Executive Deputy Secretary to the Governor · New York State Executive Chamber
One of New York's most powerful state officials took a leave of absence to join the governor's re-election campaign — and while ostensibly away from government, continued to exercise state influence on behalf of companies that were secretly paying him.
A senior government official accepted payments — directly and through family members — from companies whose government dealings he was influencing, with the payments structured to disguise the relationship.
Joseph Percoco served as Executive Deputy Secretary to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and was widely regarded as one of the most powerful individuals in the state government. According to his 2018 federal conviction on three counts, Percoco accepted $315,000 in payments from companies doing business with New York State — including a real estate developer and an energy company — in exchange for using his governmental access and influence to benefit those companies. Critically, some of the corrupt activity occurred while Percoco was nominally on leave from state government to manage Cuomo's 2014 re-election campaign, yet continued to exercise influence over state affairs.
Percoco's government position gave him significant influence over state contract awards, regulatory decisions, and access to senior officials — making him valuable to companies seeking favorable government treatment.
According to court findings, he accepted payments structured as a "consulting" salary for his wife from a company seeking state permits, and as direct payments from a real estate developer seeking state assistance.
Even while on formal leave from state government, Percoco continued to contact and influence state officials on behalf of paying companies — exploiting relationships built during his official tenure.
The payments were disguised as legitimate employment or consulting arrangements for Percoco or his wife, obscuring their nature as payments for official influence.
A senior government official accepted payments — directly and through family members — from companies whose government dealings he was influencing, with the payments structured to disguise the relationship.
Payments routed through family members, or structured as employment of a spouse or relative by a company seeking official favor, are a well-documented method of disguising conflicts. Reviewing the employment and compensation of immediate family members of decision-makers — relative to the business relationships of those family members' employers — is a critical component of thorough conflict-of-interest screening.
ConflictCheck does not claim it would have definitively prevented any specific historical fraud. The purpose of this section is to illustrate the type of relationship conflict present in each case and how structured disclosure processes address that category of risk.
Percoco was convicted in March 2018 on three counts of fraud and bribery. He was sentenced to six years in federal prison.
Every case in this library began with a relationship that existed — undisclosed — before anyone was harmed. ConflictCheck helps map those relationships across your organization.