The New’s first article on this subject investigated projects that were part of the “Buffalo Billion Scandal” and its “pay-to-play” scheme. You will recall that scandal resulted in the bid rigging conviction of Louis P. Ciminelli of LP Ciminelli Company.
(For those of you who are unaware Lou served as a trustee of mob controlled LiUNA Local 210 and was named in a RICO suite against the local along with other members and associates of the Buffalo mafia. Additionally, Ron Fino identified Lou’s father Frank as an associate whom Leonard Falzone said “answered” to the Buffalo mob.)
The LP Ciminelli company has been implicated as benefiting from this WMBE pass through scheme in both articles. In the first case “the Buffalo Billion” the state “kept quiet” about this scheme according to the Buffalo News. The second case which involved the LP Ciminelli company’s role acting as the project manager of the Tioga Downs Casino Project in the Souther Tier. The Buffalo News reports that:
Now here is where it gets even more interesting. The Times Union in Albany also reported that Chris Riegle of the Delaware North company in Buffalo told Gural about the former governor’s machinations. They write:Investigators found “no evidence” that LPCiminelli officials were aware of the pass-through schemes, a spokesperson for the inspector general said. A lawyer for Ciminelli and a spokesperson for his son, former LPCiminelli President Frank Ciminelli II, declined to comment.
The owner of Tioga Downs is Jeffrey Gural who accused former Governor Cuomo of running a “criminal operation” in regard to the issuing of Casino permits. The Times Union in Albany wrote:
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration, Jeffrey Gural told the audience in scathing remarks lasting several minutes," ran a criminal operation.”
Gural, who owns the Tioga Downs casino in the Southern Tier, said in an interview that the believes in 2014 – after New York legalized full-scale casino gambling – Cuomo’s administration had “rigged” the process of bidding out the three initial licenses to casino operators.
“I think they had some scheme up their sleeve, as to who would be the winners and who would be the losers – with me being the loser,” Gural said.
Gural charges that the Cuomo administration pulled a bait-and-switch. He alleges that in 2014, Cuomo's office spread word that Gural would win one of the three licenses – tamping down opposition to a competing proposal – then gave the license to the competing proposal.
The Delaware North Company has long been rumored in Buffalo to be involved with organized crime. These rumors likely have their roots in the history of this company which started as Emprise, which has long been rumored to have mob ties. For example the company had been “relentlessly” investigated by reporter Don Bolles. The ArtVoice in Buffalo wrote:Gural – a major Manhattan real estate developer, who is a significant player in the gaming industry in both New York and New Jersey – is basing his allegation on second-hand information. He contends he learned the information from a gambling executive from Delaware North Companies, who allegedly told Gural about the machinations. The gaming official, Chris Riegle, would not directly answer questions about Gural's account when reached by the Times Union.
Of course the article ends with the statement: “No connection between Emprise and Bolles’ death was discovered.”On June 2, 1976, Bolles left behind a short note in his office typewriter explaining he would meet with an informant and be back about around 1:30 p.m. The source promised information on a land deal involving top state politicians – and possibly even the mob.
Bolles arrived at the hotel and waited several minutes in the lobby before a call was received for Bolles at the front desk. That conversation lasted only a few minutes, before he exited the hotel. His car was parked the adjacent parking lot just south of the hotel.
Bolles started the car. After moving no more than a few feet, a remote detonated explosive consisting of six sticks of dynamite attached to the underbelly of the car just under the driver’s seat exploded. The bombing shattered his lower body, opened the driver’s door, and left him mortally wounded while half outside the vehicle. Both legs and one arm were amputated over a ten-day stay in St. Joseph’s Hospital. He died on the eleventh day, June 13.
When found in the parking lot, his last words included “John Adamson”, “Emprise” and “Mafia.” The note that he left by his typewriter read, “John Adamson. Lobby at 11:15. Clarendon House. 4th + Clarendon.
For those who would like a better source, the New York Times wrote the following in a article named “The Past Haunts Brothers Who Own Convicted Sports Empire” from 1977.
Additionally, the LA Times has a great section on Delaware North Companies’ past in its 1991 article by John Cherwa called: “Hubbard’s Ties Are Questioned : Horse racing: Race track owner has had associations with Emprise, a company linked with organized crime in the early 1970s.”Jerry thought it was all going well until Don Bolles, the investigative reporter for the Arizona Republic, was murdered. It was reported that Bolles, who had written many articles attempting to link Emprise and the Funk family of Arizona to organized crime in their racing monopoly in that state, said just before he lost consciousness after his car was bombed, “. . . Emprise . . . they finally got me.”
“It's a tragic thing, a disgusting thing,” Jerry said. “His death resurrected this [Mafia] thing, and we can't resurrect him.”
