The dismissal of two top officers cost the New York Racing Association $160,000 in recent months. But that's a drop in the bucket compared to the severance NYRA would have to pay should it bid farewell to current Chief Executive Officer Christopher Kay.

In records NYRA released Friday under the Freedom of Information Law, the publicly controlled operator of state's three thoroughbred tracks revealed details of Kay's contract, which could pay him up to $550,000 a year whether he is working for NYRA or not.

The association had initially refused to release the Kay agreement under FOIL last year, but relented after prodding by the Times Union.

It also released, after a FOIL request, the details of settlements resolving alleged wrongful dismissal cases involving its former CEO, Charles Hayward, and its former chief counsel, Patrick Kehoe.

The details indicate NYRA can't just part ways with one of its executives without a penalty, even when it believes there's good reason to do so.

Hayward was paid $20,000 to end his claim; Kehoe received $140,000. The settlements — Hayward's in October, Kehoe's in February — were labeled "confidential."

Both men were let go by NYRA on May 4, 2012. The dismissals by the NYRA board were handed out after state investigators found NYRA had overcharged some bettors for fees. Preliminary findings indicated that Hayward and Kehoe knew or should have known about the excessive takeout assessed to NYRA customers.

NYRA announced the ouster of the two men and said it was based on a determination that they has failed to perform their duties at a level required by the board.

That and other questionable management moves led to Gov. Andrew Cuomo insisting on a restructured NYRA board and three years of government control of the entity. That board hired Kay, a lawyer and former chief operating officer of Toys R Us, in July 2013.

His contract says that if NYRA sends Kay packing without good cause, he would be entitled to a year's pay. His base is $300,000. It also says he is entitled to a $250,000 bonus after his first year, and that the board could increase that bonus.

Kay's deal also requires NYRA to provide him an "automobile allowance" of $1,650 per month ($19,800 a year). Plus, he gets a NYRA-issued credit or debit card to buy gas — up to $400 per month.

If NYRA does not renew his contract, which is good from July 1, 2013, to Oct. 17, 2015, Kay is entitled to receive nine months' severance compensation if the non-renewal or termination of employment occurs within the first 365 days of Kay's NYRA service. If that happens after the first year, he gets a full year's pay as severance. The severance will include the base salary and the full bonus, plus health benefits for the period of the severance.

If he is cut without cause by NYRA within 365 days after a change in control of NYRA, he would get the one-year severance package.

Kay also gets to bill NYRA "for actual and reasonable business and travel expenses" to fulfill his duties. And he gets to travel in business class on all international flights and on any air trips that are in excess of five hours.

He also gets an unspecified stipend for living in Saratoga Springs during the Saratoga Race Course meet that is "consistent with that provided to other officers" of NYRA.

Furthermore, Kay is allowed to keep some of his own intellectual property developed during his NYRA tenure — "a concept for an online lottery game that potentially will at some time in the future be licensed to a third party in those markets where such games have been legalized."

NYRA lawyer Pasquale Viscusi would not say why NYRA released the Kay contract now after its disclosure was denied by NYRA's records access officer last August. At the time, NYRA said Kay was not a public employee, yet stated that he was covered by the Public Officers Law.

"Disclosure of the requested records would constitute an unwarranted invasion of Mr. Kay's personal privacy under Public Officers Law," NYRA wrote last summer. "Mr. Kay is not a public employee. He, therefore, has a significant privacy interest in avoiding disclosure of the requested records. Also, the requested records are exempt from disclosure as intra-agency materials pursuant to Public Officers Law."

NYRA also did not explain the release of the Hayward and Kehoe settlements. The parties had pledged secrecy.

For instance, Kehoe's settlement document states: "The background, negotiations and terms of this agreement are strictly confidential. ... In the event of any media or third-party inquiry ... to the extent permitted by law, the party receiving such inquiry shall respond solely with the following statement: 'The matter has been resolved.'"

Do you have a story about waste and abuse of public funds? Contact James M. Odato at 518-454-5083, jodato@timesunion.com or on Twitter at @JamesMOdato

ALBANY - A memorial of lighted candles has been put up at the place where a 23-year-old city man was gunned down early Sunday.

The memorial is at one of the busiest intersections in the city: Madison Avenue and South Pearl Street.

