Tag: OTB

Jul 20

2023

GOP lawmakers to sue over OTB reforms

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Dennis Vacco, the state’s former attorney general, has been hired by Niagara County and other Republican-led counties in Western New York to challenge reform measures enacted by the state Legislature in May that affect the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. The changes removed OTB’s existing board and reconstituted its voting powers to shift control from rural to urban counties. Proponents said the changes were necessary to address corruption and cronyism; opponents characterized it as a power play by Democrats at the expense of Republicans.  Kevin Schuler, Niagara County’s public information officer, confirmed this week that the county and “several other[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jul 19

2023

Officials rebuke OTB over 11th hour contract extensions

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Editor’s note: This story is a continuation of Investigative Post’s content sharing arrangement with the Niagara Gazette.  Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick used one word to describe the contract extensions recently granted to 18 executives at the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation: “obscene.” State Assembly Member Monica Wallace, who sponsored OTB reform legislation, termed the contract extensions “highly suspect.”  The objections were triggered by an April 27 vote by the OTB board to give multi-year contract extensions to CEO and President Henry Wojtaszek and 17 members of his management team. The board acted just days before the state Legislature added[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jul 10

2023

Contract extensions for 18 OTB executives

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Days before state lawmakers stripped them of their duties amid concerns about corruption within the organization, the board of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. signed off on multi-year contract extensions for 18 top executives. Among them was CEO and President Henry Wojtaszek, who received a three-and-half year extension that pays him more than the governor of New York.  OTB officials refused to voluntarily provide details of the contract extensions, and instead required the Niagara Gazette to file a request for the documents under the state Freedom of Information Law. Those documents, obtained by the Gazette late Friday, show Wojtaszek[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jun 5

2023

OTB board extends embattled executives

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Editor’s note: Investigative Post and the Niagara Gazette share selected stories, including the following report from Mark Scheer, who previously worked for Investigative Post. Days before state lawmakers agreed to abolish their positions, the board of directors for Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. approved new employee contracts for several members of its management team, including CEO and President Henry Wojtaszek. Documents available on OTB’s website show the board approved contracts during its April 27 meeting after exiting an executive session where directors discussed personnel matters behind closed doors. The minutes reflect only that the board approved the employee contracts. They[...]

Posted 2 years ago

May 30

2023

Lawsuit seeks millions from OTB officials

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Earlier this month a federal court issued summonses to a host of current and former board members at Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., as part of a lawsuit seeking to hold the directors liable for the agency’s alleged misuse of millions of public dollars. The lawsuit aims to compel those 21 board members to pay back to OTB — and thus to the 15 counties and two cities that own the agency — money “improperly used” to purchase health insurance for board members, expensive tickets to sporting events and concerts, and contracts for politically connected firms. Specifically, the lawsuit claims[...]

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 3

2023

Big shakeup at the besieged OTB

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The embattled Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. is finally getting reformed. In a big way. The state public benefit corporation — mired in allegations of malfeasance and subject to multiple critical audits and investigations — saw its entire 17-member board of commissioners terminated Tuesday night, thanks to a budget provision sponsored by Sen. Tim Kennedy of Buffalo and Assembly Member Monica Wallace of Lancaster, both Democrats.  New board members will be appointed and weighted voting instituted to reflect the population of the 15 counties and two cities that in-effect own OTB. That will shift control from mostly rural counties controlled[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Mar 6

2023

Bonuses for executives at embattled OTB

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Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. awarded $40,000 in bonuses to its top executives in January, even as federal and state investigators continued a probe into allegations of malfeasance at the public benefit corporation. At OTB’s January 19 board meeting, the 13 directors present voted unanimously to award a bonus of $12,000 to Henry Wojtaszek, president and chief executive officer. Including the bonus awarded by the board, Wojtaszek is making more than $200,000 in salary, plus benefits. The board also awarded bonuses of $6,000 each to Scott Kiedrowski and William White, both vice presidents, and $6,000 to Jacquelyne Leach, chief financial[...]

Posted 2 years ago
Investigative Post