Buffalo developer Louis Ciminelli, two of his executives and a top aide to Governor Cuomo have been indicted in the Buffalo Billion probe. The allegations accuse them of bid rigging, bribery and play-to-pay schemes. WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley met with our Investigative Post partner Jim Heaney who first broke the Buffalo Billion investigation in 2014.
Heaney reminds us this investigation traces back to the SolarCity Project at RiverBend requiring developers bidding for the project to have 50-years' of experience.
"It's just kind of mind blowing," said Heaney about the indictment. "It was really a done deal before the process even started."
Heaney points out that while Governor Cuomo is not named, campaign funding was provided by, as the project for RiverBend is awarded.
"If it holds up in court, this represents a tremendous betrayal on the part of Ciminelli and the state of New York of this community," Heaney remarked.
