Categories for News

Aug 21

2024

Lawmakers ask for state probe into OTB buyouts

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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 6 months ago

Aug 21

2024

Buffalo high school break-in was apparently an inside job

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Bennett High School on Main Street in North Buffalo. Photo by Garrett Looker. The sons of Buffalo school board president Sharon Belton-Cottman broke into Bennett High School last Tuesday, according to a Buffalo police incident report.  Khalil and Jamaal Cottman — both coaches at Bennett last year — entered the school through a rear window after one of the men climbed over a gate, according to the report. After entering the school, one of the brothers opened a door to allow unknown individuals to enter. The group then went to the gymnasium and stayed for three hours before leaving, the[...]

Posted 6 months ago

Aug 20

2024

The militias of the Radical Right

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Private paramilitary activity is illegal, in New York and across the nation.  Nevertheless, there are more than an estimated dozen militias active in the Empire State, and countless more elsewhere in the United States. These militias believe they’re entitled to use violence to advance their agenda, which is aligned with America’s Radical Right. Western New York is home to perhaps the movement’s most infamous figures, Timothy McVeigh, whose bombing of a federal office building in 1995 killed 168 people and injured 680. That bombing helped expedite the growth of the militia movement. ProPublica reported last week on one of the[...]

Posted 6 months ago

Aug 15

2024

Four judgeships, four cross-endorsed candidates

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New York State Assemblyman Michael J. Norris. Photo provided. Story updated 1:35 p.m. today. A New York state assemblyman from Niagara County, who struck immunity from prosecution deals as part of criminal investigations in the past,  is in line for a new job as a state Supreme Court judge.  Assemblyman Mike Norris, R-Lockport, said in an interview earlier this month that he intended to seek reelection this year, but the Niagara Gazette learned Wednesday that he is one of four state Supreme Court nominees cross-endorsed by Republicans and Democrats this week. Niagara County Republican Committee Chairman Richard Andres confirmed Wednesday[...]

Posted 6 months ago

Aug 14

2024

New Tesla deal slashes penalties, ups rent

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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 6 months ago

Aug 8

2024

City pulls back on “amusements” fee

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The Town Ballroom on Main Street. Photo by Garrett Looker. The City of Buffalo has backed off from a plan to tax music and other entertainment venues for every event for which they charge admission. Investigative Post last week broke the story about the city’s effort to collect an “amusements fee” described in an obscure and unevenly applied section of the city code. Music club owners and managers two weeks ago began receiving letters from the city’s Department of Permit & Inspection Services “reminding” them of their obligation to pay the fee — which few of them had previously heard[...]

Posted 6 months ago

Aug 6

2024

Judge orders ‘House from Hell’ demolished

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149 Arkansas St., slated for demolition. Photo by I’Jaz Ja’ciel. The “House from Hell” will soon be a pile of rubble. Following years of neighborhood complaints, Housing Court Judge Patrick Carney has issued a demolition order for 149 Arkansas St. — a run-down, vacant house used by squatters and drug users, where two dead bodies were found in 2022.  Carney also slapped owner Kwayo Ithe Bonkuka with a $10,500 fine. “I have had Council reports, block club reports. They’re still screaming,” Carney said of the property’s many complainants. Carney issued the demolition order after building inspector Sean Myers testified during[...]

Posted 6 months ago

Aug 2

2024

OTB chairman rescinds Pledge of Allegiance demand

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OTB Chairman Dennis Bassett. Photo by Garrett Looker. The chairman of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. has backed off his demand that those attending board meetings recite the Pledge of Allegiance.  Dennis Bassett chastised an Investigative Post reporter after OTB’s last board meeting on July 25, contending he wasn’t effusive enough in reciting the pledge. “Why can’t you put your hand on your heart and recite the Pledge?” Bassett said to the reporter after the meeting. “Because if you can’t do that, I would like for you not to be in here when the Pledge is recited. You’re insulting[...]

Posted 6 months ago
Investigative Post