NY Gov. Cuomo Defends Former Aide Under Federal Investigation
ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo is defending a former aide and campaign manager who is under federal investigation.
The investigation is focusing on Cuomo's longtime assistant and friend, Joseph Percoco, who was the Democratic governor's executive secretary until early January. The former top aide also worked for his father, the late former Gov. Mario Cuomo.
In 2014, Percoco took a leave of absence from government to work for Cuomo's reelection campaign and for companies that did business with the state.
According to Percoco's 2014 state mandated financial disclosure statement, he received $50,000 to $75,000 in consulting fees from COR Development and $20,000 to $50,000 from CHA Consulting, two companies involved with Buffalo Billions, a state-funded upstate revitalization program.
At the same time, he was paid between $100,000 and $150,000 from the Cuomo campaign.
The question is did he steer state contracts to the companies that were paying him while he was working on the governor's campaign, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.
New York law prohibits state employees from financial conflicts of interest and trading on their official influence for personal gain.
"He is a good man and I would be shocked if he did anything wrong," Cuomo said.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office issued subpoenas last week. When Percoco took a leave of absence to work on Cuomo's campaign, the governor admits Percoco told him he might do outside consulting at the same time – which is technically legal, CBS2's Brian Conybeare reported Monday.
"When he came back to state service, obviously he stopped representing the other clients," Cuomo said.
When asked whether Percoco violated his trust, Cuomo said, "I want to know the facts first."
The governor's office said it has hired an investigator to look into any wrongdoing, including the possibility that Percoco was doing work on behalf of the governor while working in his new role in the private sector as Senior Vice President of Madison Square Garden. He has been in that position since January.
Cuomo also reiterated that former criminal prosecutor Bart Schwartz would conduct a "full internal review'' into the matter.
On Friday, the governor announced that Schwartz had been hired to review the governor's upstate economic development initiative after learning that Bharara was investigating potential conflicts of interest and improper bidding regarding the Buffalo Billion initiative.
The Buffalo Billion centerpiece is a $750 million factory the state is building for SolarCity.
Michael McGovern, a lawyer representing CHA Consulting, did not comment on Percoco's disclosure but told The New York Times that the company was cooperating with the U.S. attorney's office.
A spokeswoman for COR Development, Maggie Truax, told The Post-Standard on Saturday that it did not hire or pay any money to Percoco.
Barry Bohrer, Percoco's attorney, released a statement saying, "Joe Percoco believed that he was acting appropriately at all times."
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