The corruption trial of four people in the Buffalo Billion case has ended with the conviction of all defendants. The Buffalo Billion was a New York State economic development program that offered a billion dollars for projects in the Buffalo area. The four found guilty are Alain Kaloyeros, former president of SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Buffalo developer Louis Ciminelli, and Cor Development executives Steven Aiello and Joseph Girardi. The charges allege that hundreds of millions of dollars of construction projects were directed to Ciminelli’s construction company and Cor Development in a massive pay-to-play conspiracy. The Request for Proposal’s were tailored to favor the two companies and were not awarded on merit. Sentencing will occur in October.
Late Thursday, Governor Cuomo said “The jury has spoken and justice has been done. There can be no tolerance for those who seek to defraud the system to advance their own personal interests. Anyone who has committed such an egregious act should be punished to the full extent of the law.”