Police received a call of shots fired around 4:40 a.m. Sunday and found the man lying on the ground near the intersection of Madison Avenue and South Pearl Street.

The man was pronounced dead at Albany Medical Center Hospital. Albany police spokesman Steve Smith said it's early in the investigation, and couldn't provide more details on the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Albany police detective division at (518) 462-8039.

Albany

Top executives at two telecommunications companies that employed former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno testified Monday they have no idea what consultant work he did to earn $20,000 a month.

Christopher Downie, former chief executive officer at Motient Corp,, and Robert Brumley, former CEO at TerreStar, could not recall any work the powerful Brunswick Republican did at their firms — and an email chain revealed they were hardly alone.

The executives took the stand as prosecutors expect to rest their case Tuesday against Bruno, 85, who is being retried on "honest services" mail fraud charges.

"You don't know what he did, do you?" Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Coombe asked Downie, whose company employed Bruno from December 2004 to July 2005.

"I don't know what he did," Downie responded from the witness stand in U.S. District Court.

Coombe showed Downie a list he had written in 2005 in which the businessman referred to Bruno's employment situation as "hot."

Federal prosecutors in Albany allege that Bruno received hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting payments from Loudonville-bred businessman Jared E. Abbruzzese that were actually kickbacks or bribes. They contend Abbruzzese — who had business before the state — also paid Bruno for an allegedly worthless horse as part of the scheme.

Abbruzzese, now of Jupiter, Fla., initially hired Bruno in February 2004 to work as a consultant at two businesses Abbruzzese controlled: Communication Technology Advisors and Capital & Technology Advisors. Bruno earned $10,000 at each company simultaneously. Abbruzzese moved Bruno in December 2004 to Motient, where the company agreed to pay Capital Business Consultants, the senator's private consultant firm, $20,000 monthly. Prosecutors say the firm was simply a shield for illegal payoffs to Bruno.

In court documents shown to jurors Monday, Motient officials described Bruno's firm as a "group that we are engaging to assist our lobbying efforts" to the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C. But by July 2005, Bruno's work remained a mystery among executives. Late that month, Bruno was being moved to TerreStar, a subsidiary of Motient, on the understanding that he was already doing work on TerreStar-related issues.

On July 28, 2005, TerreStar Chief Executive Officer Robert Brumley emailed Robert Macklin, Motient's general counsel, for some background on Bruno.

"Happy to sign but just want a feel for what he will be doing," Brumley wrote.

Macklin emailed Downie. "Do you know anything that Senator Bruno does?" Macklin stated. "No, but I will try to find out," Downie answered.

Macklin emailed another consultant, Henry Goldberg, to learn what Bruno was doing for TerreStar. "I know he's involved in the FCC lobbying effort, just not exactly sure what he's doing," Macklin wrote.

Goldberg responded: "I have no idea; never ran across him."

Goldberg suggested Amy Melhman, another consultant who worked in lobbying the FCC, would know. In turn, Macklin emailed her. "Amy — can you give me an idea of what Sen. Bruno is doing in the TerreStar lobbying effort?" Macklin wrote Melhman. "I didn't know he was," Mehlman replied. "What would make you think that?"

Macklin ended up telling Brumley that Bruno was helping Abbruzzese in "working with the current Republican administration" and offered to have Bruno contact him.

On Monday, Brumley testified that he also was unfamiliar with Bruno's work in lobbying the FCC. "I don't recall him being involved," he testified. "What did Senator Bruno do for TerreStar Networks?" the prosecution asked. "I have no idea," Brumley responded.

The testimony could buttress the arguments by prosecutors that Bruno's side employment was a "no-show job." Bruno's lawyers contend Bruno worked directly for Abbruzzese and that his consultant work did not require a written product.

The prosecution will call five to six more witnesses Tuesday before resting its case. Francis Gluchowski, a former Senate counsel and ethics counsel, testified Monday that Bruno always wanted to ensure that his consultant work passed ethical muster. Gluchowski said he drew up the contractual agreements for Bruno with Abbruzzese to ensure that public officers law was being followed.

But Gluchowski testified he had no idea that Abbruzzese had a stake in Evident Technologies at the time Abbruzzese hired the senator. Testimony showed that Bruno, after wavering on his approval of a $250,000 state grant for Evident, approved it five days after making his agreement to work for Abbruzzese.

