“I have serious concerns over the validity of recent contracts to extend and increase pay for top Western Regional Off-Track Betting employees. It's clear the OTB Board of Directors did not prioritize the best interests of local taxpayers, who are supposed to benefit from OTB revenues. Under this contract, OTB President Henry Wojtaszek will earn $272,000 – triple what he made in 2011 and more than the salary of the Vice President of the United States. He is just one of numerous OTB executives earning sweetheart, six-figure salaries on the public's dime. Collectively, these lucrative contracts cost OTB more than $2.1 million per year in salaries and hundreds of thousands more in benefits – money that comes straight out of the public's tax coffers.

“Even more outrageous, the OTB Board approved these windfall contracts on the same day it learned of the state Legislature's plans to reform and restructure the Board. That timing is highly suspect and calls into question whether the Board was acting in good faith. It is also absurd that the Board gave Wojtaszek a gas allowance in light of his outright abuse of that privilege in the past. These egregious actions serve to confirm how critical it was for the state Legislature to step in and replace the existing Board. I urge the incoming Board to consult with counsel on the validity of these last-minute sweetheart deals and to take all steps necessary and appropriate to challenge them.”