Thread by @KlasfeldReports

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's former "right-hand man" Joseph Percoco faces sentencing this afternoon at 2 p.m.

Look out for my coverage soon.

ICYMI: Prosecutors emphasized Percoco's "significant power" throughout the Cuomo political dynasty in their sentencing memo, which seeks more than 5 years imprisonment.

The memo: documentcloud.org/documents/4910…

I will be live-tweeting today's sentencing.

The defense memo (linked below) puts the Cuomo ties up high too, but downplays the "few decisions" that scuttled Percoco's political career involving two companies with business before the state: CPV (building a fracked gas plant) and COR (developer).

documentcloud.org/documents/4910…

Re-up my old story about testimony about the job for Percoco's wife at CPV sparked a panicked phone call within the company.

courthousenews.com/witness-says-i…

See you back here at 2 pm.

Percoco sentencing live-tweet beginning now. The parties are discussing the pre-sentencing report issues.

The particular argument under dispute now relates to the interpretation of an email from the government's star witness Todd Howe in the pre-sentence report. This is one of the preliminaries to clarify the fact record to sentencing arguments begin.

Explainer: Presentence reports are typically sealed, and so arguments over them are difficult to live-tweet. This portion of the sentencing hearing has ended.

Caproni is now moving on to the sentencing guidelines.

Gov't calculates them as between 188 and 235 months, but asks for more than 5 years.

Defense calculates them at between 121 to 151 months, but calls the guidelines draconian.

Caproni adds that it does not matter because the discrepancy in the calculations won't affect her sentence, which is at "variance" with the guidelines.

Now moving on to forfeiture arguments:

The government's seeking more than $320,000 in forfeiture, and the defense is seeking $225,000. The discrepancy here is over the "low-show" job to Lisa Percoco, whose work - the defense argues - had value.

Judge Caproni seems skeptical of that argument, noting that the jury found that "the purpose of the payment was to bribe Percoco."

Caproni says that she's going to give the parties a chance to brief this more completely. She's not going to decide this issue today. The defense asks for two weeks, taking the schedule to Oct. 4.

Prosecutors answer Oct. 18, and defense reply due Oct. 25.

Down to the arguments.

Up first is AUSA Janis Echenberg, requesting a sentence "that sends a strong message, that gov't corruption deserves serious punishment."

Describing Percoco's reputation as the governor's "right-hand man," Echenberg said: "He did all of this after a long career in public service where he knew and he understood the rules."

Referring to Albany's "three men in the room" culture, Echenberg said: "Joe Percoco was perpetually in the ear of one of those three men."

He was Cuomo's "enforcer," Echenberg says.

The fact that Percoco wasn't an elected official isn't mitigating, Echenberg says.

"Joe Percoco wielded immense power and he wielded it behind closed doors," she said.

Echenberg slams Percoco for the defense minimizing their client's actions, insisting that "What Joe did was actually very little" and "He made a few bad decisions."

Echenberg notes Caproni gave Silver a lighter 7-year sentence because of his age and remorse, but she says that neither applies Percoco. A strong sentence is necessary, she says, because: "Faith in government may be at an all time low."

Barry Bohrer is up now for Joseph Percoco.

Caproni is asking Bohrer to explain what Percoco expressed remorse for in the letter, given the defense's arguments minimizing his role.

Bohrer: "Joe is a good man."

"Quite often, bad people who do bad things get caught and appear before your honor for sentence."

Others, "step over the line" and make "mistakes," Bohrer says: "And I believe that Mr. Percoco is such a person."

An aside: Here's a screenshot of Percoco's contrite letter accepting responsibility that Caproni found hard to "square" with the defense's position.

"I have only myself to blame," Percoco said then.

Now back to Bohrer's arguments.

"Acceptance of responsibility yields you a reward under the guidelines, but it's not necessarily proper for punishment," Bohrer said, citing his client's right to trial.

He points out that Percoco skated on 3 out of 6 charges.

"This was a close case," Bohrer says.

"It would ill-behoove us to throw in the towel" with an appeal pending and issues of factual dispute, he adds.

Bohrer pivots to the letters in Percoco's support: "It has to count for something. It has to matter. If it doesn't matter here, when does it matter: when the man's eulogized?"

One of them is an ex-New York Court of Appeals Judge Bellacosa.

According to Bohrer, Bellacosa's letter blasted what he called "media caricatures" of Percoco.

After playing down the bribery scheme as Percoco getting his wife a job, Bohrer said: "I'm not saying that we should hold a ticker-tape parade for Mr. Percoco."

Turning to Caproni's opening question to him, Bohrer says: "Mr. Percoco's letter expresses remorse for having put himself in this situation."

Bohrer: "When it comes to deterrence, we understand that a term of incarceration is one that is deemed necessary," but he asked: "What should the severity be?"

"Mindful of that," Bohrer says, they've proposed a prison term.

The defense memo asks for no more than 2 years.

Bohrer hasn't said a number in court, yet.

"This is a man who spent his entire adult life, until recently, in public service," Bohrer said, citing his reputation as Mario's "third son."

"His letter is much broader than, 'I'm sorry that I got caught,'" Bohrer says.

Regardless of Percoco's sentence, Bohrer says: "No one, no one would want to step into Mr. Percoco's shoes," or say: "Gee, I'd like to have the Joe Percoco treatment please."

Caproni asks if Percoco would like to be heard.

"Yes," he responds, but asks for a moment to talk to his attorney.

Percoco: "I would just like to express how sorry I am for my action. ... I live the with the consequences every single day of my life."

As he said in the letter, Percoco said "I lie awake every night" thinking about what he did. His remarks were brief. More later.

Back to Caproni.

'A theme that emerged from the many letters that I read, and I read them all" is that Percoco's a "go-getter" who values "loyalty."

Caproni says that this picture of him is different from the one that emerged at trial: "The evidence in this case is that Mr. Percoco failed to set a good example in matters large and small."

"At this point in history, faith in government is at an all time low," Caproni said.

She adds that you see that "cynicism" in letters from residents of Orange County, who protested a fracked-gas power plant in their area throughout the trial that they said was built on bribes.

Saying she disagrees with Bohrer, Caproni adds: "I see the motive for this crime was greed and arrogance."

"Mr. Percoco, there's no honor among thieves," Caproni says, referring to his relationship with Todd Howe.

"In my opinion, there's no white-collar crime that's more serious than the type" of Percoco's convictions, Caproni said.

Caproni calls the notion that Percoco wasn't a public official because he wasn't elected "unmitigated poppycock."

One letter claimed Percoco wouldn't accept a cutting board as a gift without checking the ethics rules.

"That's admirable," Caproni says, but she add that's not the "true Joseph Percoco."

* adds

"The true Joseph Percoco took thousands of dollars through CPV," and had it "laundered" through an intermediary Chris Pitts.

Caproni: "I hope that this sentence will be heard in Albany" and will be heard as a warning to public servants everywhere.

"If you can't live with a public servant's salary, get out of government," she says.

BREAKING: Six years for Percoco, with 3 years supervised release.

Caproni recommends that Percoco will be sent to Otisville, at Bohrer's request.

SDNY just sent out a statement of U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, who inherited the case from Preet Bharara's anti-corruption clampdown.

ICYMI: My developing story on Percoco's sentence. Another update to come.

courthousenews.com/cuomos-ex-depu…