Governor Andrew Cuomo visited Buffalo on Friday, one day after U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announced corruption charges against nine men, including two of his confidants, in relation to projects including the Buffalo Billion.
Cuomo, appearing at the Albright Knox Art Gallery to celebrate a major donation to the center, expressed his disappointment in Thursday's developments and added that had his father Mario been alive, he'd be "heartbroken." The governor repeated that statement when meeting with reporters after the gallery's celebration.
"There will be a trial. The courts will determine whether or not the person did something wrong," Cuomo said. "If they did and there was money that was wrongfully taken, the state will do everything it can to recapture that money."
The charges levied Thursday by Bharara include bribery, bid-rigging and facilitating a pay-to-play scheme in order to ensure that desired contractors - specifically those who have made large cash contributions to the Governor's election campaign - were awarded contracts. Among those named in Thursday's criminal complaint were Buffalo developer Louis Ciminelli and two of his executives, accused of participating in the scheme to secure work on the Buffalo Billion's largest project, the forthcoming SolarCity factory in the city's Riverbend section.
Also charged with wrongdoing Thursday was Alain Kaloyeros, the now-suspended CEO of SUNY Polytechnic, which oversaw bid procurement. Cuomo said it became clear that SUNY's system for welcoming and vetting bids was flawed and announced that Empire State Development, under the leadership of Howard Zemsky, would assume control of that process.
The governor defended the Buffalo Billion, saying that the ambitious economic redevelopment program is bigger than those accused of corruption.
"The Buffalo Billion is not about projects in the ground and nine individuals who are alleged to have done bad acts," Cuomo said. "Buffalo Billion is about a whole enterprise that has been going on for years, that involves hundreds and hundreds of people in transforming Buffalo fundamentally."
The governor added that the region is improving "in every matrix" through the program. He told reporters he has not been subpoenaed and will cooperate fully with investigators.
