Suit claims racketeering by Mayor Brown

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown is on the defensive. A major developer has filed a lawsuit, accusing the mayor of corruption and racketeering.

Mayor Brown said on Tuesday that at the end of the day he will prevail. He spoke about the serious allegations spelled out in a federal lawsuit.

Brown said, "The allegations are untrue and we look forward to our day in court."

The lawsuit alleges a "pattern of racketeering" and "breach of contract." The suit, brought by Cleveland developer NRP Holdings LLC, alleges that Brown and others, including councilmember Demone Smith, conspired to kill a housing project when the developer refused to hire Rev. Richard A. Stenhouse, who heads Jeremiah Partnership, a faith-based development organization. Court papers allege that Brown said, "Make Stenhouse happy or the deal will not go through."

Did he say that? Brown said, "No, absolutely untrue."

According to court papers, when the developer went with a different firm, Brown told them "I told you what you had to do and you hired the wrong company" and that he was "sick of seeing those [expletive] white developers on the east side with no black faces represented."

Brown said, "Absolute nonsense. No truth to it whatsoever. Completely false. And we will defend every claim in court."

Councilmember Demone Smith, who's also named in the lawsuit, also denies the allegations.

"There was no pay-to-play going on at all. I can't wait to have my day in court to prove all of these allegations false," said Smith.

Mayor Brown and Demone Smith say city support for the project ended because of a rent-to-own condition sought by the Ohio developer.

Brown said, "We thought to put people in a rent-to-own situation for 30 years was wrong."

Smith added, "You had a disgruntled developer who got mad that we wouldn't do 30 year rent-to-owns. In Masten."

Meanwhile, other members of the Common Council were surprised to learn of the allegations.

Common Council President David Franczyk said, "To me the accusations, if there's any truth to them, it's unacceptable if these things occurred."

The company suing is seeking over a million dollars. You can see the entire lawsuit filed with the court here.