He, along with others charged, including construction contracting firm owner Louis Ciminelli, are alleged to have bribed Cuomo aide Joseph Percoco and engaged in bid rigging.

[6][7] For his part, Louis Ciminelli was convicted of wire fraud for his role in the scheme which ensured his construction company, LPCiminelli, would be awarded a contract from public infrastructure funds.

The "right to control" theory, as elucidated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, posited that depriving a party of potentially valuable economic information could constitute a scheme to defraud.

In the opinion, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Court held that the "right to control" is not a valid basis for federal wire fraud charges because it is not rooted in a traditional common law property right.

The Court emphasized that wire fraud must involve a scheme to fraudulently obtain money or other tangible property, not merely interfere with a party's right to make informed economic decisions.