Gluchowski said when he asked Bruno if Abbruzzese had any business before the state, Bruno said: "Not as far as I know."

rgavin@timesunion.com • 518-434-2403 • @RobertGavinTU

Ballston Spa

A man watched as a couple stole Mother's Day flowers he had just set on his wife's gravestone, then followed the thieves from the cemetery to their home and called the cops, police said.

The brazen theft happened Sunday afternoon at Ballston Spa Village Cemetery on Ballston Avenue, Officer Anthony Pirrone said.

Pirrone said police are looking into whether the suspects have been stealing other personal effects from grave sites around the cemetery to put in their house.

"We believe that they may have been stealing from the cemetery and using them to decorate their house," Pirrone said.

Travis Lapell, 34, and Taiya Armer, 41, were both charged with petit larceny for Sunday's alleged theft. Those charges only stem from the theft of the man's Mother's Day flowers.

Pirrone said additional charges could be filed. Several items — including more flowers — at the couple's nearby home may have been stolen from the cemetery, he said.

Pirrone said the man who watched as his wife's flowers were stolen had left the bouquet on her grave earlier in the afternoon. The unidentified man's family has several grave sites around the cemetery, Pirrone said.

After leaving the flowers on his wife's grave, he spent a few hours Sunday walking through the cemetery visiting his family's gravestones.

When the man went back toward his wife's grave later, he spotted Lapell and Armer taking the flowers, Pirrone said.

He watched as they put the flowers in the back of a truck and drove off, Pirrone said. The man then followed the pair to their house, called police and waited for cops to arrive.

Both Lapell and Armer were released after their arrests.

Anyone who believes items may have been stolen from grave sites at Village Cemetery should call police at 885-5033, Pirrone said.

bfitzgerald@timesunion.com • 518-454-5414 • @BFitzgeraldTU

Troy

A judge sided with the defense Monday and ordered the press to leave the courtroom before a pretrial hearing for the retrial of Adrian Thomas in the 2008 death of his 4-month-old son.

Rensselaer County Judge Andrew Ceresia ruled that reporting of the medical testimony from Child Protective Services officials that was to be heard would "substantially prejudice" the defense in the eyes of the potential jury pool.

Thomas was convicted in 2009 of second-degree murder after jurors decided he threw down his son Matthew Thomas on a bed on three separate days in September 2008, causing severe head trauma.

Defense attorneys Steve Coffey and Arthur Frost filed motions to exclude the press from Monday's on-the-record hearing, citing potential tainting of a small available pool of potential jurors in Rensselaer County and the amount of media exposure the case has had for nearly six years. Such defense requests are routine, and usually are denied.

Assistant District Attorney Kelly Egan argued for the court to remain open, saying the potential jury pool was not small. "And, a lot of publicity has been promoted by the defendant himself," Egan said.

She also argued that no new evidence would be revealed at the hearing that was not presented at the first trial, none of which was closed to the public.

The Times Union asked to be heard and a brief adjournment was allowed. A lawyer for the Hearst Corp., which publishes the Times Union, contacted Ceresia by phone and asked him to reconsider.

"I am arguing that there are unique circumstances in this case that allows me to make this ruling," Ceresia told the attorney.

Ceresia said he could not mention the specifics of why he made the ruling and what he based it on because it was central to why he was closing the courtroom.

It was an unusual ruling for Ceresia. "I have always run an open courtroom and this will not set a precedent," he said in making his final decision.

"I am very mindful of the First Amendment rights of the public and the press, but I have to weigh that against the defendant's right to a fair trial."

Prosecutors in the first trial said the child's brain swelled, causing him to go into an irreversible coma. The baby died after being taken off life support. The defense argued the child died of sepsis, a blood infection, brought on by pneumonia.

A midlevel appellate court upheld the conviction but the state Court of Appeals ordered a new trial, citing heavy-handed tactics used by investigators, who interrogated Thomas for almost nine hours.

Pretrial motions filed in the first trial showed child abuse investigators twice probed allegations of abuse at the family's home in the Cedar Park Apartments on 21st Street. No children were removed from the home after either incident.

A medical mix-up early on in the case caused the defense attorney, Frost, who is now retired as the public defender, to call for all charges to be dropped.

