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Dec 23

2024

Scanlon campaign violated ethics laws

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Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon. Chris Scanlon, Buffalo’s acting mayor, hasn’t yet formally declared his candidacy for a full four-year term, but already he’s stumbled over laws prohibiting incumbents from using their offices to promote their campaigns. Scanlon last Thursday held a fundraiser — checks payable to his campaign committee — at developer Doug Jemal’s Seneca One building in downtown Buffalo. Invitations to the fundraiser were mailed in envelopes that used the mayor’s second-floor office for a return address. That’s a violation of local, state and federal laws that prohibit public employees from using their offices for political purposes. Investigative Post[...]

Posted 3 weeks ago

Dec 23

2024

The smart way to build a stadium

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I get a chuckle out of stories that raise the prospect of major spinoff development near the new Buffalo Bills stadium. The Buffalo News published another story to that effect last week. It’s not gonna happen.  Terry Pegula has insisted on an open-air stadium surrounded by parking lots, located in the outer-ring suburb of Orchard Park. His approach runs counter to best practices employed by most other NFL owners who have built stadiums over the past decade. The Conversation, which fancies itself for “academic rigor, journalistic flair,” outlined how stadiums can be done right. Key points include: “It’s smarter to[...]

Posted 3 weeks ago

Dec 19

2024

Braymiller Market has closed

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Braymiller Market moments before closing for good Wednesday evening. Photo by J. Dale Shoemaker. Braymiller Market, the only grocery store in downtown Buffalo, has officially closed its doors. On Wednesday evening, a person could be seen loading goods into a delivery van. On Thursday morning, the store was dark. An employee on Wednesday confirmed that was the market’s last day of operation. The closure means the business is now in default on a $561,000 city loan, a matter that’s sparked a clash in City Hall. At question is whether or not the city will demand its money back from store[...]

Posted 4 weeks ago

Dec 18

2024

Vote for our top story of 2024

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We will publish some 250 stories and other pieces of content in 2024, plus another 50 pieces we co-produced for our television partners.  Likewise, we’ve also enjoyed a 65 percent surge in traffic to our website this year.  We’re asking our readers to vote for their favorite Investigative Post story of 2024.  Twelve stories are up for consideration. Tell us which story you liked the best in the ballot below. Please note that you can only vote once.  You can vote through Thursday, Jan. 2. 

Posted 4 weeks ago

Dec 17

2024

Departing OTB chief splurged on travel

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Henry Wojtaszek is going out in style. The departing president and CEO of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. traveled grandly during his final year on the job, records show.  Consider:  A three-night stay at a swanky hotel on the Las Vegas Strip at a cost of $3,300.  A $1,600 tab — dinner for five — at a top-rated Las Vegas steakhouse owned by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck during that same trip.  An August trip to Saratoga Springs that included a $2,420 tab — dinner for nine — at a farm-to-table steakhouse. And an overnight stay at a four-star New York[...]

Posted 4 weeks ago

Dec 16

2024

Judge Carney exits soon-to-be-changed Housing Court

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Buffalo City Court. Photo by I’Jaz Ja’ciel After 30 years on the bench, the last 14 presiding over Buffalo’s Housing Court, Judge Patrick Carney has hung up his robes, making way for what could be significant changes in the way Housing Court operates. While Carney’s current term runs through the end of December, the retiring judge said last Friday was his final day in the courtroom. Although Carney’s successor has not been officially named, City Court Judge Phillip Dabney will fill in for Carney through the end of the year, according to Eighth District Administrative Judge Kevin Carter. Carter declined[...]

Posted 4 weeks ago

Dec 11

2024

Prospect of more scrutiny for OTB

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Batavia Downs, the flagship of Western Regional OTB. Photo by Garrett Looker. Two state authorities appear to be eyeing probes into the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., Investigative Post has learned. The Inspector General, responding to a request from two state lawmakers, has obtained documents including buyout deals for Henry Wojtaszek, OTB’s outgoing  president and CEO, and two of his top lieutenants. The Inspector General’s office would neither confirm nor deny whether the records request has progressed into a formal investigation. In addition, the state comptroller is considering a request from Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick for a “performance and[...]

Posted 1 month ago

Dec 11

2024

Council: Not so fast on forgiving Braymiller loan

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  Braymiller Market. Photo by Garrett Looker The City of Buffalo could call in the $561,000 it loaned to Braymiller Market and reallocate the money for a different use, according to city officials and an Investigative Post review of records. Some lawmakers want to know why the acting mayor, facing a financial crisis that threatens to starve city departments and initiatives of funding, seems reluctant to do that. “I want to know why we wouldn’t require somebody who didn’t honor their commitment, who took money from the city, to at least pay it back,” Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope[...]

Posted 1 month ago
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