By Associated Press - Thursday, September 20, 2018

NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on the sentencing of former top aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (all times local):

4:08 p.m.

A former top aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been sentenced to six years in prison for fraud and accepting bribes.

Joseph Percoco was sentenced Thursday by a federal judge in New York City.

U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni said she hoped the sentence would be heard in the state capital.

Percoco was convicted in March of accepting more than $300,000 from companies that wanted influence with the Cuomo administration.

The governor wasn’t charged in the case and denied any knowledge of Percoco’s influence peddling. However, trial testimony presented an unflattering picture of the inner workings of his office.

Percoco’s conviction also gave ammunition to Cuomo’s opponents in this year’s election.

They say it proves the two-term Democrat hasn’t done enough to address chronic corruption in state government.

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12:01 a.m.

A judge will decide whether a former top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo receives leniency or a long prison sentence for his conviction on federal bribery and fraud charges.

Joseph Percoco is set for a Thursday sentencing in Manhattan federal court.

Prosecutors say he should serve well over five years in prison. His lawyers say he should get no more than two years.

Percoco was convicted in March. He was acquitted of extortion and a bribery count.

Prosecutors say Percoco and his family accepted more than $300,000 in bribes from companies that wanted to gain influence with the Cuomo administration.

Cuomo, a Democrat, wasn’t accused of wrongdoing, but testimony presented an unflattering picture of the inner workings of his office.

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