Some of the others named in the complaint were the ones who paid out the bribes, prosecutors say.
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“In each case, the bids were rigged and the results were pre-ordained”, Bharara said. 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”.
Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of NY, began investigating the details of the “Buffalo Billion” plan after Governor Cuomo prematurely disbanded his anti-corruption initiative, the Moreland Commission.
Neither that company nor Kelly’s lawyer responded to requests for comment. The AG also charged capital region real-estate tycoon Joseph Nicolla, the 59-year-old president of Columbia Development.
According to state financial disclosures, Percoco made up to $125,000 by becoming a consultant for COR Development and CHA Consulting, two firms involved in Buffalo Billion and Nano. Bharara announced that Howe pleaded guilty to an eight-count indictment and is now a cooperating witness in the case.
The other is COR Development, a Syracuse-area developer that managed to secure several projects from Albany.
Also charged were COR Development executives Steven Aiello and Joseph Girardi and LPCiminelli executives Michael Laipple, Kevin Schuler and CEO Louis Ciminelli.
Peter Kelly, a CPV executive whom Percoco and Howe repeatedly referred to as “fat man”, arranged the payments to Percoco’s wife, which Bharara’s office alleges was masked by a low-show job. Prosecutors say the favor also helped the company score millions of dollars in energy credits for a power plant it was building in New Jersey.
Percoco was seen as an extremely valued confidante of Cuomo. “Fat boy locked and loaded”. Apparently, Percoco came up with using the word “ziti” as code for money because it was used in the The Sopranos (“about 45 boxes of ziti”).
The court documents allege that Kelly conspired with another man to funnel more than $287,000 to Percoco in exchange for his assistance securing a power-purchase agreement for a proposed NY power plant as well as a deal allowing CPV to purchase lower-cost emissions credits in NY for a proposed plant in New Jersey. In addition, a senior NY state official and six employees of the two companies were named in the complaint. The developers were asked to make large donations to Cuomo’s re-election campaign, though there is no indication in the court papers that the governor was aware.
“This is big time stuff and it goes to the core of how I think state government operates and it’s distressing and disconcerting”, Bharara said at a press conference Thursday to announce the charges. “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.
“You heard the governor in his father’s eulogy, how Joe Percoco was like a third son and was so close to the family”. Yet prosecutors contend the knowledge was kept from Kelly in an attempt to extort more money from him.
Each of the suspects faces up to 20 years in prison, if convicted.
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SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher and Chairman H. Carl McCall said in a statement that Kaloyeros has been relieved as his duties and suspended without pay. The other defendants will be brought to the Western District of NY.
