The former Genesee County director on the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. board today explained the reasoning behind the approval of multi-year contract extensions to 18 high-ranking employees just days before Gov. Kathy Hochul and the leaders of the state Senate and Assembly dismantled the board.
Contacted by phone this morning, Richard Siebert, who served on the board for 29 years, said that on April 27, during an executive session at Batavia Downs Gaming, neither he nor any of his colleagues were aware of what was going to happen in Albany.
Less than a week later, it was announced that all the directors were being fired and that the board’s voting system was being changed from one-county, one-vote to a weighted format based on population.
“At that point, no one seemed to be able to tell us what was in the legislation that was going to be passed when Hochul passed her budget,” said Siebert, who actually resigned his position when he found out about the changes. “We didn’t know what was in there – and I actually found out (through the media) that I was being removed as a director.”
When asked about the two- and three-year contracts, Siebert admitted that this “was different” from what was done in the past.
“We had consultants that told us that it was in the best interest of our board to have three-year contracts – with a lot of other stipulations like they couldn’t leave and compete against us with another vendor, whatever,” he said.
Siebert also said the board was worried about the status of President/Chief Executive Officer Henry Wojtaszek’s job.
“I think we were all concerned about the stuff we kept hearing about the fact that they were gunning for Henry, who we felt was doing a great job, as well as the other officers. So, it was a good way to be more efficient by having the contracts and, in my own mind, it was a way for us to protect people from being removed for political purposes,” he said.
“Now, if there was something in the employee’s merit that would warrant them being removed from their contract, so be it. But we felt it was in the best interest of our board to be more responsible with contracts and also to make sure people who are doing a great job had the opportunity to continue without political interference.”
Wojtaszek confirmed that the board was advised by attorney John Owens, who was recently hired as the board’s associate general counsel, to enter into the contract extensions. Also contacted this morning, Wojtaszek said he didn’t want to speak publicly about the contracts because they are personnel matters but did offer to provide the information to The Batavian.
“I’d be happy to send you these contracts,” he said. “There’s no secret about it.”
Actually, the specifics of the contracts were acquired by the Niagara Gazette through the state’s Freedom of Information Law earlier this month, and the newspaper did make those salaries public.
As expected, Wojtaszek tops the list at $272,000, which is about $7,000 more than what the board had approved for his 2023 salary. The other members of the leadership team are Chief Financial Officer Jacquelyne Leach ($222,000), Chief Operating Officer Scott Kiedrowski ($165,168), VP/Administration William White ($160,000) and VP/Operations Sean Schiano ($131,000).
All of their contracts now run through December 2026, and they are still eligible for annual raises, Wojtaszek said.
Employees granted two-year contract extensions are as follows:
Ryan Hasenauer, director of marketing, $108,638; Cindy DeCarlo, controller/Batavia Downs operations, $104,187; Steven Haigh, internal auditor, $101,129; Thomas P. Balk, director of building and grounds, $100,900; Jeffery Magee, IT director, $99,008.
Jake Rak, controller, OTB operations, $89,918; Andrew Fedele, director of surveillance/video gaming operations, $83,574; Daniel Wood, director of security, $83,137; Danielle Fleming, director of human resources, $80,017.
Dona Beane, director of food and beverages, $78,249; Dina Pane, general manager/OTB operations, $76,585; Barbara O'Rourke, sales manager, $75,358; Megan Glor, director of purchasing/real estate, $74,089.
The former board’s unanimous vote is being criticized by local politicians, with the Niagara Gazette reporting that Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick called the salaries “obscene” and state Assemblywoman Monica Wallace, D-Lancaster, terming the timing of the action as “highly suspect. Both are calling upon the new WROTB board to take a closer look at the contracts and the approval process.
Wojtaszek said the salaries are proper in light of industry standards.
“What I would say is that if you look at the industry – the numbers within the industry – it’s clearly an appropriate amount based on the gaming industry. I think it’s (the criticism) is very politically motivated,” he said. “And when you look at the performance of the corporation, things are going extremely well here. And we're going to try to make sure that continues. We have great personnel, and we are delivering the customer service that’s necessary to bring people back.”
