RuthHumphries

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — The government’s key witness in its bribery case against a former top aide to Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he participated in bribery schemes with his longtime friend. Todd Howe began his testimony Monday morning as prosecutors try to prove 48-year-old Joseph Percoco accepted over $300,000 in bribes from three businessmen. #BREAKING Todd Howe next witness for the prosecution in the corruption trial of former @NYGovCuomo aide Joe Percoco snd co-defendants. #1010WINS — Juliet Papa (@winsjuliet) February 5, 2018 Percoco faces bribery, extortion and other charges. He and several others are accused of paying and accepting bribes and rigging bids in the awarding of state contracts. Peroco’s lawyers say the longtime aide and Cuomo confidant did nothing wrong. Howe says he joined bribery schemes with Percoco from 2010 to 2016 and claims they referred to the payoffs as “ziti.” He says he hired Percoco out of college three decades ago and considered him the closest thing to a brother he’s had. Howe says he wanted to help when Percoco told him he had financial problems in 2014. Howe admitted he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from his employer and owed over $1 million to the IRS. Now he works as a groundskeeper in Idaho. He told the judge, “There’s a lot less pressure there,” 1010 WINS’ Juliet Papa reported. In his opening statement , Peroco’s lawyer called Howe a congenital and pathological liar. Howe pleaded guilty in 2016 to federal crimes including bribery and corruption. He is awaiting sentencing. (© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Continued here:
Key Witness Begins Testimony At Trial Of Former Cuomo Aide

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Residents of a Brooklyn building are frustrated because they’re not receiving their mail. The building at the corner of Knickerbocker Avenue and Eldert Street in Bushwick essentially has an identity crisis, CBS2’s Valerie Castro reported. “The whole situation is ridiculous and weird,” resident Diana Diaz told Castro. That crisis means residents aren’t getting their mail, Castro reported. “We pay our rent, so we should be able to get mail,” Diaz said. The building began leasing to tenants in November, Castro reported. The USPS says original construction plans put the the entrance to the building – and the mailboxes – at 803 Knickerbocker Avenue.