OTB holds off hiring Wojtaszek successor — for now

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As the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.’s board nears a decision on who the agency’s next president and CEO will be, there’s plenty of speculation about the finalists for the job – one of whom is said to be Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.

Our J. Dale Shoemaker discussed the latest with Michael Wooten on WKBW’s “Voices” newscast Tuesday evening.

The OTB board of directors was scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss its search for a new CEO to succeed Henry Wojtaszek, but the agency canceled the meeting Tuesday morning. No explanation was given. 

Several board members told Investigative Post the point of the Thursday meeting was for directors to interview three or four finalists for the job and select a candidate to negotiate a contract with. OTB would then be on track to announce Wojtaszek’s successor in September, board members said.

Board Member Elliott Winter, a member of the search committee, told Investigative Post that “a scheduling conflict with one of the applicants” was the reason Thursday’s meeting was canceled.

Several sources told Investigative Post on Tuesday that Brown, along with Sean Schiano, OTB’s vice president of operations, are among the finalists. That echoes Investigative Post’s February reporting that Brown was in the running for the job and Spectrum News 1’s reporting over the weekend that Brown was a finalist. 

Brown, 65, was first elected mayor in 2005, the same year Schiano joined OTB. Prior to OTB, Schiano, who is seven feet tall, played semi-professional basketball in France. The 54-year-old has held several positions with the agency including director of branch operations and general manager of gaming.

Several OTB board members told Investigative Post they don’t yet have a preferred candidate.

As OTB’s search committee evaluated candidates, speculation about Brown’s future has increased, with some suggesting that, rather than the OTB job, the mayor could leave City Hall to take a government affairs position at M&T Bank. Spokespeople for both the bank and the city denied that Tuesday.

Previously, sources speculated that Brown sought to be Buffalo State University’s new president, as well as a candidate for Congress following Brian Higgins’ resignation earlier this year.

The search for OTB’s new leader touched off in February when insiders told Investigative Post Wojtaszek was looking to leave the agency and Brown was interested in the position. An announcement that Wojtaszek would resign — and news of his $299,000 buyout package — came in June.

Since then:

• Assemblywoman Monica Wallace called the buyouts offered to Wojtaszek and two other departing executives “blatantly illegal.”
• An attorney working for OTB disagreed, saying the buyouts were OK.
• Wallace, Sen. Sean Ryan and Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick held a press conference criticizing the buyouts.
• Wallace and Ryan formally asked both the state Attorney General and state Inspector General to investigate the buyouts.

J. Dale Shoemaker