Upstate residents angry about a power plant being built in their town hounded an embattled ex-aide of Gov. Cuomo as he walked from a Manhattan federal court hearing Thursday — shouting “shame!” along the way.
Watch Orange County NY residents shout "shame!" at ex-Cuomo aide Joe Percoco over CPV project pic.twitter.com/hsL04VFG6v
— Kaja Whitehouse (@kajawhitehouse) April 6, 2017
“Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame!” the protesters chanted about a Competitive Power Ventures’ power plant being built in Wawayanda in Orange County.
The ex-Cuomo aide, Joe Percoco — who was so close to the governor that he was referred to as a “third son” by Cuomo’s dad — stands accused of accepting $315,000 in bribes from companies looking to do business with the state, including “tens of thousands of dollars” from the executives of CPV.
“This is not a victimless crime, Percoco!” one protester shouted.
“There’s a school 5 miles away from the plant!” another protester shouted as Percoco, now an executive at Madison Square Garden, tried to shield his face with his umbrella. Earlier, the protesters accused him of hiding in the courthouse bathroom, where he stayed for a good 10 minutes, to avoid their scrutiny.
At the hearing, prosecutors indicated that things could get worse for Percoco when they said they could bring a superseding indictment in the case, which could mean added charges or new defendants.
“We can’t rule out the possibility,” prosecutor Janis Echenberg told the judge, noting that the probe is “on-going.”
The judge set a trial date for Oct. 30.
