ALBANY — Former Sen. Alfonse D’Amato obtained one of three no-bid contracts from cash-strapped New York City OTB that came under criticism in a still-secret audit from the state comptroller, The Post has learned.
D’Amato’s one-year contract, for $144,000, was among the contracts criticized for being awarded with “no written justification showing the need for the contracts and no indication officials had determined whether in-house staff could provide the services instead of consultants.”
The audit, details of which were disclosed in The Post yesterday (right), didn’t name the contract recipients. But sources identified them as D’Amato and two consultants hired to help OTB develop its online-betting operations.
D’Amato received his contract in June 2007 on a vote of an OTB board then headed by Chairman David Cornstein, a jewelry magnate and longtime D’Amato friend.
D’Amato insisted he had performed extensive services under the contract, which ended in June 2008.
“We tried to negotiate better terms for OTB with the New York Racing Association, we talked about expanding the availability of slots, video lottery terminals, in the [OTB tele] theaters . . . we talked about merging them,” said D’Amato.
Cornstein said no favoritism was involved in the hiring of D’Amato.