Local state lawmakers are reacting to today's guilty verdict against former aide to Governor Cuomo, Joseph Percoco on corruption charges.

Assemblyman Marc Butler

“Gov. Cuomo’s close aide Joseph Percoco was found guilty by a jury of his peers for accepting $300,000 in bribes from companies who had business before the state. This guilty verdict points to the serious problem of corruption within the governor’s administration. The people of New York deserve better. I am glad that the call for transparency and honesty in government has prevailed in this case.”

Assemblyman Brian Miller:

“To no one’s surprise, the governor’s former top aide and close friend Joe Percoco was found guilty this afternoon of several federal corruption charges. As the saying goes, ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire.’ When does this all end? New York state is the most corrupt in the nation but certain members of the Legislature seem in no hurry to stomp it out. I’ll yell it to anyone who will listen, we need reforms now.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo issued the following statement:

"The jury has reached a verdict and I respect that decision. While I am sad for Joe Percoco's young daughters who will have to deal with this pain, I echo the message of the verdict - there is no tolerance for any violation of the public trust.

"There is no higher calling than public service and integrity is paramount - principles that have guided my work during the last 40 years.

"The verdict demonstrated that these ideals have been violated by someone I knew for a long time. That is personally painful; however, we must learn from what happened and put additional safeguards in place to secure the public trust. Anything less is unacceptable."

Statement From Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan:

"I have faith and trust in the criminal justice system, and similarly I have faith and trust that this jury took its responsibility to weigh the evidence in this case seriously and render a verdict that they deemed appropriate. As New Yorkers, we accept their verdict.
 
On a personal level, it is unfortunate when anyone in government is found guilty of these kinds of charges. I strongly believe there are a lot of really good people in government - - people who choose public service for all the right reasons, people who are important to the operations of their state and their local communities.
 
For as long as I have been in the state Legislature, I have always believed that more transparency and more disclosure are a good thing. If we can make additional changes to our laws that will positively impact our state and its people, we are always willing to have those discussions."

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