dChan - Q Origins Project Archive

According to the criminal complaint, COR paid Joseph Percoco, a top Cuomo aide, in return for state assistance on development projects and a $5,000 raise for Aiello's son, who works for the Cuomo administration. The payments were funneled through lobbyist Todd Howe to avoid detection, according to the court papers.

COR officials and Howe also conspired with Alain Kaloyeros, the head of SUNY Polytechnic Institute, to rig the competition for a Syracuse-area developer for nanotech development projects so that COR would be selected, the federal criminal complaint alleges. COR secured the contract, in part, by making large donations to Cuomo's campaign, authorities say.

Details of the request for proposals were shared with COR executives before they were released to the public, and the solicitation was tailored to make COR the only qualified respondent, the complaint alleges. COR was the only company to submit a proposal.

As a result of winning the nanotech contract with SUNY Poly, COR was chosen to build a $15 million film hub and a $90 million manufacturing facility on land that COR owns in DeWitt.

Aiello and Gerardi also are accused of lying to FBI agents about making payments to Percoco.

The charges were announced this morning by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who has spent months investigating state-funded economic development projects.

Many of the charges filed today center around Percoco, the former executive deputy secretary to Cuomo, who is accused of extorting money in return for using his influence to help developers including COR.

In addition to Aiello, Gerardi, Percoco and Kaloyeros, authorities filed charges against Howe and four other individuals.

Howe has been cooperating with prosecutors. The federal charges also rely heavily on emails and text messages between the parties, who used aliases and code words to communicate. Percoco was referred as "Herb." Alleged bribes were called "ziti," as in "got to keep the ziti flowing, Herb."

COR's big score: Why did a juicy NY deal draw just one bidder?

Several leading Central New York developers said they never saw the state's request for proposals.

According to the complaint signed by federal criminal investigator Deleassa Penland, Aiello and Gerardi sought Percoco's help in 2014 to avoid signing a costly "labor peace agreement'' with local unions in connection with construction work at the Syracuse Inner Harbor. Percoco exerted pressure to help COR after the company paid $35,000 to Howe, who forwarded the money to Percoco's wife, Penland wrote.

At the time, COR was building a parking lot outside a hotel for which it had received $1.5 million from Empire State Development Corp., the state economic development agency, Penland wrote. (COR was beginning construction then on the Aloft Hotel at the Inner Harbor, which opened recently.)

Percoco convinced ESD to reverse its decision that the parking lot work required the costly labor agreement, the investigator alleged.

Why federal probe of Cuomo's projects matters to Syracuse

Central New York's most visible developer has links to individuals targeted by federal investigators.

In return for the money from COR, Percoco also is accused of using his influence in 2015 to accelerate payment of $14 million for COR's construction of the two nanotech facilities at Collamer Crossings Business Park in DeWitt, according to the indictment.

After COR complained that the payments were delayed, Percoco pushed for the money to be released, according to the federal complaint.

Percoco also helped win a $5,700 salary increase in October 2015 for Aiello's son, Steven L. Aiello, who works as a policy aide in Cuomo's office. After the elder Aiello complained bitterly to Howe about his son's low pay, Howe passed the message along to Percoco, investigators say.

Percoco then pushed the Office of General Services to boost the younger Aiello's pay, from roughly $59,300 to $65,000, according to the complaint.

In one text message to Howe, the elder Aiello expressed his frustration about his son's salary and the slow payments for nanotech work. According to the complaint, Aiello wrote this in September 2015:

Anonymous ID: 49fa25 Dec. 19, 2017, 6:15 p.m. No.128991 🗄️.is 🔗kun >>9000