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Joseph Percoco, a South Salem resident, was convicted of accepting $300,000 in bribes from an energy company earlier this year and sentenced in September to prison time. He was initially ordered to surrender himself on Friday, Dec. 28, but after his lawyers petitioned a district judge, that date was pushed to Jan. 31.
Percoco was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and one count of solicitation of bribes or gratuities and acquitted of two extortion charges in March related to his acceptance of $300,000 in bribes to benefit Competitive Power Ventures, an energy company that sought to build the power plant in the Hudson Valley.
He was cleared of any wrongdoing related to the Syracuse-based COR Development, which had received several sizable state projects.
This week, Percoco’s lawyer petitioned for the delay until after the court rules on a motion for bail filed by Steve Aiello, who was convicted of funneling money to the former aide. The lawyer noted that both men were convicted of the same crime, so their fates are intertwined, pending the decision on bail motions.
In a prepared statement following Percoco's initial conviction, Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said, “Joseph Percoco was found guilty of taking over $300,000 in cash bribes by selling something priceless that was not his to sell – the sacred obligation to honestly and faithfully serve the citizens of New York.
“As every schoolchild knows, but he corruptly chose to disregard, government officials who sell their influence to select insiders violate the basic tenets of a democracy."
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