Articles for J. Dale Shoemaker

Feb 7

2024

Investigative Post sues FBI over records

Nearly a year after first requesting the records, Investigative Post filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the Federal Bureau of Investigations, arguing that the agency is unlawfully withholding thousands of pages of documents. Some of the records are related to the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. which is currently under FBI investigation. The FBI says it has the records, but wants to take more than four years to review and release them. “The information contained in the requested records will allow Investigative Post to bring transparency and accountability to OTB and its public officials in order to protect the public[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Feb 2

2024

Unions, lawmakers renew push for IDA reform

Union officials, lawmakers and good-government groups gathered in Albany this week to announce a renewed push for industrial development agency reform. Photo by Arabella Saunders, New York Focus. A version of this story was first published by New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for their newsletter here. The fight to curb tax breaks issued by industrial development agencies has a powerful new ally: labor unions. Good government groups, legislators, a local development authority board member and their latest allies from the statewide teachers union and the AFL-CIO gathered in Albany Wednesday to urge the[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Jan 30

2024

Tonawanda Senecas to feds: Reject Plug Power loan

The Tonawanda Seneca Nation is urging the Biden administration to reject a $1.6 billion loan sought by hydrogen producer Plug Power, alleging the company is evading federal environmental reviews at its planned Genesee County facility.  At issue is what Plug Power will spend the money on should the federal government approve its loan application later this year. Company executives have discussed the loan as essential for the company after it filed a statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in November which stated “substantial doubt that we will have sufficient capital to fund our operations through the next 12 months.”[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Jan 24

2024

Lawsuit accuses OTB of sexual harassment, wage theft

The Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. was sued Wednesday on claims two executives sexually harassed a female employee and managers at Batavia Downs stole tips from her and other bartenders. Among the allegations lodged against Chief Operating Officer Scott Kiedrowski and Director of Security Daniel Wood: a pattern of sexual harassment that extended over several years. Kiedrowski invited female employees to attend Bills and Sabres games at OTB’s suites, which one plaintiff contends was an effort to seduce her.   The lawsuit contends the alleged wage theft was brought to the attention of OTB management but, after correcting the problem, President[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Jan 18

2024

Wojtaszek, OTB leadership get 2nd raise in a year

Dennis Bassett, chair of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. board of directors, left, and President and CEO Henry Wojtaszek. Photo by Garrett Looker. The Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. gave its president and CEO Henry Wojtaszek a $15,000 raise Thursday, cementing him among the highest paid public employees in New York.   Wojtaszek, 61, now earns an annual paycheck of $287,000. That’s more than New York City Mayor Eric Adams ($258,000); Gov. Kathy Hochul ($250,000); Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer ($193,400); Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown ($178,500); U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins ($174,000); and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz ($140,000).  Wojtaszek is[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Jan 16

2024

Double standard involving OTB board

For more than a decade, the state Gaming Commission allowed political party leaders — all Republicans or Conservatives — to serve on the board of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. in violation of state law, Investigative Post has found. Then came Jennifer Hibit.  Following major reforms by state lawmakers, County Executive Mark Poloncarz last June appointed the Democratic insider to the OTB board. But late last year, the Gaming Commission gave Hibit a choice: Resign from her leadership position in the Erie County Democratic Committee or leave the OTB board. She left OTB.  Crystal Rodriguez-Dabney, a Democrat appointed by Buffalo[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Dec 28

2023

J. Dale Shoemaker’s subsidy reporting

Another year coming to a close. Another 525,600 minutes (almost) expired. As Jonathan Larson asked three decades ago: How do you measure a year? It’s an especially tough question for a reporter like myself who writes about the economy and economic development. There’s any number of metrics — interest rates are up, now steadying; inflation is up, now slowly coming down; wages are up slightly; so is rent — but all of those numbers tend to miss the big picture. Are we in a recession? Or is the economy doing great and we’re just in a “vibe-secession,” caused by our[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Dec 22

2023

Buffalo barista alleges illegal firing

A trendy new coffee shop near the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus has been hit with a lawsuit alleging the owners illegally fired a barista after she fainted due to being overworked. Angel Krempa, the barista, worked at Penny’s from June through August. Her lawsuit alleges that the owners of Penny’s Coffee Shop — located near the corner of Main and Allen streets — forced her to work eight to 12 hour shifts without breaks or overtime pay in violation of New York Labor Law. The workload exacerbated a pre-existing medical condition that caused  her to pass out on the job,[...]

Posted 4 months ago
Investigative Post

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