Tag: OTB

Jun 9

2022

OTB reform bills stall in state Legislature

Published by

After state auditors criticized the handling of public funds and resources at Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., a pair of Democratic state lawmakers sponsored legislation in hopes of changing the way the public benefit corporation operates.  The reform measures — sponsored by state Assemblywoman Monica Wallace, D-Lancaster, and state Sen. Tim Kennedy, D-Buffalo — were not approved by the state Legislature before the end of this year’s session that concluded Saturday. Kennedy’s bills passed the Senate, but not the Assembly. Wallace’s bill never got out of committee in the Assembly. Wallace said she plans to submit a revised version of[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jun 6

2022

OTB tries to stifle a critic

Published by

Jim Shultz has gotten under the skin of Henry Wojtaszek, president and CEO of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. Wojtaszek ostensibly works for a 17-member board of directors appointed by 15 counties and the cities of Buffalo and Rochester, but in reality, he has a free rein over OTB operations. And he’s apparently sicced one of his many lawyers on Shultz. Hodgson Russ is one of four law firms OTB presently has on retainer. As we reported last week, OTB over the past year has spent $333,684 for assorted legal services, much of it dealing with investigators probing claims[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jun 2

2022

OTB paying for an army of lawyers, lobbyists

Published by

Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. continues to spend big bucks – large amounts of public money, that is – on attorneys and lobbyists.  Documents obtained by Investigative Post through a Freedom of Information request show OTB paid $333,684 to four Buffalo-based law firms between May 18, 2021, and April 1 of this year.  The legal fees are in addition to the $16,500 per month OTB pays to Albany lobbyists currently under contract.  What the lobbyists are doing for the money can be gleaned from documents on file with a state regulatory commission. But the bills submitted by two of OTB’s[...]

Posted 2 years ago

May 16

2022

Attorney General’s inaction on OTB

Published by

Last fall, an attorney representing New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli asked Attorney General Letitia James to take yet another look at the gold-plated health insurance Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. is still providing to its part-time board directors.  The comptroller’s referral, made in September, called on the attorney general’s Taxpayer Protection Bureau to take “appropriate action,” noting that DiNapoli’s office deemed the practice “impermissible” in keeping with a prior attorney general’s opinion that “unambiguously” stated the same.  It’s now been nearly eight months since the referral was made.  What has the attorney general’s Taxpayers Protection Bureau done in that[...]

Posted 2 years ago

May 11

2022

Maziarz sues OTB alleging “fraud”

Published by

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, want Maziarz to shut up. In a lawsuit filed Saturday in state Supreme Court in Erie County, Maziarz alleges that the misuse of public resources by OTB higher-ups has prevented the agency’s “massive revenues” from being “fairly distributed to the municipalities and taxpayers it serves.” [...]

Posted 2 years ago

Mar 10

2022

More OTB reforms in state legislature

Published by

Another state lawmaker wants to cut the perks for Off-Track Betting officials in Western New York. Assemblywoman Monica Wallace, D-Lancaster, has introduced legislation that would stop any OTB board member from receiving any benefits, including health insurance, not authorized under state law. Her bill would also require regional OTB offices to file annual reports with the state gaming commission that itemize the purchase and use of any promotional item — including sporting event or concert tickets — valued at more than $50. While the measures would cover all five regional OTB operations in New York, they are clearly targeted to[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Mar 4

2022

OTB hires another pricey lobbyist

Published by

Western Regional Off-Tracking Betting Corp. has hired another Albany lobbyist, this time with strong connections to one of New York’s most influential politicians — Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.  OTB board members agreed last month to a four-month contract that would pay up to $15,000 per month to Patrick Jenkins, a longtime friend and former aide to Heastie, a Bronx Democrat.   Jenkins serves as president of the Albany based lobbying firm, Patrick B. Jenkins & Associates. He joins a team of OTB lobbyists that includes former state Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, president of  Upstate Strategic Advisors, and Mercury Public Affairs, based in[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Feb 14

2022

OTB reform bills pass first test

Published by

Amid pushback from some county law legisislatures, a series of bills aimed at restructuring operations of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. have cleared their first legislative hurdle.  The the three bills, sponsored by Buffalo Democratic Sen. Tim Kennedy, moved through the state senate’s Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wager on Monday.  Kennedy introduced the bills last month in a bid to end what he described as “perverse dysfunction” within WROTB. His proposed legislation calls for a restructuring of OTB’s board based on population. It would also limit the take-home use of OTB vehicles by select agency employees and put[...]

Posted 2 years ago
Investigative Post

Get our newsletters delivered to your inbox * indicates required

Newsletters *