In another aspect of the alleged schemes, officials at COR Development paid tens of thousands of dollars to Percoco — using Howe as a pass - through to conceal the payments — in exchange for official favors that included reversing a state decision that would have forced the company to enter into a
costly «
labor peace agreement»; freeing up a backlog of state funds that had been promised to the developer; and securing a $ 5,000 raise for Steven L. Aiello, the son of COR president Steven F. Aiello.
That deal, done as a way to keep
labor peace, unexpectedly turned
costly when oil prices shot up, pulling inflation and interest rates along with it.