At the time, the defense asked Albany Medical Center Hospital for records of the deceased child, and were given paperwork for Matthew's identical twin brother, Malachai. Frost argued that prosecutors had a problem with their case if they could not determine which child had died.

The hospital stated that the baby's mother either intentionally or mistakenly began to refer to each infant by the other's name, contrary to birth certificates. The hospital has said records show that even its pediatric clinicians sometimes mixed up the twins.

Matthew remained the victim's name and the hospital successfully sought to have the judge seal their records, which outlined how the mistake was made and how it was remedied, from the defense and the public.

Thomas, 31, remains in the Rensselaer County Jail awaiting trial later this month.

bgardinier@timesunion.com • 518-454-5696 • @BobGardinier

Albany Memorial School of Nursing

Date: May 12

Venue: Maureen Stapleton Theater of Siek Campus Center at Hudson Valley Community College

Degrees awarded: 20 Associates in Science

Featured speaker: Diana O'Brien, faculty member

Notable: Graduate Scott Pieper is the third man in his family to graduate from Memorial. His brother Ed graduated in 2004 and his brother Greg in 2013. Mother Barbara is a nurse educator.

Troy

The City Council passed an ordinance Monday that sets parameters for issuing subpoenas related to the ongoing investigation into city activities at the King Street and King Fuels demolition sites.

Before the 7-to-2 vote taken at a special meeting, lawmakers quibbled about the language on who should be serving the subpoenas and the legality of empowering five members on the governing body to decide who to compel to testify during the public hearings.

City officials are looking into possible misdeeds and public safety violations related to 2013 demolitions.

The issue has divided the council as to the need for a probe.

The dissenting votes on Monday came from council members Gary Galuski and Lynn Kokpa. Kopka, who along with Councilwoman Erin Sullivan-Teta have allied themselves with Mayor Lou Rosamilia. On the other side are Council President Rodney Wiltshire Jr. and fellow Democratic council members Robert Doherty, Ken Zalewski and Anastasia Robertson, plus Republicans Dean Bodnar and Jim Gordon.

Kokpa requested a legal opinion on whether the full council needed to approve a resolution for issuing subpoenas.

The subpoenas are needed to force city employees to testify.

The pending probe stems from the August 2013 emergency razing of 4-6-8-10 King St. and the demolition of structures and buildings at the King Fuels site in South Troy following former City Engineer Russ Reeves' decision to resign.

Reeves listed concerns about public safety being endangered by the demolition projects in his resignation letters.

The investigative hearings come as the FBI has questioned Reeves and the state Department of Labor, the Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have looked into possible illegal asbestos burial at King Fuels.

At one point, Kopka clashed Monday with Wiltshire about the changes being proposed to the language in the ordinance.

"We don't know exactly who we want to subpoena," Wiltshire said, noting that his proposed revision was intended to "add some flexibility to the ordinance."

In the end, the language was changed to read "written documents signed by at least five council members."

Councilman Jim Gordon asked about the cost of having city marshals serve the legal documents and asked where the money was coming from.

So the language was changed to read "through legislative assistant or other qualified individuals and legislative council" instead of the city marshals.

Before the special meeting, Wiltshire held a news conference about the necessity to hold the hearings, insisting they were convened to "bring critical info, which the public has every right to know, out of the darkness and into the light." He called for bipartisan support. He was joined by Doherty, Zalewski and Bodnar, who read a statement of support on behalf and Gordon.

Doherty, who chairs the public safety committee, said that holding the hearings was the right thing to do.

pnelson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5347 • @apaulnelson

South Glens Falls

Two young boys were inside an inflatable "bounce house" when a wind gust blew it into the air, carrying the children up about 20 feet before they fell to Earth, police said.

The boys, 5 and 6 years old, were seriously injured in the Monday afternoon fall and were flown to Albany Medical Center Hospital, said Patrolman David Gifford. The Glens Falls Post-Star reported that one of the boys had a traumatic head injury and the other boy broke both his arms and suffered a facial injury.

Gifford said one of the boys was found in a parking lot about 20 feet from where the bounce house sailed into the air. The other boy was 70 feet away, Gifford said. The bounce house landed a few hundred yards from where it took off, narrowly missing power lines.

