Judge Hints Disgraced Star Witness May Soon Be Freed on Bail

NEW YORK — Todd R. Howe, the former lobbyist who was jailed in February after admitting he tried to defraud a credit card company after becoming a cooperating witness for the government, could soon be released on bail, a judge in Manhattan indicated Thursday.

“My view is he’s taking up a bed that perhaps could be better used for other people,” the judge, Valerie E. Caproni, of U.S. District Court, said.

The judge made her comment at a brief hearing during which a prosecutor also revealed that Howe’s cooperation agreement was still “in place,” even though Howe had his bail revoked after he violated the terms of the deal.

Howe, 58, pleaded guilty to eight felonies in September 2016 and became the star government witness in the corruption trial that led to the conviction in March of Joseph Percoco, a former top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. (Cuomo was not accused of any wrongdoing.)

One provision of Howe’s cooperation deal was that he “commit no further crimes whatsoever.”

During the Percoco trial, Howe, who admitted to leading a life of lies, unpaid bills and defaulted mortgages, testified that his deal required him to be truthful and if he lied, prosecutors could “rip up this agreement.”

But under cross-examination by Daniel M. Gitner, a lawyer for one of Percoco’s co-defendants, Howe admitted that after reaching the deal, he had tried to defraud a credit card company, which he had not disclosed to the government.

Gitner asked Howe whether he realized he had violated the terms of his deal.

“I do, looking at this, yes,” Howe replied.

“As you sit here now, do you think they’re going to rip it up?” Gitner asked.

“I sure hope not,” Howe said.

The deal also says that if Howe provided “substantial assistance” to the government and complied fully with the agreement, prosecutors would write to the judge on his behalf, which could help him obtain leniency at his sentencing.

Howe was also expected to be the chief government witness at the recent bid-rigging trial of Alain E. Kaloyeros, a principal architect of Cuomo’s signature economic development initiative, the so-called Buffalo Billion. But in May, prosecutors told the judge they would not be calling him to testify against Kaloyeros, who nevertheless was convicted this month.

On Thursday, Caproni made it clear she favored releasing Howe on bail pending his sentencing.

Savannah Stevenson, a lawyer for Howe, told the judge Howe’s legal team would discuss with him the question of seeking his release on bail and would notify the court of his decision. Asked after the hearing about Howe’s view on being released, Stevenson said, “I think that you can extrapolate from what any normal human being’s desire would be.”