The attorney representing the two executives from Fayetteville–based COR Development Company, LLC says he is “convinced” of their innocence in a case involving federal corruption and fraud offenses.
“In my more than 40 years of practice, I have never been more impressed with or convinced of the innocence of clients than I am with Steven Aiello and Joseph Gerardi,” said Steve Coffey, the attorney representing the COR executives.
Coffey on Friday released the statement through a COR spokesperson.
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The charges arise from two “separate but overlapping schemes” involving bribery, corruption, and fraud in the award of hundreds of millions of dollars in New York State contracts and other official state actions, Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced last Thursday.
Aiello and Gerardi are among nine people charged in the case.
The accused also include Alain Kaloyeros, president of SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) and Todd Howe, a consultant who Kaloyeros had hired to help administer the state’s “Buffalo Billion” initiative and related programs.
SUNY has since suspended Kaloyeros without pay, according to a statement that the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo released after Bharara announcement last Thursday.
Aiello and Gerardi, along with executives at LPCiminelli, a Buffalo–based development company, are charged with paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to Howe.
As the charges allege, in exchange for the bribe payments, Howe and Kaloyeros “secretly rigged” the bids on lucrative state-funded contracts to ensure that COR Development and LPCiminelli would win the contracts.
In addition, Howe on Sept. 20 pleaded guilty in connection with his participation in both corruption schemes.
Howe is cooperating with the federal government, Bharara’s office said.
Aiello and Gerardi are also charged with orchestrating the payment of bribes to Joseph Percoco, the former executive deputy secretary to Cuomo.
Percoco is accused of “soliciting and accepting” more than $315,000 in bribes in return for taking official state action to benefit COR Development and an energy company.
More from Coffey statement
Coffey began the statement saying, “The government’s case is Todd Howe.”
“It is perversely laughable to compare Todd Howe’s character and dishonesty to Steven Aiello’s and Joseph Gerardi’s longstanding reputations of integrity and honesty,” said Coffey.
With his guilty plea to eight felony charges, Howe has “publicly acknowledged that he is a self-admitted fraudster, tax cheat and liar” who faces an “incalculable” number of years in prison, Coffey contends in his statement.
“Is there any question that he would do or say anything to reduce his sentence?” Coffey asks.
Coffey also cites Howe’s attorney as saying that Howe will testify “truthfully,” if called to testify.
“If or when Mr. Howe ever decides to testify truthfully, we are wholly confident in our clients being fully vindicated and exonerated,” said Coffey.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
