The Latest: Former Cuomo economic guru sentenced to prison
The former head of the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute has been sentenced to 3½ years in prison for his role in corrupting the state's Buffalo Billion project
FILE - In this Thursday, July 12, 2018, file photo, Alain Kaloyeros, a former president of the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute, arrives to federal court in New York. Kaloyeros is facing sentencing, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018, in the corruption of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billion” economic redevelopment program. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Latest on the sentencing of Alain Kaloyeros in the Buffalo Billion corruption trial (all times local):
4:40 p.m.
The former head of the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute has been sentenced to 3½ years in prison for his role in corrupting the state's Buffalo Billion project.
Alain Kaloyeros (uh-LAYN' kal-oh-YEHR'-ohs) was sentenced Tuesday in Manhattan federal court by Judge Valerie Caproni.
She also fined him $100,000. The judge said he can remain free on bail pending appeal because there was a substantial legal question that the appeals court must consider.
However, she said he must report to prison two months after the appeals court rules, if it upholds the conviction and sentence.
Kaloyeros, who apologized to New York state residents, was convicted in July of conspiracy and wire fraud.
His lawyers said afterward they still believe him to be "an innocent man."
___
1:35 a.m.
The ex-president of the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute is facing sentencing in the corruption of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "Buffalo Billion" economic redevelopment program.
Alain Kaloyeros (uh-LAYN' kal-oh-YEHR'-ohs) was the school's president when the Democratic governor tapped him to help a quest to create high-tech jobs in upstate New York.
Prosecutors seek substantial prison time at Tuesday's sentencing. Defense lawyers want leniency.
Kaloyeros was convicted in July of conspiracy and wire fraud after prosecutors presented evidence that the bidding process for the project was rigged to benefit a Buffalo developer and a Syracuse development company.
Federal sentencing guidelines call for a prison term of over 11 years, but even the government concedes that is too much for a fraud that stretched from 2013 through 2015.
