Articles for J. Dale Shoemaker

Oct 2

2024

Nepotism involving OTB boss Wojtaszek

OTB President and CEO Henry Wojtaszek, left, Chairman Dennis Bassett, center, and Wojtaszek’s son, Jack, right, during a golf outing last month. Facebook photo. Henry Wojtaszek’s Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. has hired his 23-year old son for a job paying $52,000 annually. The hiring of Jack Wojtaszek comes as the elder Wojtaszek plans to step down as OTB’s president and CEO on Dec. 31. A copy of Jack Wojtaszek’s application for a state gaming license, which he submitted in June, shows the North Tonawanda native works as customer relations specialist at Batavia Downs. Employees in that position are “responsible[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Sep 26

2024

Brown offered $295,000 to head OTB

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. Photo by WKBW. This story was updated at 1:58 p.m. Directors of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. today voted to offer Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown a $295,000 salary to be the agency’s new president and CEO. OTB Chairman Dennis Bassett characterized the contract offered to Brown as an “annual” agreement with “incentives” to be negotiated in a second and third year. Bassett refused to say what those incentives are worth or provide any other details of the 18-page employment contract, calling the decision “my choice.” Two attorneys versed in the state’s Freedom of Information Law told[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Sep 24

2024

Brown poised to be the state’s top-paid OTB exec

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. Photo by Garrett Looker. This story was updated Sept. 25 at 4:07 p.m. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown stands to be the highest-paid OTB executive in New York should he accept the offer to be Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.’s new president and CEO. OTB’s personnel committee approved the terms of a contract during a two-hour closed-door session Wednesday afternoon. Board members would not disclose the terms of the offer, including salary and start date. The full board is expected to vote on the contract offer to Brown on Thursday, at which time officials said they would[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Sep 19

2024

OTB may vote on Brown contract next week

The Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. is expected to discuss — if not vote on — an employment contract for Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown at its board of directors meeting next week. Reporter J. Dale Shoemaker appeared on WCNY’s Capitol Pressroom to explain the latest. The Capitol Pressroom · Western NY OTB in period of transition The board, at a special meeting two weeks ago, offered Brown the OTB president and CEO job. He would replace Henry Wojtaszek, who has led the agency since 2016. Wojtaszek this summer announced plans to accept a $299,000 buyout and step down at the[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Sep 5

2024

Byron Brown chosen to lead Western OTB

Mayor Byron Brown, incoming OTB chief. Photo by Garrett Looker. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown today was selected to head the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. Brown, 65, was one of two finalists interviewed by OTB’s governing board, which unanimously selected the mayor after five hours of closed-door interviews and deliberations. Elliott Winter, who represents Niagara County on the OTB board and served on the search committee, told reporters Brown is a good fit given his experience running a city government. “He oversees 3,000 employees with a budget of over $600 million. He’s worked in the same capacity for the last[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Aug 28

2024

OTB holds off hiring Wojtaszek successor — for now

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[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Aug 21

2024

Lawmakers ask for state probe into OTB buyouts

OTB President and CEO Henry Wojtaszek. Photo by Garrett Looker. Two Western New York lawmakers — state Sen. Sean Ryan and Assemblywoman Monica Wallace — have asked the state’s Attorney General and Inspector General to investigate buyouts for three executives of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., arguing the packages are illegal. Citing a law Wallace helped pass in 2019 that bans so-called “golden parachutes” for leadership of public authorities, the lawmakers argue in a five-page memo to the Attorney General and Inspector General that the buyouts violate that and/or other state laws which prohibit gifts and large buyouts to[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Aug 14

2024

New Tesla deal slashes penalties, ups rent

New York State officials are prepared to slash penalties on Tesla in coming years, even if the company fails to hire enough workers at its South Buffalo plant and across the state. Under the company’s current arrangement with the state, Tesla must employ 1,460 workers in Buffalo and 2,000 statewide or else pay a $41 million fine. That deal, however, expires this year. According to details of a draft agreement, which could run through 2034, Tesla must employ 1,800 in Buffalo and 3,000 statewide. The current penalty will stay in place through 2029 but will drop to $10 million after[...]

Posted 4 months ago