Cuomo’s burden

Guilty, guilty, guilty: A federal jury’s verdict is finally in against Joe Percoco. That leaves New Yorkers to wrestle with a second weighty judgment, of the governor who employed as a top aide, empowered as a gatekeeper and counted as a “brother” the man convicted on three counts of fraud and soliciting bribes.

The end of the Percoco trial leaves a ghastly stain on Gov. Cuomo as he runs for reelection in November. It might come out — but only if Cuomo stops talking about cleaning up his government and starts scrubbing as hard as humanly possible.

With the aid of Todd Howe, a lobbyist and former aide to Gov. Mario Cuomo turned prosecutorial witness, Percoco shook down businessmen for more than $300,000 knowing full well their craving for favorable actions by state government.

An approach from an energy firm became an opening to set up Percoco’s wife with a do-little, $7,500-a-month job. A Syracuse developer kicked $35,000 to Percoco, in addition to $125,000 in campaign contributions to Cuomo — and got exempted from a costly construction-labor mandate, among other wins.

Emails and eyewitnesses exposed Percoco’s racket as tragicomedy, scripted in lingo lifted from “The Sopranos.” A tray of ziti — his code word for the cash payoffs sought — will never taste the same again. By the same measure, never should the stench of obscene quantities of money ever stink up the state Capitol again.

Tuesday, Cuomo demanded the state “put additional safeguards in place to secure public trust.” He’s got to get specific, and quick, and press like hell even as the Legislature tries to bury every call for change. Top of the list:

New York allows campaign contributions to candidates for statewide office up to $65,100, the nation’s highest.

The LLC loophole — through which Percoco’s developer buddies shoveled the Cuomo campaign donations — multiplies that limit by a potentially infinite number of easily created business entities.

New York City limits anyone doing government business to giving just $400 to a candidate per election; at the state level, anything goes.

Unless and until Cuomo leads with everything he’s got to change those three obnoxious laws, he’ll maintain the Percoco stain.

The governor has gestured at ethics overhauls many times in seven years ruling the roost in Albany. This time, it’s personal.