The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument Monday in the most important case you’ve never heard of. Although Percoco v. United States has generated few headlines, its reach could alter the way businesses deal with regulators and legislators.
The case arises from the 2018 conviction of one Joseph Percoco, who took a break from his job in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office to run Cuomo’s reelection campaign. During his time away, a company having trouble with state labor regulators offered him $35,000 if he could, let us say, make the problems disappear. Percoco placed a few calls to key officials, the regulators backed off, and the company was happy. And Percoco then returned to his senior role in state government after Cuomo won his new term.
Sure, sounds a wee bit grafty. But the question the justices agreed to consider isn’t whether Percoco is a shining example of ethical probity. The question is whether he violated a federal statute aimed at punishing public officials who take bribes. The jury found he did, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected his defense that the law didn’t apply to him because when he took the money and placed the calls he was, technically, a private citizen.
