NEW YORK - A federal jury in New York has convicted key players of corruption in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "Buffalo Billion" economic redevelopment program.
The jury in Manhattan federal court returned its verdict Thursday after a month-long trial that put a spotlight on how lucrative contracts were awarded for redevelopment projects in Syracuse and Buffalo that were worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Prosecutors maintained the bidding process was corrupt and that deals were steered to favored developers. Defense lawyers said it was not.
One of the lead defendants in the case was Alain Kaloyeros, formerly the president of the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute.
Prosecutors said Kaloyeros helped Buffalo developer Louis Ciminielli's company to win a job in Buffalo worth a half billion dollars. Read more...
