Investigative Post

Updated on Thursday, May 12, at 5:25 p.m. Former New York State Sen. George Maziarz wants a judge to order  officials from Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. to reimburse taxpayers for benefits he says they improperly obtained while using the public agency as a “slush fund, an ATM [and] a piggy bank.”  OTB leaders, meanwhile, […]

A federal grand jury is investigating possible corruption at the Western Regional Off Track Betting Corp. Sources told Investigative Post and the Niagara Gazette the grand jury is looking into issues previously reported by the two news organizations, including the: Provision of free health insurance to the board’s part-time board members. Awarding of vendor contracts […]

 Lawyers for Louis Ciminelli have appealed his felony conviction last summer on corruption charges related to the Buffalo Billion. Ciminelli, president of LPCiminelli, and Alain Kaloyeros, head of a state-affiliated development corporation, were convicted for their roles in the awarding of the contract to develop the $750 million facility to house Tesla’s solar panel […]

The FBI is investigating the awarding of lucrative contracts by the Western Regional Off Track Betting Corp. to politically wired companies. The investigation, confirmed by multiple sources, is looking into contracts involving firms with ties to OTB Chairman Richard Bianchi, a member of the Monroe County Conservative Party’s executive committee, and CEO Henry Wojtaszek, former […]

 Kevin Schuler, the prosecution’s star witness in the Buffalo Billion corruption trial, escaped a prison term at his sentencing in Manhattan on Friday. Schuler was an executive at LPCiminelli who detailed the bid rigging scheme that resulted in the company landing the contract to build the SolarCity plant in South Buffalo. His testimony was […]

The regional Off Track Betting Corporation has a story – two stories, actually – and they’re sticking to them. Officials there continue to insist that the OTB is authorized to provide health, dental and vision insurance free of charge to its board of directors. Gold-plated insurance, described to me by one health insurance expert as […]

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 office of Sen. George Maziarz did such a poor job tracking spending from his campaign account that it’s impossible to know exactly what became of up to $350,000, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said Thursday in explaining why he isn’t pressing charges against anyone who handled the money. Maziarz, who did not seek […]