One of the central issues in an ongoing County Legislature skirmish is the county administration’s internal review related to local development corporations. The administration has hired former state Attorney General Dennis Vacco to lead that review. Legislature Democrats say that the Legislature should be in charge of the internal probe, not the administration. Between this […]
local development corporations
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Legislature to meet at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow
County Legislature President Jeff Adair has scheduled a special meeting of the Legislature for tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. — that’s not a typo — so representatives can again vote on borrowing for the county’s yearly capital plan. Democrats blocked the measure last week. It’s hard to see Adair’s action as anything other than a tactical […]
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Decision on Wiesner charges pending
Several media outlets are reporting that a judge has postponed his decision whether to dismiss charges against Robert Wiesner, who is one of four defendants in a bid-rigging case involving two county-linked local development corporations. Wiesner’s attorney, James Nobles, has filed a motion to have the charges dismissed. His client was never given an opportunity […]
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Dems’ LDC legislation defeated
Republicans on a County Legislature committee have shot down Democratic legislation that would have formed a panel to lead an internal probe of county-linked local development corporations. The county administration hired a Buffalo-based law firm to assist with ongoing state Attorney General’s Office and FBI investigations and one of the firm’s partners, former Attorney General […]
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Week Ahead: Dems push independent LDC probe; charter school renewals
Today, a County Legislature committee will take up a Democratic proposal to create a special committee to take over the internal investigation into local development corporations. To ensure that the Legislature considers the proposal, Democrats voted last week against borrowing for the county’s annual capital project plan. Such measures need a two-thirds majority to pass, […]
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County budget passes, but new political battle emerges
Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks’ 2014 budget proposal passed last night with a party-line vote. The 19 Republicans voted in favor, while all 10 Democrats voted against. The final budget is unchanged from Brooks’ initial proposal, with one significant exception. Prior to the meeting, Republicans announced that they would eliminate a proposed $37,000 pay increase […]
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Dems call for Legislature to investigate LDC’s
Democrats in the Monroe County Legislature say they want a committee of legislators to take over an internal investigation into two county-linked local development corporations.
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LDC’s: the scandal (almost) everyone saw coming
Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks apparently isn’t ready to give up on local development corporations. Brooks reiterated her support for the quasi-governmental bodies at a tense press conference last week, which came on the heels of the arrest of four people, including her husband, for allegedly carrying out an elaborate bid-rigging scheme. The four, including […]
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No LDC action in Lej, but secondhand dealer proposal revived
Democratic legislators’ efforts to advance a package of local development corporation reforms during Tuesday’s Legislature meeting were short-lived. The caucus had unveiled and introduced the legislation, which called for eight specific reforms, earlier in the day. The sponsor, Legislator Paul Haney, submitted them as matters of urgency so that, with Adair’s consent, they could be […]
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Wiesner addresses LDC charges
Robert Wiesner says that he is the target of a political prosecution. During a press conference this afternoon, Wiesner and his attorney, James Nobles, addressed the two felony charges filed against Wiesner by the state Attorney General’s Office. The charges became public yesterday when a judge unsealed an indictment, which also charged three other people. The […]
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[UPDATED] Brooks’ husband nabbed in LDC probe
Charges were lodged today against four individuals with connections to local development corporations linked to Monroe County.
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Could LDC probe be coming to a head?
Yesterday’s news that Nelson Rivera, Monroe County’s chief information officer, had resigned set off a new wave of speculation about the grand jury investigation taking place into county-linked local development corporations. The history is complicated, and county spokesperson Justin Feasel wouldn’t say why Rivera resigned. He’d only confirm that Rivera stepped down on October 9. […]
