The light sentence recognized Mr. Howe’s turn as the star witness in the case. Testifying during Mr. Percoco’s trial, Mr. Howe had offered an intimate, unvarnished and damning view of the highest levels of state government. He described setting up a fund-raising breakfast for Mr. Cuomo with developers who wanted state business, arranging a paid fishing trip between developers and Mr. Percoco, and ultimately facilitating more than $300,000 in bribes to Mr. Percoco for his help in securing state deals. Mr. Howe, asking for leniency, described the atmosphere in Albany that he said drove him to corruption. He was even thrown into jail in the middle of Mr. Percoco’s trial, when he admitted that he had tried to defraud his credit card company at the same time that he was cooperating with the government.

Source: New York Times April 05, 2019 21:33 UTC