Oct 8
2025
OTB hires Byron Brown’s brother-in-law
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Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. — headed by president and CEO Byron Brown — has hired the brother-in-law of the former mayor.
Michael Lee Austin — brother of Brown’s wife, Michelle Austin Brown — began working last month as a sergeant supervising the security guards at Batavia Downs, the horse track, casino and hotel complex owned by OTB. The position pays $24.33 per hour and is eligible for overtime. Austin disclosed his relationship to Brown in his application for a state gaming license, a copy of which Investigative Post obtained via a Freedom of Information request.
The hiring appears to violate an OTB employment policy.
Michael Lee Austin
Outlined in the “Reform Agenda” Brown put forth in February, non-union positions like sergeant are to be advertised internally first and then posted publicly on websites like Indeed, LinkedIn and Facebook. OTB spokesperson Michael DeGeorge told Investigative Post that the job was not advertised at all, however.
“All positions have historically not been posted,” DeGeorge said. “According to HR, the opening occurred in January. His resume was received in May and the position was filled in September.”
DeGeorge said Austin submitted his resume seeking “any potential opening” and did not apply to a specific position. The human resources and security departments then handled the hiring, he said, meaning Brown did not have a hand in hiring his relative.
“As per corporate policy, ‘in no event shall a current member, officer, or employee participate in any decision to hire, promote, discipline or discharge a relative,’” DeGeorge said.
A portion of Austin’s gaming license application, obtained by Investigative Post.
DeGeorge, in a statement, defended the hiring of Austin.
“He comes with significant experience and knowledge in the security profession that’s needed for this position,” DeGeorge said, noting that Austin previously worked as a security supervisor at Shea’s Performing Arts Center.
“Supervisory experience is vitally important to an operation like Batavia Downs that is open nearly 20 hours a day and attracts thousands of people.”
OTB’s hiring policy further states that the administration must inform the board of directors of all new hires. Timothy Callan, Erie County’s representative on the board of directors, said while he and the others were informed of Austin’s hiring, no disclosure was made that he was related to Brown. Callan said he and other directors are troubled by the hiring.
“The president and CEO could have notified the board and simply said, ‘This is what I’d like to do, this is why, this is why this person is qualified,’ ” he said. “That didn’t happen here.”
Callan said he plans to discuss with other board members “what next steps can be done, if any.”
“Perhaps he’s perfectly qualified for the position and there’s no worry about that. But there’s a perception issue here,” he said. “When things like this happen it just further adds to that whiff of impropriety and this didn’t need to happen.”
Donate to support our nonprofit newsroomThe hiring policy was put in place, in part, as a response to news last year that former president and CEO Henry Wojtaszek had hired his son for a position at Batavia Downs.
Lee Park, a spokesperson for the New York State Gaming Commission, said the agency has no prohibitions regarding leaders of OTBs hiring relatives and no rules requiring that jobs be posted publicly. Parks said further that the commission has not received any complaints related to Austin “but we did hear about the hiring.”
Austin, 66, did not return a phone call seeking comment for this story.
His hiring at Batavia Downs is not the first time he’s worked under his brother-in-law.
Previously, Austin worked in City Hall as director of the Mayor’s Task Force on Housing where he oversaw Buffalo’s registry of rental properties. He was hired as a clerk in that department in 2015 and became director in 2022. He held that position through June, according to his application for a state gaming license, though payroll records indicate he was paid through September 3. He earned $72,188 last year.
His leadership was scrutinized by local media and criticized by housing activists. Under city law, all one- and two-family housing units not occupied by the owner must register with the city and pay a fee. An analysis by The Buffalo News last year found that under Austin’s leadership, the city was not keeping the rental registry up-to-date and was failing to collect the annual fees from thousands of rental properties.
At the time, DeGeorge defended Austin as collecting more fees from rental property owners than his predecessor.
Concerns about the rental registry were included in a lawsuit that a group of organizations and tenants filed against the city last year alleging it was failing to inspect rental properties for lead hazards. The lawsuit claimed in part that thousands of properties were being added to the rental registry without undergoing inspection, in violation of the city’s Proactive Rental Inspections law. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in January, but the plaintiffs filed an appeal Tuesday morning seeking to reverse that decision.
Simultaneous to his City Hall job, Austin’s gaming license application indicates he also worked as a security guard at Shea’s Performing Arts Center. He began working for Amherst-based Tarian Group in 2019, which contracts with Shea’s.
While financial details were redacted from his gaming license application, court filings indicate Austin filed for bankruptcy in March 2017. According to the filings, about two-thirds of his worth was equity in his home on Blaine Avenue, down the block from where Brown lives.
Austin has been a registered armed guard in New York State for seven years. He listed Buffalo City Court Judge Samuel Davis and former Erie County District Attorney John Flynn as references on his gaming license application.
