The recent groundbreaking ceremony for Green Thumb Industries was a celebratory moment that helped soothe the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Orange County”™s Industrial Development Agency has suffered through.
Earlier this year, the Orange County Legislature replaced the entire IDA board when lawmakers began hitting roadblocks while attempting to gather financial information on the IDA”™s activities. Bill Fioravanti, the county”™s director of economic development, has been acting as interim director since the board was replaced.
In June, three former IDA members ””Vincent Cozzolino, Laurie Villasuso and former County Executive Edward Diana ”” accepted a plea deal for corruption and concealing conflicts of interest.
The Orange County District Attorney”™s Office, along with the Office of the New York State Comtproller, found the IDA board had abdicated its fiduciary duty and acted as a rubber stamp for Cozzolino”™s company, Galileo Technology Group, which had been hired to manage the IDA. The IDA board failed to review contracts, invoices or to engage in any meaningful oversight that may have exposed the egregious conflict of interest.
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and Orange County District Attorney Hoovler released a report on Monday, Sept. 13, detailing the defendants”™ crimes and how the systemic failures and neglect of duty by the IDA board and its officials enabled the scheme.
“Cozzolino, Villasuso and Diana betrayed their duty to the public in order to enrich themselves through a web of conflicts of interest, false statements and pay-offs,” said DiNapoli.
“Making matters worse, their scheme was enabled by a complacent board, which neglected its fiduciary duty and allowed Cozzolino to assume near unfettered control of the program. It is because of the joint work of our partnership with Orange County District Attorney (David) Hoovler and the New Windsor Police that we were able to bring their crimes to light.”
DiNapoli and Hoovler also laid out recommendations for the new members of the IDA.
Earlier that day, Cozzolino had pleaded guilty to corrupting the government, a felony, and was sentenced by Judge Robert Prisco to five years of probation in his county of residence, Ulster; he will also pay $1 million in restitution. If he fails to make payment or is arrested for any reason, he could face up to seven years in state prison.
Villasuso, the IDA”™s chief executive officer that was paid by Galileo, paid $175,000 in restitution and received a three-year conditional discharge. If she is arrested for any reason, she could face up to four years in state prison.
IDA board member Diana, who also did consulting work for Cozzolino”™s firm, saw his felony conviction reduced to two misdemeanors ””offering a false instrument and engaging in a prohibited conflict of interest. He paid $90,000 in restitution and received a one-year conditional discharge. If he is arrested for any reason, he faces one year in the county jail.
Fioravanti credited the county”™s former IDA board for helping to make the Warwick Valley Business & Technology Park happen. He said the IDA made the initial $1.5 million investment in the Warwick LDC via a lease-back arrangement for the construction of what is now John Hicks Way.
Warwick”™s LDC constructed the road and its cul-de-sac, as well as installing the infrastructure that made it possible to create 10 shovel-ready pad sites. The proceeds from the Warwick LDC”™s sale of 35-plus acres to Green Thumb Industries satisfied that lease-back arrangement, said Fioravanti.
The former board invested another $2 million in 2018 for the CBD/Cannabis Accelerator on the campus. Those funds were used to transform a former pig stall into a state-of-the-art testing laboratory for Phyto-Pharma for CBD and medical marijuana. The funding also helped turn a former dairy barn into an explosion-proof CBD extraction facility, now home to Urban Xtracts. CITIVA is also a member of the “green” team in the new Warwick business/technology hub.
“The hope is that the two cannabis companies will grow and process a large volume of medical and recreational marijuana, while creating 100-plus high-paying jobs. Local farmers can supplement their crops and their revenues by growing hemp ”” all of which could be processed and tested right on the site at the accelerator,” said Fioravanti.
“I think this is just a great example of vision and foresight by a local municipality, the county IDA utilizing its tools and resources to help Warwick capitalize on what is, without a doubt, an exciting emerging industry sector.”
Now acting as director of the IDA, Fioravanti said the county started conducting a search for a permanent CEO a few months ago, and he tossed his hat in the ring. “I did it with the blessing of our county executive,” Fioravanti said. “I think it would be an exciting opportunity to rebuild a new team here”¦and to leverage the unique resources of the IDA to help our towns, villages and cities thrive for years into the future.”
