Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara has expanded his anti-corruption crusade to the far western edge of the state — investigating Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s controversial Buffalo Billion revitalization project, The Post has learned.
The probe of Cuomo’s pet project is the first to touch his office beyond Bharara’s investigation of the governor’s shutdown of the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption last year.
The new investigation is focused on the multimillion-dollar contracts awarded to build facilities for high-tech, drug-development and clean-energy businesses, a source familiar with the probe told The Post.
Bharara’s office has slapped several firms with subpoenas in recent months, the source said.
“It’s a comprehensive look at the bidding process,” the source said.
“They’re looking at communications between contractors and state officials.”
Bharara’s probe extends some 250 miles beyond the boundaries of his district, the Southern District of New York, which is headquartered in Manhattan and includes The Bronx and six suburbs north of the city.
It also infringes on the jurisdiction of Buffalo US Attorney Bill Hochul, whose wife, Kathy, is Cuomo’s lieutenant governor.
Last month, Kathy Hochul touted Cuomo’s pricey plan during an Upstate Revitalization Conference at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.
Before Buffalo Billion, “people had given up hope,” she said “That’s a statement of fact.”
But since the taxpayer cash began flowing, millennials have begun moving to the Buffalo area, reversing decades of declining population, Hochul said.
“This is the most positive indicator I have seen,” she said. “It happened because the governor believed in us.”
A spokeswoman for Bill Hochul declined to comment. It was unclear whether he recused himself from the Buffalo Billion probe over the potential conflict of interest — or if he was even aware of Bharara’s investigation.
In May, the Buffalo News revealed Hochul recused himself from an investigation of former Erie County Democratic Chair Steve Pigeon, a Cuomo political adviser, but said his top assistant was overseeing it and coordinating with state prosecutors.
Legal experts said the US Attorneys’ Manual does not cover a scenario in which a prosecutor keeps a probe secret from another who could lay claim to the case.
“That’s a sensitive issue . . . I would want to advise DOJ,” a former prosecutor said, referring to the US Department of Justice. “Under those circumstances, the likelihood is DOJ would approve it and deal with the fallout later.”
Cuomo announced the 10-year Buffalo Billion program in his 2012 State of the State speech, saying it would be modeled on the $1 billion-plus program to spur nanotech research and draw semiconductor manufacturers to the Albany region.
One of the plan’s key projects is construction of a $750 million solar panel factory along the Buffalo River. It will be run by SolarCity, a power provider chaired by Elon Musk, a co-founder of PayPal and CEO of the Tesla Motors electric car company.
Other elements of Cuomo’s plan include construction of the Buffalo Medical Innovation and Commercialization Hub facility at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, and redevelopment of a downtown Buffalo office tower into a headquarters for IBM and other high-tech firms.
A report this year by the nonprofit Investigative Post blasted Buffalo Billion as a “costly experiment in economic development that is beset by secrecy and politics.” The report said that requests for records under the state Freedom of Information Law were ignored until a lawsuit was filed and that the documents released were stripped of “key information,” including payments to developers.
The report also revealed the developer of two Buffalo Billion buildings is Louis Ciminelli, who contributed $96,500 to Cuomo’s two campaigns for governor.
At one point, the request for proposals to build SolarCity required applicants to have “over 50 years of proven experience” in construction in or around Buffalo, which, the report said, excluded any company except Ciminelli’s.
The requirement was changed to 15 years, but his company, LPCiminelli, got the job anyway.
The report also said McGuire Development donated $25,000 to Cuomo’s campaign three months after scoring the technology-hub construction job.
Bharara has already secured the indictments or convictions of 17 New York politicians.
This year, he brought charges against Assemblyman Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and state Sen. Dean Skelos (R-LI) that forced them to resign leadership positions. He won convictions of state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) and former Deputy Senate Majority Leader Tom Libous (R-Binghamton).
LPCiminelli and McGuire did not respond to requests for comment. A Bharara spokesman declined to comment.
A Cuomo official said that the awarding of the Buffalo Billion contracts was done by SUNY and its nonprofit arm and that the governor had no role in the selection process.
A spokeswoman for the Empire State Development Corp., which helps run Buffalo Billion, said, “We administer a wide range of grant programs, and we have policies and procedures in place to ensure accountability in connection with these programs.”
Additional reporting by Josh Saul