"We consider this to be a tragic accident," Gifford said. No criminal charges are expected.

The bounce house was lifted off the ground around 3:30 p.m. at an apartment complex on Ferry Boulevard.

Gifford said the house, a Little Tikes brand, about 8 feet by 8 feet, was staked to the ground and adults were around when the wind took it into the air.

A picture taken by a witness and posted on the Post-Star's website shows the colorful bounce house high in the sky. The photo was taken by South Glens Falls student Emily Boucher as she was getting ready for a lacrosse game at the Middle School, the Glens Falls daily newspaper reported. Her family gave The Post-Star exclusive rights to use the photo, and proceeds of its sale to other media outlets will be donated by the Bouchers to the families of the injured boys.

SEE THE POST-STAR ARTICLE

The National Weather Service said there were no unusually strong winds in the area on Monday. The peak wind gust in the Northern Saratoga County and Southern Warren County area Monday was 24 mph, which was recorded in Glens Falls, the weather service said.

The bounce house, made by Little Tikes of Hudson, Ohio, was much smaller than those often rented for parties. It was owned by a resident of the apartments where the incident occurred, police said.

On its website, Little Tikes sells a variety of bounce houses ranging in price from about $100 to $500.

In a statement, Jennifer Campana, a Little Tikes spokeswoman, said, "Providing safe and wholesome play experiences is of utmost importance to Little Tikes. We are looking into what happened in South Glen Falls yesterday. In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers are with the children and their families."

Similar incidents are unusual but not unheard of. In 2011, 13 children were hurt when the wind lifted three bounce houses off the ground at a party in Nassau County. Earlier that year, the same thing happened in two separate incidents in Arizona, according to news reports.

bfitzgerald@timesunion.com • 518-454-5414 • @BFitzgeraldTU

Saratoga Springs

Darryl Mount Jr. of Malta would still be alive if police were not reckless in a foot pursuit of him 8½ months ago, his mother said Tuesday in an emotional interview just hours after her son died.

Mount, who had been bedridden since the Aug. 31 downtown chase, stopped breathing around 1 a.m. Tuesday in his family's home, said Patty Jackson of Malta. Her 22-year-old never recovered from crippling head injuries sustained in an apparent fall while trying to elude six city police officers, and he recently developed pneumonia in his right lung, she said.

"He fought, we fought," Jackson said.

The official cause of death was not available Tuesday, but observers said Mount's death left unanswered questions about the circumstances surrounding his injuries.

Police Chief Gregory Veitch has said six police officers chased Mount into an alley off Broadway about 3 a.m. Aug. 31 after trying to arrest him for allegedly pushing a woman's head into a wall on Caroline Street. In the alley, police said, Mount climbed construction scaffolding and fell 20 feet. He was found unresponsive on the pavement.

Police say they acted appropriately, but the chase has been the subject of protests and requests for an outside investigation of the police department. Mount's family has filed a notice of claim, a precursor to a potential lawsuit, accusing police of inflicting the injuries that led to Mount's death.

He spent more than two months in Albany Medical Center Hospital and Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital in Schenectady before going to live at his mother's home.

"I'm alleging somebody is hiding something," Jackson said Tuesday. "My son would be in jail right now, not dead" if police conducted themselves responsibly, she said.

Veitch issued a statement Tuesday. "The Saratoga Springs Police Department has learned that Daryl Mount Jr. passed away this early this morning," Veitch wrote. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time."

Public Safety Commissioner Chris Mathiesen has said there is "incontrovertible" evidence that police officers did not cause or contribute to Mount's injuries. Mathiesen has resisted calls for an outside agency to investigate what happened and for the formation of a police review board.

Citing an ongoing investigation, the city has declined to release video that purportedly shows the officers running after Mount but not what occurred in the alley.

Jackson on Tuesday urged members of the public who observe police brutality to take videos of it with their cell phones.

Pastor Willie D. Bacote of Dyer Phelps AME Zion Church in Saratoga Springs and Missing Link AME Zion Church in Troy said he would stand with Jackson in the coming weeks and months. "We are making it very clear to Saratoga Springs and its police department that their acts of criminality will not be forgotten," Bacote said. He said the family needs assistance to pay for the funeral.

