate executive who was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in allegedly funneling bribes to Percoco. 

Percoco, a longtime aide and friend to Cuomo, was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as well as one count of solicitation of bribes and gratuities. He was sentenced to six years in prison in 2018. 

Aiello was sentenced to three years in prison for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. 

A large portion of the bribes Percoco allegedly received came through a job at Maryland-based energy company Competitive Power Ventures, which he gave to his wife, Lisa Toscano-Percoco.

In exchange for her salary, prosecutors said Percoco aided the company in securing an agreement from the state to construct a power plant in the Hudson Valley. 

In another scheme, prosecutors alleged that Percoco reached an agreement with Aiello to accept payments in exchange for advancing the interests of Aiello’s company, COR Development Co.

Percoco issued an apology ahead of his 2018 sentencing, explaining, “I live with the consequences every single day of my life.” 

“I lie awake every night thinking of the things I could have done differently,” he added. 

The court proceedings were used by Cuomo’s critics to take aim at his administration during his 2018 reelection campaign.

His opponents argued that the scandal was evidence that Cuomo, who has since resigned after multiple sexual misconduct allegations against him, did not adequately address corruption within the state government.