A former top aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo had to appear in federal court Thursday as he prepares to be tried on corruption charges, but all of the drama occurred outside of the courtroom. NY1's Courtney Gross filed the following report.

Joe Percoco is used to organizing entourages, not having one. 

A crowd came to Lower Manhattan from Orange County in the Hudson Valley. It followed him in the rain from federal court all the way to the subway, shouting, "Shame!"

The former aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo is facing bribery charges in a sweeping corruption scandal. Percoco is accused of using his state position to try to assist several businesses in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribes.

He had a routine court appearance on Thursday. When he left the courthouse, it turned somewhat chaotic.

Percoco allegedly accepted bribes from a former executive at a power company, known as Competitive Power Ventures. The company is currently building a natural gas power plant in Orange County. 

"We believe there is enough evidence to indicate that yes, this was a project built on bribery, and it needs to be shut down immediately," said one protester.

Percoco stayed silent the entire time. 

Earlier in the courtroom, defense attorneys were trying to convince the judge to have two separate trials. Percoco has seven co-defendants, and their charges cover several schemes across the state. 

"There are very different charges made against different groups of people, all of whom should not be tried together," said Barry Bohrer, attorney for Joe Percoco.

The judge is still weighing whether to split up the case. For now, she set two court dates, one for October and one for January.

Defense attorneys tell us they are currently going through a mountain of evidence, including millions of pages of documents. 

"Mr. Percoco looks forward to his day in court, whenever that day may be," Bohrer said.

Until then, he may want to stay away from Orange County.