Aug 1
2023
GOP lawmakers fight with public dollars to control OTB
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It’s going to cost taxpayers in rural Western New York counties big bucks to support a legal challenge against state-imposed changes to the management structure at Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.
A June 20 legal services agreement obtained by the Niagara Gazette indicates that at least three counties — Niagara, Orleans and Genesee — agreed to pay $5,000 apiece, for a total of $15,000, to cover a retainer fee for Lippes Mathias, the Buffalo law firm hired to oversee the OTB litigation.
Under the agreement, the firm’s lead attorney — former state Attorney General and U.S. Attorney Dennis Vacco — will be paid $400 per hour, which is listed as a $150 discount from his standard hourly rate of $550, to serve as “coordinating attorney of all activities.”
One of Vacco’s partners, Brian Mahoney, will be paid $375 per hour, down from his standard $525 per hour fee. Another partner, Scott Allen, will be paid $350 per hour. An associate, Carmen Vacco, will be compensated at a rate of $280 per hour.
The agreement also notes that the law firm may incur certain additional costs over the course of the litigation, including document reproduction, overnight mail, travel and, as deemed necessary, the hiring of independent consultants or experts.
Niagara County Attorney Claude Joerg said the final cost sharing will depend on the number of counties that agree to participate. He said the expectation is 12 counties will sign on to the legal effort, with each county covering equal parts of the total cost. He said Genesee County has taken the lead in the lawsuit.
“Niagara County is committed to this effort because we must push back against these misguided, top-down policies from Albany, just like siting and tax assessment of solar projects, agricultural issues, migrant relocation, housing and beyond,” Joerg said.
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The newspaper obtained a copy of the legal services agreement through a Freedom of Information Law request made to Niagara County.
In June, Republicans in the county legislature decided to pursue the hiring of outside legal counsel to sue the state on behalf of OTB, which is headed by former county GOP Chairman and long-time political insider Henry Wojtaszek. The vote authorized the county to “commence all necessary legal action” to prohibit the implementation and enforcement of state budget language.
The Lippes Mathias service agreement indicates that Vacco met with county attorneys from three member OTB counties — Niagara, Genesee and Orleans — to discuss the legal challenge to a pair of state bills included in the state budget, including one that altered OTB’s “longstanding one-county one-vote governance model” that had been in place since the public benefit corporation’s inception in 1973.
OTB oversees the operation of gambling parlors and EZ Bet locations across Western and Central New York. OTB’s most lucrative draw is Batavia Downs, which includes a casino, hotel and harness racing track. Profits are shared with the state and 17 member municipal governments, including Niagara and Erie counties and the cities of Buffalo and Rochester.
Under Wojtaszek’s leadership, OTB was the focus of two scathing audits from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office, including one that found management spent at least $121,000 on tickets to sporting events, concerts, food and alcohol for board members, employees and other individuals without the oversight required by state rules. Another audit flagged Wojtaszek for failing to reimburse OTB for his personal use of an agency car.
The public benefit corporation has also been criticized for providing top-shelf health insurance coverage to part-time board directors, a practice it has since suspended for all incoming directors.
While he refused to disclose the nature of the probes, Wojtaszek has acknowledged that the public benefit corporation is the subject of ongoing investigations by state and federal authorities. He also insists that while there have been some “improper” activities at WROTB in the past, those issues have been addressed.
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In May, Democratic state lawmakers in Albany agreed to include language in the state budget that immediately removed all 17 members of WROTB’s board of directors and reconstituted the board’s voting powers to shift control from rural to urban counties.
Proponents said the changes were necessary to address corruption and cronyism.
Opponents, including counties with Republican-led legislatures, characterized the move as a power play designed to benefit traditional Democratic strongholds like the City of Buffalo and Erie County at the expense of smaller, rural member OTB communities.
According to the services agreement, during the meeting it was discussed that 12 of the 15 counties represented on WROTB’s 17-member board, which also includes the cities of Buffalo and Rochester, wished to challenge the new governance model “based upon the manner in which it was enacted through a Message of Necessity and because WROTB was singled out by the [state] Legislature for this reform.”
An independent count by the newspaper suggests the five communities opposing the lawsuit would include the cities of Buffalo and Rochester, along with Erie, Monroe and Schuyler counties.
