Two former close aides to Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York have been hit with federal corruption charges involving alleged bribery, corruption and fraud, The New York Times reports.
A 79-page complaint obtained by The Times says Joseph Percoco and Todd Howe were involved in "two overlapping criminal schemes involving bribery, corruption and fraud in the award of hundreds of millions of dollars in state contracts and other official state benefits."
Percoco, who was Cuomo's executive deputy secretary, allegedly pocketed more than $315,000 in bribes from 2012 through this year from an energy company and a developer.
The bribes were allegedly arranged by Howe, who The Times said is cooperating with the investigation. In addition, a senior New York state official and six employees of the two companies were named in the complaint.
According to the charges, Percoco and Mr. Howe referred to the bribes as "ziti" in their correspondence.
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