Tag: OTB

Oct 8

2025

OTB hires Byron Brown’s brother-in-law

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Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. — headed by president and CEO Byron Brown — has hired the brother-in-law of the former mayor. Michael Lee Austin — brother of Brown’s wife, Michelle Austin Brown — began working last month as a sergeant supervising the security guards at Batavia Downs, the horse track, casino and hotel complex owned by OTB. The position pays $24.33 per hour and is eligible for overtime. Austin disclosed his relationship to Brown in his application for a state gaming license, a copy of which Investigative Post obtained via a Freedom of Information request. The hiring appears to[...]

Posted 3 weeks ago

Sep 24

2025

Wojtaszek’s wife, a judge, berates OTB employee

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Niagara County Judge Caroline Wojtaszek. Photo courtesy of The Niagara-Gazette. Niagara County Judge Caroline Wojtaszek has been accused of “verbally accosting” an employee of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. who was critical of her husband’s tenure when he was head of the agency. The employee, who spoke to Investigative Post on the condition she not be named, was one of four women who wrote a letter to the OTB board saying Henry Wojtaszek’s time as president and CEO was “filled with lawsuits, negative press, nasty and vindictive leaders.” The four women who signed the letter — all longtime employees in[...]

Posted 1 month ago

Sep 23

2025

Resistance mounts to Wojtaszek’s OTB return

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Henry Wojtaszek, former OTB president and CEO. Photo by Dale Shoemaker. Henry Wojtaszek’s first meeting as a director of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. isn’t even in the books yet, but his return to the agency he once ran is already facing resistance. The latest salvo is a Sept. 18 letter from Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes and Assembly Member Jonathan Rivera to the New York State Gaming Commission, urging that body to withhold a gaming license from Wojtaszek. His tenure at OTB, the lawmakers wrote, was “marred by labor violations, harassment settlements, fiscal mismanagement, and investigations,” meaning Wojtaszek “is,[...]

Posted 1 month ago

Sep 17

2025

Niagara County appoints Wojtaszek to OTB board

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Henry Wojtaszek addresses the Niagara County Legislature. Photo by J. Dale Shoemaker. Republicans in the Niagara County Legislature made it official on Tuesday, returning former Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. President and CEO Henry Wojtaszek to the organization, this time as a member of its board of directors. In a vote largely along party lines, 10 of the legislature’s Republican lawmakers endorsed Wojtaszek’s appointment as a director representing Niagara County on the OTB board. Wojtaszek replaces Elliott Winter, who resigned last month citing personal reasons. Three of the legislature’s Democratic lawmakers and two Republicans objected to the move, suggesting Wojtaszek[...]

Posted 1 month ago

Sep 5

2025

OTB approves sexual harassment lawsuit

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OTB’s Scott Kiedrowski. Photo courtesy of The Niagara Gazette. The board of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. has voted to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit involving Scott Kiedrowski, its No. 2 executive at the time of the alleged incidents, and the agency’s head of security. The settlement, which awaits final court approval, involves payment of $135,000 to three female employees, two of whom contended management withheld tips from them when they worked as bartenders at the Batavia Downs casino and hotel.  The board resolution authorizing the settlement notes that the matter so far has cost OTB nearly $301,876 to litigate,[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Sep 3

2025

Niagara County Dems oppose Wojtaszek’s return to OTB

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Niagara County Democrats oppose the idea of allowing former Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. boss Henry Wojtaszek to return to the organization as a member of its board of directors.  They also conceded on Tuesday, in the wake of an Investigative Post report about Wojtaszek expressing interest in an OTB board seat, that they lack the votes needed to block such a move in the county legislature, where Republicans outnumber them by an 11-to-4 margin.  The legislature’s minority leader, Chris Robins, D-Niagara Falls, said he’s heard about the possibility of Wojtaszek replacing Elliot Winter as the county’s OTB board representative[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Aug 31

2025

Wojtaszek eyes return to OTB

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Henry Wojtaszek, the former president and CEO of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., is planning to rejoin the organization he left last year, this time as member of the board of directors. Elliott Winter, who previously represented Niagara County on the OTB board, resigned from that position last week, creating an opening for Wojtaszek, who lives in North Tonawanda. Wojtaszek’s appointment as Niagara County’s new representative on the board, by law, must be approved by that county’s legislature. But in text messages to OTB board members, Wojtaszek expressed confidence the county lawmakers will vote to approve his appointment in the[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jul 28

2025

Reform gives way to greed at OTB

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Before I get to what I’m reading, allow me to expand on a story I edited last week: A pay raise already for Byron Brown. As I wrote in my newsletter yesterday, I’ve written once, maybe twice that Brown has been doing a better job than his predecessor, Henry Wojtaszek, at the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. Admittedly, it’s a very low bar to clear.  Then came last week. Dale Shoemaker reported that Brown got his board of directors to give him a $8,850 raise, bringing his salary to $303,850. Never mind that he’s already the highest paid OTB administrator[...]

Posted 3 months ago
Investigative Post