Categories for DailyPost

May 16

2023

Is Roswell chair eligible to serve?

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Michael Joseph — whose company, the Clover Group, was accused last week of  “racist and illegal housing discrimination practices” — has split time for at least the past decade between Buffalo and West Palm Beach, Florida. That’s not unusual for a well-to-do real estate developer.  But it raises questions about his legal residency — and thus about his eligibility to serve as chair of the board for Roswell Park Cancer Institute. In April 2018, Joseph registered to vote in Florida, according to that state’s records, and his registration remains active. He is registered as a Democrat. For voting purposes, the[...]

Posted 2 years ago

May 15

2023

‘Inappropriate and questionable spending’ at IDA

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A state review of the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency has found more than $250,000 of “inappropriate and questionable discretionary spending,” including costly holiday parties and membership to a golf club. Among other issues, the draft review by the Authorities Budget Office obtained by Investigative Post found: The IDA’s chief financial officer, Richard Dixon, was reimbursed $30,600 for use of his personal vehicle and $18,429 for a membership and other expenses at a local golf club. CEO Mark Geise, Dixon and other staff used IDA credit cards to pay for $26,000 in “inappropriate meal purchases.” The agency made more than[...]

Posted 2 years ago

May 15

2023

Monday Morning Read

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Subscribe to WeeklyPost and you’ll Jim Heaney’s recommended reading for the week. As in below. Michael Joseph and his Clover Group have been in the news of late — that’s an understatement — as they were in 2021 when they bought a mansion that shares a waterfront with Mar-a-Lago, home to you-know-who. Here are snippets published in September 2021 by The Real Deal, a real estate website, regarding Joseph’s purchase of a West Palm Beach mansion for $15.9 million. The two-story home in the Prospect Park neighborhood has six bedrooms and nine and a half bathrooms, according to Realtor.com. Completed[...]

Posted 2 years ago

May 11

2023

Calls for consequences for Clover and its CEO

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Pressure is growing on the Clover Group and its CEO, Michael Joseph, in the wake of a federal lawsuit accusing the company of “racist and illegal housing discrimination practices.”  On Thursday, the Erie County Legislature unanimously passed a non-binding resolution calling for the dismissal of several Clover executives surreptitiously recorded discussing the company’s practice of avoiding areas with significant Black populations when choosing sites for senior apartment complexes. Joseph was not among those recorded in the conversations. The resolution declares: “The allegations against the Clover Group and the corresponding evidence are clear and disturbing enough that immediate action needs to occur,[...]

Posted 2 years ago

May 10

2023

Subsidies for developer accused of racism

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Editor’s note: This is the final of three stories triggered by the filing of a lawsuit Monday that accuses the Clover Group of discriminating against Blacks in the placement of senior apartment complexes. Monday’s story focused on the lawsuit. On Tuesday we profiled Clover’s CEO, Michael Joseph. The Clover Group — the target of a federal lawsuit accusing the company of “racist and illegal practices” — grew its business in Western New York with the help of millions of dollars of tax subsidies and low-interest government loans. The public assistance to the company owned by Michael Joseph, a generous donor[...]

Posted 2 years ago

May 8

2023

Lawsuit puts civic leader in hot seat

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Real estate mogul Michael Joseph has found himself at the helm of two organizations embroiled in allegations of racist practices. This week Joseph’s real estate development and management company, the Clover Group, has been accused by a former employee of “racist and illegal” practices. A lawsuit filed Monday accuses Clover executives of disqualifying potential building sites based on the number of Black people in the surrounding communities. And Roswell Park Cancer Institute — where Joseph has been board chair since 2010 — has faced a slew of lawsuits alleging race and gender discrimination in the workplace during his long tenure[...]

Posted 2 years ago

May 7

2023

Monday Morning Read

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Subscribe, for free, to WeeklyPost and you’ll not only get Jim Heaney’s recommended reading (below), but his summary of Investigative Post’s reporting for the previous week. For starters, here’s a thoughtful piece by Dick Tofel, a retired ProPublica executive, on what NPR and commercial television newsrooms are doing to fill some of the void being created by the demise of local daily newspapers. Tofel cites research that concluded neither are rising to the occasion. In other media news, Vice News appears headed for bankruptcy and Maureen Dowd of the New York Times laments the disappearance of traditional newspaper newsrooms. I’ve worked in two[...]

Posted 2 years ago

May 5

2023

Lawsuit: Developer selects sites to avoid Blacks

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Editor’s note: This is the first of three stories on The Clover Group. Wednesday we profile Michael Joseph, the company’s CEO and major player around town. Our story Thursday details the numerous subsidies Clover has received over the years to help grow its business.  When the Clover Group — one of the region’s biggest real estate development and management firms — reviews potential building sites for senior citizen apartment complexes, it pays careful attention to what its  executives call “the Canadian factor.” When the firm’s executives talk about “Canadians,” however, they’re using a code — for Black people. And those[...]

Posted 2 years ago
Investigative Post