ALBANY — Ten years ago, Preet Bharara wielded his ax.
That’s how the Times Union headline on Sept. 23, 2016, described the indictment of Joe Percoco, Alain Kaloyeros and six others named in a sweeping federal complaint alleging bribery, corruption and fraud schemes. It was a front-page story, of course, that shook the administration of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state government more broadly.
Percoco, after all, had been a top aide to the governor, a Democrat. Kaloyeros, meanwhile, was the founding president and CEO of Albany’s SUNY Polytechnic Institute, a key Cuomo economic development initiative. And the others, all men, were involved in the governor’s Buffalo Billion economic development initiative…