Two New York lawmakers are accusing former Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. (OTB) executives of accepting illegal buyout packages.
The three former executives in question – Henry Wojtaszek, Jacquelyne Leach, and William White – have all stepped down amid separate allegations of financial mismanagement.
State Sen. Sean Ryan and Assemblywoman Monica Wallace sent a memo to the Attorney General and Inspector General, urging them to investigate the package that is believed to be worth $500,000, according to the lawmakers.
Lawmakers send memo Attorney General and Inspector General
In a five-page memo to the AG and Inspector General, Ryan and Wallace laid out the reasons why executives at Western Regional OTB – which notably operates Batavia Downs and offers NY sports betting and Class II gambling machines – were given illegal severance packages.
Each executive received the following packages, according to the Investigative Post:
- Wojtaszek: $299,000, a full year’s salary
- Leach: $122,000, half of full year’s salary
- White: $87,000, half of full year’s salary
Wallace and Ryan warned Western Regional OTB of the potential law-breaking packages and urged them to take action during a July meeting. That did not happen.
“We’ve already given you a heads-up that we think this is wildly inappropriate and unlawful,” Wallace told the Investigative Post. “We need to take it to the next level and ask for an investigation.”
Western Regional OTB’s attorney, Terry Connors, also commented:
“While I have great respect for Assemblymember Wallace, our review suggests she was wrong and cited an inapplicable statute. Nevertheless, OTB will cooperate with any agency that wishes to review the severance payments.”
Even if Connors’ side is right, the packages might fall under illegal “gift of public funds,” which is against the state constitution.
Wojtaszek compared to previous OTB executive
In the memo, Wallace and Ryan referenced David Etkin, former leader of the of the Capitol Region OTB. Etkin was accused of mismanaging funds up $4.3 million and served two years in prison. He allegedly spent $750,000 in agency funds on meals for friends and family while earning a $219,000 salary.
Wojtaszek is facing similar accusation of spending OTB money on concert tickets, sporting events along with car and phone bills. As Wallace concluded in the memo:
“All of this behavior appears to fall under the umbrella of ‘obtain[ing] property, services or other resources from … a governmental instrumentality within the state by false or fraudulent pretenses.’”
Wojtaszek is departing Western Regional OTB at the end of year. Leach goes early next year, and White leaves next April.
