Lou Ciminelli sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for bid rigging

A federal judge in Manhattan has sentenced Lou Ciminelli to two years and four months in federal prison and ordered to pay a $500,000 for his role in a massive bid rigging scheme that steered hundreds of millions of dollars to his company, Buffalo-based LP Ciminelli.

Federal agents arrested Ciminelli and two other company executives in 2016 on charges of bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The charge of bribery - along with all charges against the two other executives - were later dropped.

Prosecutors said Alain Kaloyeros, the former president of the SUNY Polytechnic Institute, arranged for Ciminelli's company to win the $850 million state contract for the lucrative RiverBend project as part of Governor Andrew Cuomo's Buffalo Billion project.

Kaloyeros was found guilty in wire fraud and conspiracy charges in July. He will be sentenced next week.

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

In the weeks leading up to his sentencing, the judge received dozens of letters of support from friends of the former CEO, asking for leniency for a man they describe as a generous friend to Western New York's rich cultural scene and many charities.

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