Henry Wojtaszek, newly appointed to the Western Regional Off-Track Betting board, wants to know “what they were afraid of.” That’s easy. “They,” meaning any member of the public aware of the OTB’s history, are afraid of a return to the bad old days. That means more of the same dubious practices from the OTB, but helmed from the boardroom.
That the Republican-led Niagara County Legislature voted 10-5 to appoint Wojtaszek as the county’s representative on the 17-member board comes as no surprise. He is the former chairman of the Niagara County Republican Party. And now, he fills the remaining two years of the term of Elliott Winter, who represented the county on the OTB board for nine years before announcing his resignation in late August.
Wojtaszek will fill the remaining two years of the term of Elliott Winter, who had represented Niagara County on the OTB board for nine years.
Wojtaszek’s name should be familiar to anyone who has paid attention to the goings-on at the OTB. Just a short time ago, he was president and CEO of the organization – a job he obtained in 2016. During Wojtaszek’s reign, the OTB drew well-deserved criticism for patronage hiring and spending on perks for insiders.
Back then, government watchdogs cited an overall lack of transparency, lavish health insurance for board members, and Bills and Sabres tickets given to politically-connected board appointees. The phrase “culture of corruption” appeared frequently in media reports and in the statements of the OTB’s many local critics.
At the time, the OTB board was dominated by Republicans, something that ended in 2023 when state Democrats forced changes that gave more weight to the votes of board members representing Erie and Monroe counties and the cities of Buffalo and Rochester.
The following year, Wojtaszek and two other senior OTB leaders left, receiving severance pay worth more than $500,000 combined. Wojtaszek received a cushy, golden parachute of $300,000 – golden parachutes are not allowed from the OTB, but no matter – when he left the top job in 2024.
Former Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, a Democrat, was named OTB chief one year ago.
Wojtaszek was then hired the Lippes Mathias law firm, from which he resigned. effective Sept. 2, stating that he wanted to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. The firm has previously done legal work for OTB and is doing more for the agency now. The Investigative Post was first to report his departure.
Any concern about Wojtaszek’s is justifiable, as is speculation that he might be measuring the drapes in his old office. He says he does not want to return to his former seat at the head of the organization. Such fervent denial could be better believed had he stayed away from the boardroom. And keep in mind that the OTB is under a new audit – now finishing up – from the State Comptroller’s office. Many think reforms at the organization are still needed.
As reported by The News’ Stephen T. Watson, John Kaehny, executive director of the Reinvent Albany government watchdog group, went so far as to state, “Western OTB is a symbol of corruption and decay and Buffalo and Western NY would be better off without it.”
As for the new board member’s pledge to the Legislature to donate the board stipend of up to $4,000 annually to two charities, the body’s Democratic leader, Christopher Robins, who called the appointment an “inside deal,” scoffed: “Like, are you kidding me? You’ve been paid by this organization more than most people in Western New York can ever dream of making.”
That sounds about right.
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