Anonymously, Jerry Jacobs sent contribution to Bolles's widow and family.
I actually recommend reading the whole article for more information on the Delaware North Companies of Buffalo.EMPRISE--THE PAST
Emprise, in one form or another, has been around for three-quarters of a century. It has had many names from Emprise to Sportservice to Sportsystems to its current name of Delaware North.
On occasion, some have argued that Delaware North is not the same company as Emprise. However, a U.S. District Court in Arkansas ruled in 1983 that it was the successor company. The opinion was upheld by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1984.
The company was formed in 1915 by the Jacobs brothers--Louis, Marvin and Charles. The principal business was as a concession firm for baseball teams.
According to a confidential report submitted to the Birmingham (Ala.) Racing Commission in 1988, the company was in need of cash in the 1930s and Louis Jacobs “borrowed it from organized crime figure Moe Dalitz . . . and in the 1950s, Louis Jacobs helped Dalitz acquire the Stardust Casino and Hotel.”
In the 1950s, according to James (Jimmy Doyle) Plumeri, a New York labor racketeer who was murdered in 1971, Louis Jacobs financially backed boxers controlled by Plumeri and Frankie Carbo, a New York organized crime figure.
Max Jacobs, the son of Louis Jacobs, admitted that in 1956 his father loaned $256,000 to Anthony Zerilli and Giacoma (Jack) Tocco, which they used to get control of Hazel Park Race Track. The McClellan Committe identified the pair as members of the Detroit Mafia in 1960.
Sports Illustrated, which did a story in 1972 on Jeremy Jacobs called “The Godfather of Sports” detailed a transaction in 1962 in which “Gerardo (Jerry Catena, the successor to Vito Genovese in the New York Mafia), arranged for Louie (Jacobs) to fund an attempt by Joe (the Wop) Cataldo--a New York gangster . . . --to gain control of Finger Lakes track.
Finger Lakes track is the only thoroughbred facility currently owned by Delaware North.
In 1966, Robert Leacy, a former vice president of Emprise, testified that he had “personally delivered $10,000 in cash as a campaign contributor to former Louisiana Governor Earl Long.” Leacy said the payments were made “to ensure that Emprise would be able to operate in Louisiana without problems.”
The company was passed from Louis to Jeremy and his brother Max in 1968.
The New Mexico loan involving Hubbard was revealed in 1970 but on March 4, 1970, Arizona representative Sam Steiger read into the Congressional record the names of underworld figures he believed had business dealings with Emprise.
Among those named were Sam Tucker of River Downs Raceway, a member of the “Purple Gang,”; Moe Dalitz, who was identified by the Kefauver Committe as being involved in organized crime; Raymond Patriarca, leader of the New England Mafia and Zerilli, Tocco and Dominic (Fats) Corrado, all officers of Hazel Park.
Steiger later changed his mind in 1977 and asked President Jimmy Carter to issue a pardon for Emprise.
The most damaging blow came on April 26, 1972, when Emprise and six people including Zerilli, Michael Polizzi and Peter Bellanca, all identified as members of the Detroit Mafia, were convicted in Los Angeles of criminally conspiring to obtain secret ownership of the Frontier Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas.
“The 20-year-old thing is on the public record and no one has ever made any effort to hide it,” Gifford of Delaware North said. “It happened, but it happened a long time ago. And it’s perceived as something useful to someone who’s trying to discredit another party and I can’t imagine it would work.”
In 1974, the Daytona Beach (Fla.) Jai Alai fronton, still owned by Delaware North, burned to the ground and a $4-million insurance payment was paid out. The report to the Birmingham Racing Commission said that in 1980, Gary Bowdach, a federal prosecution witness, said the fire was ordered by Salvatore Cufari, a reputed crime boss in Springfield, Mass.
The Florida director of pari-mutuel wagering suspended the three licenses held by Emprise in 1974. However, in 1981, after an out-of-court settlement, the licenses were reinstated.
Officials of Delaware North contend that the company has made only one mistake--the 1972 conviction--in 75 years.
In 1984, the company was told it was unlikely to be approved for a license in Iowa and the company subsequently withdrew its application. Vermont denied the company a license in 1984 but granted the permit in 1988. West Virginia approved a license to run Wheeling Downs in 1988. In fact, the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau has given the company a clean bill of health.
Perhaps the most famous mention of Emprise came in 1976, when Don Bolles, an investigative reporter for the Arizona Republic, died 11 days after his car was bombed.
Bolles final words were: “They finally got me. The Mafia. Emprise. John Adamson.” Adamson, a local greyhound breeder, was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, a sentence that was overturned in 1988. No charges were ever brought against Emprise or any of its employees. The case remains under investigation 14 years later.
