Categories for News

May 30

2023

Lawsuit seeks millions from OTB officials

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Earlier this month a federal court issued summonses to a host of current and former board members at Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., as part of a lawsuit seeking to hold the directors liable for the agency’s alleged misuse of millions of public dollars. The lawsuit aims to compel those 21 board members to pay back to OTB — and thus to the 15 counties and two cities that own the agency — money “improperly used” to purchase health insurance for board members, expensive tickets to sporting events and concerts, and contracts for politically connected firms. Specifically, the lawsuit claims[...]

Posted 3 days ago

May 16

2023

Joseph resigns from Roswell board

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Michael Joseph — whose company, the Clover Group, was accused last week of  “racist and illegal housing discrimination practices” — has resigned as chair of Roswell Park Cancer Institute. A spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul, who appoints seven of Roswell’s 15 board members — including the chair — sent Investigative Post a statement Tuesday evening announcing Joseph’s resignation. “Governor Hochul is committed to making Roswell Park a more equitable and inclusive institution for employees, patients and families,” the statement reads.  “The Governor has accepted Michael Joseph’s resignation from the Board of Directors and named Leecia Eve as Interim Chair.” Joseph,[...]

Posted 2 weeks ago

May 15

2023

‘Inappropriate and questionable spending’ at IDA

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A state review of the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency has found more than $250,000 of “inappropriate and questionable discretionary spending,” including costly holiday parties and membership to a golf club. Among other issues, the draft review by the Authorities Budget Office obtained by Investigative Post found: The IDA’s chief financial officer, Richard Dixon, was reimbursed $30,600 for use of his personal vehicle and $18,429 for a membership and other expenses at a local golf club. CEO Mark Geise, Dixon and other staff used IDA credit cards to pay for $26,000 in “inappropriate meal purchases.” The agency made more than[...]

Posted 3 weeks ago

May 11

2023

Calls for consequences for Clover and its CEO

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Pressure is growing on the Clover Group and its CEO, Michael Joseph, in the wake of a federal lawsuit accusing the company of “racist and illegal housing discrimination practices.”  On Thursday, the Erie County Legislature unanimously passed a non-binding resolution calling for the dismissal of several Clover executives surreptitiously recorded discussing the company’s practice of avoiding areas with significant Black populations when choosing sites for senior apartment complexes. Joseph was not among those recorded in the conversations. The resolution declares: “The allegations against the Clover Group and the corresponding evidence are clear and disturbing enough that immediate action needs to occur,[...]

Posted 3 weeks ago

May 5

2023

Lawsuit: Developer selects sites to avoid Blacks

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Editor’s note: This is the first of three stories on The Clover Group. Wednesday we profile Michael Joseph, the company’s CEO and major player around town. Our story Thursday details the numerous subsidies Clover has received over the years to help grow its business.  When the Clover Group — one of the region’s biggest real estate development and management firms — reviews potential building sites for senior citizen apartment complexes, it pays careful attention to what its  executives call “the Canadian factor.” When the firm’s executives talk about “Canadians,” however, they’re using a code — for Black people. And those[...]

Posted 4 weeks ago

May 3

2023

Big shakeup at the besieged OTB

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The embattled Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. is finally getting reformed. In a big way. The state public benefit corporation — mired in allegations of malfeasance and subject to multiple critical audits and investigations — saw its entire 17-member board of commissioners terminated Tuesday night, thanks to a budget provision sponsored by Sen. Tim Kennedy of Buffalo and Assembly Member Monica Wallace of Lancaster, both Democrats.  New board members will be appointed and weighted voting instituted to reflect the population of the 15 counties and two cities that in-effect own OTB. That will shift control from mostly rural counties controlled[...]

Posted 1 month ago

Apr 30

2023

Former BURA chief alleged City Hall fraud

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City of Buffalo officials misused millions of dollars in federal anti-poverty funds and steered grants to favored real-estate developers, according to a federal lawsuit filed three and a half years ago and kept under seal until a month ago. The lawsuit was brought by Nona Watson, a former executive director of the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency, which serves as a pass-through for federal funds intended to fight poverty, blight and substandard housing.  Watson led BURA from September 2015 until she was fired in October 2018 — an act of retaliation, she claimed in the suit, “because she raised concerns about[...]

Posted 1 month ago

Apr 26

2023

Big subsidies for factory rehab in Tonawanda

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A century ago, tusks from thousands of elephants from Africa — dug up from graveyards or collected by hunters — made their way to a Town of Tonawanda factory complex where the Wood & Brooks Company used them to make piano keys. Closed by the 1970s, the factory complex on Kenmore Avenue today is “substantially vacant” according to a developer who wants to rehabilitate two of the property’s dozen buildings into business incubator space and 55 apartments. The developer, Michael Wopperer, has estimated the project will cost $23 million. He hopes to complete the redevelopment by the fall of 2024.[...]

Posted 1 month ago