Plea deal eyed for ex-gov aide

SUSPECTS IN a federal bribery and corruption case, including a former top aide to Gov. Cuomo, are negotiating possible plea deals, according to court papers.

Joseph Percoco, Cuomo’s former executive secretary and campaign manager, and seven others, including the head of SUNY’s Polytechnic Institute, have been charged in a lucrative shakedown scheme that prosecutors said went on right under the governor’s nose.

Percoco (photo inset) and several of the defendants were supposed to appear in court Monday, but got a reprieve when a judge postponed the hearing after prosecutors filed court papers saying they were in plea talks. Manhattan Federal Magistrate Judge Kevin Fox gave both sides until Nov. 23 to work out a deal.

Percoco, now a Madison Square Garden exec, was hit last month with federal charges that he took bribes in exchange for favors and rigged the bidding of contracts for upstate economic development projects. The complaint against Percoco said his alleged shenanigans took place at the very top levels of Cuomo’s government, and centered on two of the gov’s biggest campaign contributors. After the indictment, Cuomo said he was “saddened and profoundly disappointed.”