Now Back to Chris Riegle of the Delaware North company and what he told Jeff Gural about the former governor Andrew Cuomo’s machinations or as he put it "criminal operations.”
First, Riegle joined Delaware North in 1987 as a business analyst and served in that role until 1992 when he became the Controller for the Finger Lakes Racing Association. He served in that roll until 1997 when he become the President and General Manager at Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack, a roll he continues in to this day. Finally in 2008 he become the NY Regional General Manager for the Delaware North Companies. See Riegle’s Linked-in profile below.
Second, the Cuomo family has long been accused of ties to organized crime. In a Feb 14, 1990 Douglas Turner Buffalo News’ Washington Bureau chief asked about those rumors in an article titled “CUOMO RAPS TALK OF MAFIA TIE SAYS SLUR WOULD NOT STOP HIM FROM SEEKING OFFICE.”
Cuomo said "Republicans in my state spent five years . . . putting together a group of false statements that were sent (in 1987) to the Los Angeles Times and to the New York Times . . . saying my father was in the Mafia. He ran a grocery store."
More Recently Paul Manning posted an FBI document linking Mario Cuomo directly to Buffalo mob capo Joe Albano who is said to have “strong political ties” to the former governor and indicated he had more documents linking him.
Third, we have the Ciminelli connection to the Buffalo mafia
Now given all these connection, I can’t help but wonder if the Buffalo mob, if it exists, has been involved in the bid rigging and WMBE pass through schemes. Moreover, could it have have influenced Governor Cuomo on who would receive gaming licenses given Delaware North’s connection to the former governor and its past alleged links to organized crime. I don’t know if people are aware the now Governor and Cuomo’s Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hockul’s husband is the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of the Delaware North Companies. The New York Post indicates the company has directly lobbied the “executive Chamber/Staff of office of Governor and Lt. Governor….” Including issues related to sports betting in NY State. The NY Post writes:
This could just be typical NY State corruption, but I think one would be remiss not to look into the possibility of connections to organized crime. As I continue to look into these possible connections:Delaware North said it will not pursue a mobile-betting license, but it has huge interests in gaming and casinos, currently owning the Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack in Farmington, NY; and managing the Hamburg Gaming casino. It also has a $39 million agreement with the NY Thruway Authority to manage food and drinks at rest stops, records show.
1. Does anyone have more information on Emprise/Delaware North and it’s connections to the Detroit family?
2. Has anyone been able to connect the Jacobs family and/or Emprise/Delaware North to anyone in the Buffalo crime family?
3. Does anyone know if Emprise was ever “with” anyone? Detroit? Would Buffalo have had any role if they were, given the business is a Buffalo business. 4. Any chance that if they were “with” a crime family, they are still “represented” by a crime family? B… I think you mentioned Arrow Linens and the Colombos as an example.
Sources:
1. “State Inspector General cites minority business fraud on Southern Tier casino project;” Charlie Spect; February 18, 2020; The Buffalo News; Link: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/stat ... op-story-1
2. “Buffalo Billion projects skirted some contracting laws, but state kept it quiet” Charlie Specht & Dan Herbeck; Dec 7, 2021; Buffalo News; Link: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/buff ... 5c006.html
3. “Was Delaware North involved in the death of Don Bolles?” December 17, 2016; The Artvoice; Link: https://artvoice.com/2016/12/17/delawar ... on-bolles/
4. “The Past Haunts Brothers Who Own Convicted Sports Empire;” Tony Kornheiser; October 10, 1977; The New York Times; Link: https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/07/arch ... -past.html
5. Hubbard’s Ties Are Questioned : Horse racing: Race track owner has had associations with Emprise, a company linked with organized crime in the early 1970s. John Cherwa; January 17, 1991; The LA Times; Link: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm ... story.html
6. “CUOMO RAPS TALK OF MAFIA TIE SAYS SLUR WOULD NOT STOP HIM FROM SEEKING OFFICE.” Douglas Turner; February 14, 1990; The Buffalo News; Link: https://buffalonews.com/news/cuomo-raps ... ce703.html
7. Christ Riegle Linked-in Profile; Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-riegle-a690013a/
8. Paul Manning Tweet; April 20, 2021; Link: https://twitter.com/mobinfiltrator/stat ... AFEIxhYZlA
9. "Kathy Hochul's husband will stay at Delaware North despite potential conflict of interest.” Stephan Watson; August 11, 2021; The Buffalo News; Link: Link: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/stat ... 8c960.html
10. “Kathy Hochul’s husband was lawyer for casino firm that lobbied officials: records.” Jon Levine; September 4, 2021; The New York Post; Link: https://nypost.com/2021/09/04/william-h ... officials/
