Buffalo Schools Construction Project Part Of Federal Probe Into Cuomo's Buffalo Billion Project

Now we have a K-12 public education connection to the Buffalo Billion corruption story:

Federal prosecutor Preet Bharara’s investigation into the Buffalo Billion is part of a larger probe into other development projects, including the Buffalo Schools Construction Project, sources close to the investigation said Friday.

The first hint of an investigation by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney came in the form of subpoenas demanding information on several large-scale state initiatives, many of them with close ties to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany.

Sources said the subpoenas went out across the state and seek documents and records regarding the bidding process on those projects, as well as any communication between state officials and private contractors.

...


Sources familiar with the investigation told The Buffalo News that the subpoenas also demand records and documents connected to the Buffalo Schools Construction Project, an 11-year, $1.3 billion program to renovate 48 city schools.

Even though the renovations are complete, Buffalo school board members Carl Paladino and Larry Quinn have criticized the fixed-price contract used on the project and suggested tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer money remain unaccounted for.

LP Ciminelli, the chief contractor on the schools project, called the criticism part of a personal vendetta directed at Louis P. Ciminelli, the company’s chairman and CEO.

Ciminelli, a major contributor to Cuomo’s political campaigns, is also the general contractor on SolarCity, a $900 million solar panel factory being built at South Buffalo’s RiverBend complex. The plant is the centerpiece of Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion.

Daniel C. Oliverio, a well-known white-collar defense attorney, confirmed he’s representing Ciminelli but declined to comment on Bharara’s investigation.

The leaks are coming fast and furious today.

First the NY Post story that Bharara had launched an investigation into Cuomo's Buffalo Billion project, looking at the bidding process and the awarding of contracts.

Then came the Daily News story that SUNY had been a recipient of subpoenas related to the probe.

Now we have the Buffalo News reporting that the same contractor/Cuomo donor who seemed to be the recipient of a rigged contract in the Buffalo Billion project is also the contractor for the Buffalo Schools Construction project, a $1.3 billion dollar renovation program that has tens of millions of funds missing.

Cuomo said today that there's no "there" there in this story.

On the contrary - the longer the day went on, the more leaks we got showing just how much "there" there really is.

No Accountability Measures Or Expectations In Place For New Buffalo Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash

Once again we get an example of how accountability is only for the little people:

 The four-year employment contract for incoming Buffalo School Superintendent Kriner Cash makes him the highest paid leader of any major urban school district in the state, but does not lay out any specific performance expectations. Those will be set later. Moreover, Cash’s contract includes unusually specific communication procedures designed to prevent individual board members from telling him what to do without official board authorization.

Oh, the specific performance expectations will be set later.

How much later?

Undetermined performance evaluation: While some superintendent contracts provide explicit parameters for how a superintendent’s work will be judged, Cash’s contract includes only one sentence stating that the adoption of specific performance expectations and measures will be developed through a collaborative process by Sept. 30.

Hired first, performance expectations and measures later - this isn't sitting well with Crazy Carl Paladino:

Board member Carl Paladino, who served on the negotiating committee along with Sampson and board member Barbara Seals Nevergold, criticized the fact that Cash was given such a lengthy employment contract term without identifying specific performance goals. He was out of the country when the board approved Cash’s contract and said he attended only one meeting with the board’s negotiating team.

“There’s no standards set for this guy,” Paladino stated. “We’re telling him you’re employed for four years, and we’re not telling him what his job is.”

Silly Crazy Carl - expectations and accountability are for little people in the school district, not for the people who run it.

Cuomo Will Claim A Mandate, But...

You know that Little Andy will claim New Yorkers have given him a mandate to push through his radical platform to end state school aid grants, bust the teachers unions, lift the charter cap completely, and pay off his cronies in the hedge fund industry by privatizing schools after tonight's results.

But with Crazy Carl as his opponent, how could he NOT win by 30 points?

Seriously - his opponent is a certifiably insane person.

Just google "Carl Paladino" and "insane" and see what comes up.

Even hardcore Republicans who STILL think George W. Bush did a fantastic job as president aren't voting for Crazy Carl.

Well, at least some of them aren't.

So tonight I fully expect Cuomo to win by 30+ and give some speech about the sweeping changes he intends to make as soon as he takes office.

But "sweeping change" and Albany go together like oil and water and a 30+ victory over Crazy Carl Paladino does NOT a mandate make.

Cuomo is given to dramatic ego trips, but he would best not read too much into tonight's results.

He has a lot of enemies in Albany and it won't take much to see him Spitzered.