Supreme Court to Hear Corruption Case Against Former Cuomo Aide

WASHINGTON, DC (VINnews) The Supreme Court will take up the corruption case of Joe Percoco, advisor of disgraced Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Percoco was convicted in 2018 after he accepted over $300,000 from companies in return for influence with the former Governor.

He was sentenced to six years in prison but was released two years early.

The legal question is whether a private citizen, not employed by the government, can be convicted on federal bribery charges.

Percoco was a friend of Cuomo when he accepted the cash, and a former campaign manager, but had no official capacity within the government.

A ruling in his favor would prohibit federal bribery charges against private citizens, even those who are highly influential.

Percoco’s attorney Yaakov Roth was quoted in the NY Post: “Generally speaking, bribery cases involve somebody paying a government official or giving something to a government official, right? Percoco wasn’t a government official at the time. He was a campaign manager, so the question is: Can he still be convicted of taking a bribe even though he didn’t hold any government office?”