A week after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the bribery conviction of Joe Percoco, his former boss, ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, released a video in which he says he should have backed his onetime aide.
"I should have been more vocal in support of Joe," Cuomo says in the video shared exclusively with Politico. "At the time I was advised that the less I said the better. Keeping the story out of the headlines was the best thing that we could do."
On May 11, the Supreme Court justices ruled in favor of Percoco, Democrat Cuomo's former executive deputy secretary who was charged in 2016 as part of a corruption crackdown by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.
In Percoco's case, the jury was required "to determine whether he had a 'special relationship' with the government and had 'dominated and controlled' government business," conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court's opinion. "We conclude that this is not the proper test for determining whether a private person may be convicted of honest-services fraud, and we therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings."
Percoco, convicted in 2018, was sentenced to six years in prison for soliciting $315,000 in bribes in exchange for helping two corporate clients of Albany lobbyist Todd Howe who were seeking state benefits and business.
Percoco was released from prison in April, one year early.
When Percoco was sentenced to six years in prison, Cuomo's comments didn't approach the almost-apology he came close to in Thursday's video.
"Joe Percoco is paying the price for violating the public trust," then-Gov. Cuomo said in a statement at the time. "And it should serve as a warning to anyone who fails to uphold his or her oath as a public servant."
Last week's ruling is the latest in which the conservative-majority Supreme Court has limited prosecutors in political corruption cases. In 2020, the court overturned the convictions of two aides to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the "Bridgegate" scandal and threw out former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell's bribery conviction in 2016.
"Wow," Cuomo says in the video, reacting to the Percoco ruling. Cuomo reportedly spends the rest of the recording railing against political prosecutions and misuse of government power. According to Politico, the full video will be posted to Cuomo's social media accounts later Thursday.
Cuomo resigned in disgrace amid a sexual harassment scandal in 2021 that he blames on a "sham political report" devised by his enemies.
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