The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the bribery conviction of Joseph Percoco, an ex-aide to Democratic former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in a ruling that further limits the ability of federal prosecutors to pursue corruption cases.
The justices ruled 9-0 in favor of Joseph Percoco, Cuomo's former executive deputy secretary who was charged in 2016 as part of a corruption crackdown by federal prosecutors in Manhattan centered on the halls of the state capital of Albany.
Percoco was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to six years in prison for seeking $315,000 in bribes in exchange for helping two corporate clients of Albany lobbyist Todd Howe seeking state benefits and business. The Supreme Court heard arguments in November in the case involving Percoco and a related one involving former construction company executive Louis Ciminelli. The justices also unanimously overturned Ciminelli's conviction on Thursday.
At the time of the actions at issue, Percoco was no longer serving in government as Cuomo's aide but instead managing the governor's 2014 re-election campaign, a fact his lawyers said meant he could not be convicted of bribery.
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