A former top adviser for Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (KWOH’-moh) and seven other people have been indicted in their federal corruption case.
The indictment was unsealed Tuesday in New York City. It charges Joseph Percoco and his co-defendants with crimes including fraud conspiracy, bribery and extortion.
The case’s most serious allegations are against Percoco, formerly Cuomo’s executive deputy secretary and one of his most loyal advisers.
A criminal complaint from September alleges Percoco took more than $315,000 in bribes from 2012 through 2016 from Syracuse-based COR Development and Competitive Power Ventures, an energy company looking to build a power plant in New York’s Hudson Valley.
Percoco’s attorney says the case is “a real turkey.” No arraignment date has been set.
Defendants Alain Kaloyeros, Peter Galbraith Kelly Jr., Steve Aiello, Joseph Gerardi, Louis Ciminelli, Michael Laipple and Kevin Schuler also have denied the charges.
Cuomo hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing in connection with the case.
(AP)