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Dec 13

2018

VA limits benefits for Gold Star families

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Nearly 7,000 American soldiers have died fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere following 9/11. The federal government subsequently established programs for their children, but has befuddled and frustrated many families with confusing, and sometimes contradictory, eligibility guidelines. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs changed eligibility rules for these programs again this week, to the detriment of these “Gold Star” children of soldiers who died. The changes could save the federal government tens of millions of dollars, while costing individual Gold Star children who attend university up to an estimated $25,600 in benefits. The handling of these programs, some of it[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Dec 11

2018

Buffalo Billion criminals get off easy

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Hold up a gas station and you’re looking at a minimum of five years in prison. Get napped with an ounce of crack and the mandatory minimum is five to ten years. Engage in bid rigging, and in the process violate the public’s trust and cost taxpayers potentially million of dollars? If you’re Louis Ciminelli, the sentence is 2 years and 4 months. For Alain Kaloyeros, 3½ years. Minus time off for good behavior, of course. And don’t worry about starting your sentence anytime soon. You’re a free man until you and your high-priced lawyers have exhausted the appeals process.[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Dec 11

2018

Vote for iPost story of the year

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Investigative Post continued to produce hard-hitting investigations in 2018. We’ll leave it up to you readers to decide which was the best one. Editor Jim Heaney has selected what he considers our best enterprise stories. Links are below, followed by a poll. You’re permitted to vote just once. We’ll post the results the first week of January. Buffalo Billion project falls short of mark Buffalo not enforcing its fair housing law Safety ignored in police diver drowning OTB board members receive gold-plated perks High cost of teacher health insurance Neighbors oppose landfill expansion IBM’s dysfunctional call center Pegula’s back fracking[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Dec 4

2018

OTB’s part-time board enjoys gold-plated perks

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The workload is modest, as is the pay. But, oh, the benefits. The public service corporation that manages off-track betting operations in western and central New York provides free health insurance to its board members in exchange for showing up for meetings two days a month. And the perks aren’t limited to health coverage. Board members are eligible for dental and vision insurance, too. The coverage was described by one health insurance expert as “literally the richest plan available.” Indeed, board members have access to plans that feature a $5 copay for generic prescription drugs, a $15 copay for routine[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Dec 3

2018

Ciminelli sentenced for corruption conviction

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 Buffalo developer Louis Ciminelli was sentenced to 28 months in prison and fined $500,000 by a federal judge in Manhattan Monday. Ciminelli was convicted in July for his role in a bid rigging scheme that landed his company, LPCiminelli, a contract worth $26.25 million to build a 1.2 million square foot factory for SolarCity, now Tesla. Alain Kaloyeros, the state official who oversaw the project, was also convicted, along with two developers from Syracuse. Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney, whose reporting in 2014 first exposed the scheme, told WGRZ’s Steve Brown on Monday that he considered the sentence “a[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Dec 3

2018

No prosecution in deadly police shooting

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Editor’s note: The clip above shows the key minute of the encounter between police and Rafael Rivera. A second clip below expands on that video. In an announcement Monday, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said the Buffalo police officer who fatally shot Rafael “Pito” Rivera in September did nothing wrong and will not be prosecuted. That doesn’t mean the matter is settled, however. Rivera’s family has served a notice of claim, in anticipation of a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and police department. In addition, the family’s attorney said he plans to ask the state Attorney General to[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Nov 29

2018

43North winner delinquent on loan

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Four years ago, local manufacturing startup ASi was riding high, the first ever $1 million prize winner of the state-funded 43North business plan competition. Now, the company is in financial trouble. It’s not currently operational, has just one employee – the founder and CEO – and recently defaulted on a $250,000 loan from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency. In exchange for the prize money, 43North takes a 5 percent stake in each winning company. 43North officials say the struggles of one company, even a winner of the $1 million – the largest prize offered – don’t reflect the track record of the[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Nov 28

2018

Double your money with iPost donation

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To quote Ringo Star, “It don’t come easy.” To which we’ll add, “Or cheap.” Investigative reporting, that is. Investigative Post does the costly, time-consuming reporting that most local news outlets shy away from because, well, it’s difficult and expensive. The payoff is when we first break major stories and later see change come as a result. The power of our reporting was on full display this summer when a Manhattan jury convicted Alain Kaloyeros, Louis Ciminelli and two Syracuse-based developers on corruption charges. The federal probe that lead to the filing of charges was triggered by reporting done by Investigative[...]

Posted 6 years ago
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