Tag: Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Jun 26

2018

Buffalo Billion project kept hush-hush

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Executives at LPCiminelli kept the state-affiliated nonprofit overseeing Buffalo Billion projects in the dark about a second project the company was awarded under a no-bid contract, a key witness testified Monday in the ongoing corruption trial. The company was chosen – quietly – to build a lab and office for biotech company Albany Molecular Research Inc. before LPCiminelli had even submitted their response to the Request for Proposals to build a factory for SolarCity that prosecutors said was rigged in their favor by Alain Kaloyeros and lobbyist Todd Howe. Kevin Schuler, a former LPCiminelli executive who has pled guilty to[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Jun 15

2018

What to watch for in Buffalo Billion trial

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 On Monday, Buffalo businessman Louis Ciminelli, will face trial in federal court in Manhattan, accused of taking part in a scheme to rig the bids for the construction work on the huge factory for SolarCity. Federal prosecutors say Ciminelli and other executives at his company worked with Alain Kaloyeros, the state official in charge of Gov. Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion initiative, to secretly tailor the bid specifications so their company would get the contract. Kaloyeros, who is also facing corruption charges, presided over a system of non-profit organizations that were exempt from the usual state oversight, even as they handed[...]

Posted 6 years ago

May 18

2018

Ciminelli executive pleas in corruption case

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One of three LPCiminelli executives indicted on corruption charges related to the Buffalo Billion program pleaded guilty to felony charges Friday. Kevin Schuler, a company vice president deeply involved in its political operations, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. A bribery charge was dismissed. Schuler made his plea before U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan. Under the plea, as reported by The Buffalo News, Schuler agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. He faces up to three years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. Two other company officials, President Louis Ciminelli and Michael Laipple, are[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Mar 26

2018

Heaney talks corruption on ‘Pressroom

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Susan Arbetter, host of The Capitol Pressroom, quizzes Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney on the Joe Percoco verdict, the candidacy of Cynthia Nixon and the curious manner in which Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown selected his new police commissioner.

Posted 6 years ago

Mar 15

2018

Cuomo is guilty at some level

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Andrew Cuomo is all worked up over the suggestion that the conviction of Joseph Percoco, his former right-hand man, reflects poorly on the governor and his administration. Cuomo dismissed the linkage as “political garbage” and maintained “there was absolutely no suggestion ever made (during the trial) that I had anything to do with anything.’’ That’s a pretty amazing statement coming from someone with a reputation as a hands-on control freak. Yes, the governor has been neither charged with nor convicted of any wrongdoing. But he is ultimately responsible for the scandals involving state economic development programs and the general sleaze[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Mar 12

2018

Heaney discusses IBM on ‘Pressroom

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Jim Heaney and Susan Arbetter talk about the troubled IBM project in Buffalo on The Capitol Pressroom. Investigative Post in recent months has published two stories, found here and here, on the project, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo said would create hundreds of good-paying, high-tech jobs but instead has resulted in a dysfunctional call center employing low-wage workers who say they are poorly trained.  

Posted 6 years ago

Jan 8

2018

Buffalo Billion emails highlight political giving

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A list of hundreds of emails from a key figure in the Buffalo corruption case underscores the role of campaign contributions in the scandal. Lobbyist Todd Howe repeatedly emailed his clients – including executives at LPCiminelli who are facing charges of bid-rigging – about giving money to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his then running mate, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul. The index of emails, submitted into evidence by defense lawyers at the end of December but withdrawn just days later, includes only their subject lines, not the full text of the messages or the dates they were sent. Still, it offers[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Dec 21

2017

A Buffalo Billion bust in Syracuse

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 Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s original plan to redevelop the former Republic Steel site in South Buffalo included Soraa, a California based company that manufactures high efficiency lights. Soraa and Silevo, a solar panel manufacturer, were going to occupy a factory at Riverbend, built at taxpayer expense under the Buffalo Billion program. SolarCity, owned by Elon Musk, bought out Silevo and the state and Soraa decided to locate the lighting plant in Syracuse. Some $90 million in state funds were spent to build the factory in exchange for a promise of 420 jobs. Like the SolarCity project, the Syracuse plant was ensnared[...]

Posted 6 years ago
Investigative Post

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