Articles for J. Dale Shoemaker

Sep 5

2024

Byron Brown chosen to lead Western OTB

Mayor Byron Brown, incoming OTB chief. Photo by Garrett Looker. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown today was selected to head the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. Brown, 65, was one of two finalists interviewed by OTB’s governing board, which unanimously selected the mayor after five hours of closed-door interviews and deliberations. Elliott Winter, who represents Niagara County on the OTB board and served on the search committee, told reporters Brown is a good fit given his experience running a city government. “He oversees 3,000 employees with a budget of over $600 million. He’s worked in the same capacity for the last[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Aug 28

2024

OTB holds off hiring Wojtaszek successor — for now

As the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.’s board nears a decision on who the agency’s next president and CEO will be, there’s plenty of speculation about the finalists for the job – one of whom is said to be Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. Our J. Dale Shoemaker discussed the latest with Michael Wooten on WKBW’s “Voices” newscast Tuesday evening. The OTB board of directors was scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss its search for a new CEO to succeed Henry Wojtaszek, but the agency canceled the meeting Tuesday morning. No explanation was given. Several board members told Investigative Post the[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Aug 21

2024

Lawmakers ask for state probe into OTB buyouts

OTB President and CEO Henry Wojtaszek. Photo by Garrett Looker. Two Western New York lawmakers — state Sen. Sean Ryan and Assemblywoman Monica Wallace — have asked the state’s Attorney General and Inspector General to investigate buyouts for three executives of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., arguing the packages are illegal. Citing a law Wallace helped pass in 2019 that bans so-called “golden parachutes” for leadership of public authorities, the lawmakers argue in a five-page memo to the Attorney General and Inspector General that the buyouts violate that and/or other state laws which prohibit gifts and large buyouts to[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Aug 14

2024

New Tesla deal slashes penalties, ups rent

New York State officials are prepared to slash penalties on Tesla in coming years, even if the company fails to hire enough workers at its South Buffalo plant and across the state. Under the company’s current arrangement with the state, Tesla must employ 1,460 workers in Buffalo and 2,000 statewide or else pay a $41 million fine. That deal, however, expires this year. According to details of a draft agreement, which could run through 2034, Tesla must employ 1,800 in Buffalo and 3,000 statewide. The current penalty will stay in place through 2029 but will drop to $10 million after[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Aug 2

2024

OTB chairman rescinds Pledge of Allegiance demand

OTB Chairman Dennis Bassett. Photo by Garrett Looker. The chairman of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. has backed off his demand that those attending board meetings recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Dennis Bassett chastised an Investigative Post reporter after OTB’s last board meeting on July 25, contending he wasn’t effusive enough in reciting the pledge. “Why can’t you put your hand on your heart and recite the Pledge?” Bassett said to the reporter after the meeting. “Because if you can’t do that, I would like for you not to be in here when the Pledge is recited. You’re insulting[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Jul 31

2024

Rural IDA leader highest paid in New York

Steven G. Hyde retires effective Aug. 1. Photo by I’Jaz Ja’ciel. When he steps aside tomorrow, Steven G. Hyde — a Genesee County official — will retire as the highest-paid economic development leader in the public sector in New York. His $274,898 salary as president and CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center was nearly $25,000 more than Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2023 salary. It was also more than every other industrial development agency leader in the state. To wit: His counterpart in New York City earned $243,500 in 2023. His counterpart in Erie County made $205,000. His counterparts at[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Jul 26

2024

Recite the Pledge of Allegiance … or leave

OTB Chairman Dennis Bassett. Photo by Garrett Looker. If you want to walk into Batavia Downs, the price of admission is pretty obvious: You’ve got to have a few pennies for the slot machines. But the board of directors that runs the casino and harness track has decided there’s a new cost if you want to hear them discuss the business of the publicly owned Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation: Stand up, place your hand over your heart and recite the Pledge of Allegiance loud enough for Chairman Dennis Bassett to hear you. If you don’t? Bassett doesn’t want you[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Jul 24

2024

A changing of the guard for STAMP

Mark Masse, incoming president of the Genesee County Economic Development Center. Illustration by Garrett Looker. Effective August 1, Mark Masse will take over as president and CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center — the public agency building the STAMP industrial park. Hailing from Genesee County, Masse earned a public accounting degree from Nazareth University and has worked for the IDA since 2010 as its vice president of operations. He takes over for Steven Hyde, the longtime president and CEO who initiated STAMP’s development. He’ll earn a salary of $185,000 and manage an agency with a $10.5 million budget.[...]

Posted 1 year ago