Syllabus
Note: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued. The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader. See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337.
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Syllabus
CIMINELLI v. UNITED STATES ET AL.
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
No. 21–1170. Argued November 28, 2022—Decided May 11, 2023
Petitioner Louis Ciminelli was convicted of federal wire fraud for his involvement in a scheme to rig the bid process for obtaining state-funded development projects associated with then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion initiative. The Buffalo Billion initiative was administered by the nonprofit Fort Schuyler Management Corporation. Investigations uncovered that Fort Schuyler board member Alain Kaloyeros paid lobbyist Todd Howe $25,000 in state funds each month to ensure that the Cuomo administration gave Kaloyeros a prominent role in administering projects for Buffalo Billion. Ciminelli’s construction company, LPCiminelli, paid Howe $100,000 to $180,000 each year to help it obtain state-funded jobs. In 2013, Howe and Kaloyeros devised a scheme whereby Kaloyeros would tailor Fort Schuyler’s bid process to smooth the way for LPCiminelli to receive major Buffalo Billion contracts by designating LPCiminelli as a “preferred developer” with priority status to negotiate for specific projects. Kaloyeros, Howe, and Ciminelli jointly developed a set of requests for proposal (RFPs) that effectively guaranteed LPCiminelli’s selection as a preferred developer by treating unique aspects of LPCiminelli as qualifications for preferred-developer status. With that status in hand, LPCiminelli secured the marquee $750 million “Riverbend project” in Buffalo. After the scheme was uncovered, Ciminelli, Kaloyeros, Howe, and others were indicted for, as relevant here, wire fraud in violation of 18 U. S. C. §1343 and conspiracy to commit the same under §1349.
