Free Republic

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday questioned whether an ex-aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was lawfully convicted on a bribery charge as it considered two cases that could place new limits on federal prosecutors in public corruption cases. The first case centered on whether Joseph Percoco’s conduct in taking a $35,000 payment from a real estate developer when managing Cuomo’s re-election campaign in 2014 is covered by a federal law that requires that “honest services” be provided to the public. Percoco says that because he was not working for the government at the time, he had...

Prominent Buffalo developer Louis Ciminelli has been sentenced to 28 months in Federal prison along with a $500 thousand fine for his conviction on charges in connection with the 'Buffalo Billion' program. Ciminelli is out on bail pending appeal. Ciminelli was sentenced Monday in federal court for a pay-to-play conspiracy in which his firm won a development job worth a half billion dollars. Ciminelli and three others were convicted over the summer. Prosecutors say the scheme involved state-funded contracts worth more than $850 million. Prosecutors say Ciminelli and others in his company contributed nearly $100,000 to Cuomo's campaign. The Democratic...