Anyone interested in assisting with the funeral may call Bacote at 421-5222.

dyusko@timesunion.com - 518-454-5353 - @DAYusko

Albany

Boards cover windows framed by delicate molding at 126 Lark St. in Arbor Hill. The house, more than 130 years old, has been vacant for years.

It will be ready for a family to live in by the end of the year, members of the Capital District's Habitat for Humanity said on Tuesday as they gathered with local politicians outside the home.

The group was there to launch ReHabitat, which will expand the organization's focus on building new homes to include combating blight in the city.

"For the 25 years that we have been building in the Capital District, we have been synonymous with new construction," said Mike Jacobson, executive director of the local chapter.

"It became increasingly more obvious to us ... that a true revitalization strategy" must include restoration of existing buildings, he said.

ReHabitat will include renovation projects for vacant and abandoned buildings to be sold to qualified families. Volunteers also will make non-emergency repairs to owner-occupied houses.

The announcement came just as Albany County Executive Dan McCoy received confirmation that the county's application for a land bank — a state-sanctioned not-for-profit entity that acquires properties for development from the county's foreclosure list — had received state approval.

The house at 126 Lark St. will be ReHabitat's first undertaking, in partnership with the newly formed nonprofit Home Front Housing, which focuses on affordable housing for local veterans. It was started by Sophia Mantzouris, a veteran with the Air National Guard, and Chasity McGivern, whose father is a veteran.

"This is a way to say thank you to our veterans," Mantzouris said.

Together, the organizations will recruit and qualify a local veteran to purchase the home when it's complete.

A few blocks away from 126 Lark is Habitat's Sheridan Hollow Redevelopment Project, where nine homes are under construction.

ReHabitat will first target Arbor Hill, West Hill, Sheridan Hollow and the South End neighborhoods, where much of the city's blight is concentrated.

For both home repair services and the sale of rehabilitated buildings, the income range is between 20 percent and 80 percent of the area median income, meaning a family of four could earn between $16,000 and $62,000. Final approval depends on a family's income and on the project cost.

Ron Bailey, council member for the 3rd Ward, said Tuesday's announcement is one he and other community members have been awaiting for years.

"To know we don't have to tear down, that we can rebuild from the inside out, is a miracle."

asanto@timesunion.com • 518-454-5008 • @alysiasanto

Albany

Former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno wanted two state racing officials "gone" in favor of a top industry figure who favored privatizing the racetracks, the ex-president of the New York Racing Association testified Tuesday at Bruno's federal corruption trial.

Charles Hayward said Bruno wanted to replace NYRA Co-chairmen Steve Duncker and Peter Karches with Timothy Smith, former head of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and a founding member of Friends of New York Racing, a group that supported privatization.

Bruno, who rose to the top of the Republican-controlled Senate through a 1994 coup of then-Senate Majority Leader Ralph Marino, expressed his plans to remove the chairmen through an emissary, Hayward said. He told jurors he learned of Bruno's alleged plot to oust the co-chairs — who opposed privatization — following a Nov. 21, 2005 meeting in the Brunswick Republican's legislative office. The meeting included Bruno, Hayward, staffers and members of a NYRA oversight committee, but not Duncker, who Hayward said was not invited.

Bruno spoke of the importance of racing in New York — then expressed concerns about Duncker and Karches, according to Hayward, who said he was "taken back" by Bruno's comments because he believed both chairmen were doing a great job.

Hayward said Joseph Torani, a Bruno appointee to the oversight committee who was listening to the meeting via phone, called him afterward and told him they should talk. An hour later, Hayward testified, he called Torani on a cellphone.

"I said, 'Joe, what's going on?' He said, 'Well, what do you mean?' I said, 'I just went to a meeting, I'm not sure what just happened,'" Hayward testified. "And he said, 'I'll try to be as clear as I can: The senator would like to see Duncker and Karches gone. He would like to find a place for Tim Smith.'" Hayward said Torani said it was also being contemplated that the oversight board take over the NYRA franchise.

"I said, 'That's pretty amazing. I don't think it's going to happen,'" Hayward testified.

He said he asked why Bruno did not just express his thoughts at the meeting and was told the senator thought it would be better said in private. He said he, in turn, reported the incident to a federal monitor who was put in place at NYRA following its tax fraud and money laundering scandal.

