OTB set to discuss search for Wojtaszek replacement

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OTB Chairman Dennis Bassett. Photo by Garrett Looker.

If Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown is a candidate for the top job at Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., the chairman of the organization’s board isn’t saying so. 

Following the board’s monthly meeting on Thursday at Batavia Downs, Chairman Dennis Bassett said Brown is welcome to “put his name into the pot” of candidates seeking to replace outgoing CEO and President Henry Wojtaszek, who has accepted a contract buyout and is expected to leave his post before the end of the year. 

OTB’s board has called a special meeting next Thursday for a “discussion and review” of the search for Wojtaszek’s successor.

While he acknowledged hearing the “speculation” about Brown’s potential interest in the position, Bassett would not say whether Buffalo’s mayor has submitted a resume. In fairness to all potential candidates, Bassett said he would not share such information about any individuals who have applied. 

“I’m not going to give any answer of who has applied for the job, whether it’s Byron Brown or anyone else,” he said. 

“It’s unfair to any candidate to give a name because the candidates that have applied for the job have a job, and if I give their name and they don’t get the job, then how do they go back to their employer and say, ‘Well, I was out fishing and I didn’t catch any fish so I’m back coming to work today,’” he added. 

Investigative Post first reported in February that Brown pursued at least two jobs outside City Hall and expressed interest in a third: replacing Wojtaszek as the top executive at OTB. Wojtaszek reportedly  is interested in running for mayor in North Tonawanda once he leaves OTB with a buyout that will pay him a full year’s salary — $299,0000.

Brown neither confirmed nor denied his interest in an interview with WGRZ anchor Claudine Ewing, telling her: “It seems like every big job that comes up in Buffalo or Western New York, my name gets attached to it.” 

Bassett is overseeing an internal search committee that he said is currently reviewing resumes from candidates interested in the CEO position. Bassett personally selected the members of the committee, which includes fellow board members Mike Horton (Steuben County), Mark Burr (Cattaraugus County), Ed Morgan (Orleans County) and Elliott Winter (Niagara County).

Earlier this month, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz sent a letter to Bassett, asking that the county’s board representative — Erie County Deputy Comptroller Timothy Callan — be added to the committee roster. On Thursday, Bassett said Poloncarz’s request came “too late” as the committee was formed in June and has already been working on finding Wojtaszek’s replacement for two months. 

Bassett said he did not receive a direct request from Callan to be added to the committee. Callan’s boss, Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick, has been a vocal critic of OTB’s operations during Wojtaszek’s tenure. 

“When [Poloncarz] asked, the committee was doing work and in session for almost two months,” Bassett said. “That’s a little late for somebody to be added to a committee.” 

Bassett said the committee has received resumes from CEO candidates from “around the world” and is now in the process of narrowing the field that will be considered for interviews with board members. Bassett said he hopes to have those candidates in place next month. 

When asked if the new top executive would earn a salary similar to what OTB paid Wojtaszek under his contract, Bassett said he obtained salary ranges from an “outside organization.” He did not name the organization and said he was not prepared to publicly discuss the potential salary ranges. 

“It’s a range that’s competitive, and I always say we might be a government entity, but we are competing in a very competitive environment,” he said. 

Bassett said one of the committee’s priorities will be finding an executive who knows how to navigate the political system in New York and in Albany. 

“We need to do a better job of making sure the people in Albany know what we are doing and look upon OTB as a positive,” he said. “No one ever asks me: ‘Are you guys making any money?’ The last two years we have had record earnings. We are on a track to a third consecutive year of record earnings. No one ever asks me. No one wants to know that we’ve been a very successful organization.” 

Wojtaszek is expected to remain with the organization through the end of the year, and Bassett anticipates he will assist in the transition to a new top manager. 

“We need Henry’s expertise and that president and CEO needs Henry’s expertise so they can hit the ground running,” Bassett said. 

Bassett lauded Wojtaszek for the work he’s done for the organization since he was elevated from his position as agency general counsel to CEO and president in 2016. 

“I have a great working relationship with Henry. I applaud and I will continue to sing his praises,” Bassett said. 

Wojtaszek’s 14-year tenure as OTB’s top executive has been marked by several controversies, including an FBI investigation into the awarding of contracts to politically connected vendors and a state comptroller’s audit that found executives and board members misused $121,000 in tickets and concessions for sporting events and concerts. OTB’s board members have also faced scrutiny for receiving gold-plated healthcare benefits both the state comptroller and the state attorney general have said are not legally allowed. 

In June, the OTB board of directors “renegotiated” the contracts of Wojtaszek, Chief Financial Officer Jacquelyne Leach, and Vice President of Administration William White to allow them to leave their positions with substantial payouts in hand. According to the renegotiated contracts, Wojtaszek would earn a full year’s pay — $299,000 — when he departs at the end of year. Leach would depart early next year with a $122,000 buyout, half of her $244,000 salary. White would leave next April with a buyout of $87,000, half of his $175,000 salary. 

Hardwick and a pair of Democratic state lawmakers — Assemblywoman Monica Wallace from Lancaster and Sen. Sean Ryan from Buffalo — have questioned the legality of the buyouts, arguing that they violate state law limiting severance pay for outgoing public authority executives. On Wednesday, Ryan and Wallace asked state Attorney General Letitia James and the state’s Inspector General to investigate the legality of the buyouts. 

OTB’s attorney, Terry Connors, has previously said the organization is not covered by New York’s Severance Pay Limitation Act, which is designed to prevent executives from public authorities from securing so-called “golden parachutes” when they leave their jobs. 

When asked about the request from Wallace and Ryan, Bassett said he had no comment, but said he believes the organization is on solid legal ground where the buyouts are concerned. 

“We wouldn’t have gone down that road if our legal counsel would have said we should not do that,” he said.

Garrett Looker