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Conflicts of Interest at the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation
The Bass Pro taxpayer-ripoff scheme is out of the picture at long last, and the vast majority of Erie County residents are relieved. But the conditions that allowed a sporting goods retail company to hold Buffalo’s waterfront hostage for the past nine years persist in ways that we must begin to reckon with as a community.
In early June, the Public Accountability Initiative (PAI) released a report on Bass Pro’s record as a subsidized economic development anchor in cities across the country. We found that Bass Pro often received significant public funding, but consistently failed to deliver on the economic promises used to justify these subsidies. The report proved a formidable counter to the claims put forward by Bass Pro and its supporters in Buffalo, and helped bring this chapter of Buffalo’s history to a close.
The following is a brief but important rundown of the conflicts of interest that surround the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC), the state entity charged with redeveloping Buffalo’s dowtnown waterfront. It was the ties between ECHDC board members and the CEO of Bass Pro that led to the obsession with subsidizing this particular retailer, and so long as these types of relationships remain at the center of ECHDC, the agency’s decisions will likely favor private interests over those of the public.
Read more »
- » Attack of the Interims Sep 08
- » Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation’s attempted land grab Aug 04
- » Bass Pro Report: News Roundup Jun 03
- » Buffalo LittleSis Has A Blog May 20
- » More...
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kevin
@seeker apologies for any problems you may have had editing .... had to fix a bug Roberto Hernández Ramírez |
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kevin @doughball also, i think this relationship - Service/Transaction 351454 - is better represented as a "social" type relationship, since they're buddies. |
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WilliamMorgan @kevin yea good point |
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CARLPALADINO
who owns Seneca Development and Management Corp? "It's a long time. A number of our owners are well into their retirement years. That was probably one of the overriding reasons why we felt it was time to sell," said Alan Dewart, co-owner and president of Seneca Development, which will develop and manage other projects. "We felt it was time to step aside and let another ownership group come in and take the building to the next level." |
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CARLPALADINO
Buffalo Hospital Supply A Congressional leader Thursday denounced a Justice Department deal that allowed a dummy company in Pennsylvania, not the operators of an Amherst hospital supply company who set it up, to plead guilty to a felony fraud charge in connection with a $1.1 million Medicare scam. Rep. Thomas J. Bliley, R-Va., chairman of the House Commerce Committee, criticized the arrangement that permitted the defunct shell company in Pennsylvania to plead guilty and pay $3.6 million in civil penalties and restitution while the Amherst firm and its president were neither fined nor indicted and can continue to do business with the Medicare system. |
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CARLPALADINO
Buffalo Hospital Supply -- from 1996: "Federal agents are winding up a lengthy investigation of Buffalo Hospital Supply's billing practices and are discussing a civil settlement that might cost the company more than $1 million. "Buffalo Hospital Supply was using an alter-ego company, Alter nate Healthcare, to do some of its billing. This (enabled) Buffalo Hospital Supply to get higher Medicare reimbursement for some of its products. The reimbursement rate was higher in Pennsylvania for some products," said a source familiar with the case. Alternate Healthcare and Buffalo Hospital Supply had the same president and essentially the same ownership. "Alternate Healthcare was a billing office . . . just a desk or two and a mailbox. That was it. All they did for Buffalo Hospital Supply was billing," the source said. Government investigators view the case as Medicare fraud, the source added." |
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CARLPALADINO this position is informal - a fundraising role (hosted a fundraiser at his home) |
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CARLPALADINO FNUB Inc's mailing address for ownership of 465 WASHINGTON is c/o Ellicott Development |
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janice Rocco Vacca lobbied against Regional council regarding hikes in development fees; leans heavily pro-development |
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janice Michaëlle Jean "The Canadian Board Members are appointed by the Governor-in-Council as recommended by the Minister of Transport." (http://www.peacebridge.com/board_members.php) |
