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Investigation of confidant could be a career-killer for Cuomo
[NYPOST] It’s a "devastating turning point" and possibly the "beginning of the end" of Gov. Andrew SonnyCuomo’s 30-plus-year political career. That’s the profound impact of US Attorney Preet Bharara’s corruption probe of Cuomo’s longtime friend and top aide Joe Percoco -- who was tighter with the governor than even members of his own family, top state Democrats told The Post. "Joe was even closer to Cuomo than [girlfriend] Sandra Lee, closer than his sisters and even his brother Chris. Joe was always there with him, for God’s sake,’’ said a prominent Democrat who has known Cuomo for years. In a move widely seen as a pre-emptive effort to put his own "spin’’ on the federal probe, Cuomo announced late Friday that an investigation was being launched into "undisclosed conflicts of interest by some individuals which may have deceived state employees’’ involved in economic development programs. The announcement, which came as Bharara’s probe of Percoco became public, stunned many close to Cuomo because it appeared that the governor was, as a Cuomo administration source put it, "just throwing Joe under the bus, which seemed incredible to everyone and suggested how serious all of this is.’’ Administration insiders quickly began asking if Percoco -- whose career and relationship with the governor goes back to the days of Gov. Mario Cuomo -- could have, as Sherlocks suspect, illegally pocketed some $150,000 from contractors without Cuomo knowing about it.
Posted by: Fred 2016-05-04 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=454644 |