The two men borrowed a phrase from the hit mob show “The Sopranos”, calling money ziti. He is accused of steering state contracts connected to projects in Syracuse and the Buffalo Billion to two companies that had sent kickbacks to a SUNY Polytechnic consultant.
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According to the New York Times, Cuomo was “blindsided” by the news.
Some of the others named in the complaint were the ones who paid out the bribes, prosecutors say. “Companies got rich and the public got bamboozled”. Another Buffalo developer opined that one bid seemed “a bit obnoxious”, according to the complaint.
“Like so many others, we are just learning details of the charges”.
Kaloyeros and executives of Competitive Power Ventures, COR Development and LPCiminelli are also facing federal charges. While Percoco looks like a small-time shakedown artist, the allegations against Kaloyeros demonstrate that Cuomo lost – or surrendered – control of his much-heralded upstate economic development program. But if the charges are proved true – Howe already has pleaded guilty to extortion, bribery and wire fraud – the governor will have to answer hard questions about his judgment and oversight. Two executive at the company were also named by the prosecutor, as was Louis Ciminelli, an entrepreneur who stood to make money off of COR contracts.
These included payments arranged by Peter Galbraith Kelly, a senior vice president at Competitive Power Ventures, which obtained a $100 million contract to finance a $900 million power plant, prosecutors said.
Percoco was seen as an extremely valued confidante of Cuomo. “Fat boy locked and loaded”. The company said Kelly, who couldn’t be located for comment, no longer works there. Percoco allegedly replied, “is he bringing the check??” That led to emails such as one where Howe wrote that Percoco needed to hold an official’s feet to the fire “to keep the ziti flowing”.
Also part of the purported Percoco ring was Steven Aiello, the president of Syracuse’s COR Development.
Bharara charged that Kelly channeled several hundred thousand dollars to Percoco and his wife in exchange for help building a power plant in upstate NY, and for other public assistance the company never received-including a guarantee the state would find a buyer for energy from the facility, and the closure of the controversial Indian Point nuclear plant in Westchester, which the governor has long advocated.
Time will tell whether Governor Cuomo will be deemed guilty by association.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, addressing a scandal that has rocked his administration and its economic development initiatives, said Friday that while he finds the corruption allegations “reprehensible” and disappointing they won’t derail efforts to revitalize the upstate economy. “If anything, a friend should be held to an even higher standard”, he said. The governor was quick to draw a distinction between himself and his staff.
“There is zero tolerance for distracted driving and State Police will be out in force to crack down on this unsafe behavior”, Governor Cuomo said. The attorney appeared to have been referring to the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell, in which the justices unanimously decided that paying for political access was legal.
According to prosecutors, Percoco asked for the $315,000 clams from an energy company looking to build a power plant upstate as well as a developer for a state-funded project. His alleged confederates face anywhere between five and 55 years.
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“Effective immediately and until this matter is resolved, Dr. Kaloyeros has been suspended without pay”.
