The club of Western New York politicians raiding taxpayers’ pockets at Western Regional Off Track Betting Corp. (WROTB) is now officially a joint project of Republicans and Democrats. And the members of the club aren’t even trying to hide their relentless greed anymore.
Readers who have been following this story know the basic facts. WROTB is a public benefit corporation owned by Western New York taxpayers. It operates the Batavia Downs racetrack and casino, along with a network of betting outposts across the region.
By law, all of the profit the agency makes is supposed to come back to our local governments, to fund public services and hold down our taxes. But the political operators who run WROTB have made an art form out of fleecing the taxpayers for their own benefit. Board members give themselves illegal, free health plans in exchange for two days a month of work.
Agency officials treat themselves to expensive luxury box seats at Bills games. All of this comes right out of our pockets as taxpayers. The icing atop that cake of corruption is the massive salary that the agency’s president and CEO, Henry Wojtaszek, engineered for himself recently: More than $275,000 per year, a salary higher than the Vice President of the United States.
Now Wojtaszek is demanding, and set to receive, a $300,000 severance payout and free health insurance for life — for the courtesy of leaving his lucrative throne. For years the officials getting these sweet deals have been prominent W.
