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Ciminelli Sentenced To 28 Months In "Buffalo Billion" Scheme

A Buffalo developer has been sentenced to 28 months in prison and ordered to pay a $500,000 fine in a bid-rigging scheme connected to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "Buffalo Billion" economic redevelopment program.

Louis Ciminelli was sentenced Monday in federal court for a pay-to-play conspiracy in which his firm won a development job worth a half billion dollars.

Ciminelli and three others were convicted over the summer. Prosecutors say the scheme involved state-funded contracts worth more than $850 million.

Prosecutors say Ciminelli and others in his company contributed nearly $100,000 to Cuomo's campaign. The Democratic governor was not accused of wrongdoing.

A federal jury convicted two other developers and former president of the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute Alain Kaloyeros.

Kaloyeros is scheduled for sentencing next week.

Copyright 2018 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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