Hayward was fired in 2012 after state investigators found NYRA overcharged bettors for fees.

Federal prosecutors aim to show that Bruno, 85, acted to support privatization to stay in step with Jared E. Abbruzzese, a Loudonville businessman who was paying Bruno $20,000 a month as a consultant and was involved in Friends of New York Racing. The prosecutors contend it was kickback and bribery money.

Bruno attorney William Dreyer grilled Hayward over his prior testimony before a grand jury, where he said Hayward testified that Bruno's words through Torani were suggestions and that he simply said Smith "could be helpful" to racing. Dreyer also noted that Hayward, by his own words, had little concern that Bruno's alleged plan would happen. "Sen. Bruno was a very powerful man in the Senate and in racing," Hayward testified. "You'd be a fool not to take a little concern seriously."

Bruno's attorneys say the prosecution's case does not make sense. When a panel was recommending the best entity to run New York's thoroughbred tracks, they note, board members decided between three groups: NYRA, the New York City-based Excelsior Racing and the Abbruzzese-linked Empire Racing. Bruno's three appointees on the panel voted for Excelsior — not Abbruzzese's group. John Nigro, a real estate developer from Loudonville who was on the committee, testified he voted for Excelsior, which he noted was tied to relatives of late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who was well-established in horse racing.

On cross-examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak asked Nigro if, by the time of the vote, he was aware of the FBI investigation into Bruno's dealings with Abbruzzese. The prosecutor noted it was reported by the Times Union. When asked if he reads the paper, Nigro said yes, but that he did not recall reading about the investigation.

Albany

State Museum and State Archives officials rescinded an earlier directive and denied public access to hundreds of objects collected after the Attica prison uprising in September 1971, including makeshift weapons, handwritten letters, clothing and personal effects from inmates and correction officers.

The five-day insurrection left 32 prisoners and 11 prison employee hostages dead, along with nearly 100 more seriously injured. It was the worst prison riot in U.S. history and remains a dark, unresolved chapter in the state's past.

"This is ridiculous. We want to see all the objects, all the material, all of it," said Dee Quinn Miller, whose father, William Quinn, was a correction officer killed during the uprising. Miller is a member of the Forgotten Victims of Attica, a group of prison employees who survived the inmate rebellion and the recapture of the prison, as well as relatives of those who were killed. The group for many years has urged the state to release all records related to Attica.

"It's more of the same of the state running roughshod over the families and our wishes for more than 40 years," Miller said.

She and other family members of victims visited the State Museum's warehouse in Rotterdam in 2011 and viewed the items with Craig Williams, a recently retired curator of history at the State Museum. Williams collaborated with State Police and state correction officials to bring to Albany four truckloads of Attica objects that had been stored and forgotten for 40 years in an unheated Quonset hut on the grounds of State Police Troop A headquarters in Batavia, Genesee County.

The Times Union was given access to the items in September 2011 when they were declared open to public view by State Museum director Clifford Siegfried, who has since retired. "The items help to humanize that event," Siegfried told the Times Union.

Mark Schaming, Siegfried's successor as State Museum director, said the state's about-face was due to "privacy issues" after a thorough inventory of the collection was completed recently. "We're trying to do the right thing by everybody," Schaming said. He declined to elaborate about the raised privacy issues.

"We told the State Museum and State Archives officials from day one that we want those items made public and we are not asserting any privacy issues," said Gary Horton, a lawyer who works with the Forgotten Victims of Attica.

Hundreds of letters and printed documents from Attica inmates that were separated from the objects and sent to the State Archives were also recently pulled back from public access. "The inventory found that we have many personal items that raise all kinds of privacy issues," State Archivist Chris Ward said. When told that the items had been made public for the past three years, she said, "They probably should not have been made available."

The vast trove of material was never called upon or examined during a decades-long cycle of state investigations, congressional hearings, charges of a government cover-up and several lawsuits.

Last month, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said he would seek a judge's permission to release the entirety of the so-called Meyer report, a 570-page review of the state's retaking of the prison. Former state Supreme Court Justice Bernard S. Meyer found that "serious errors of judgment" were made in the investigation of the riot and retaking of the prison. Only the first of the three volumes of the report, submitted in 1975, was made public. Two remaining volumes, including evidence gathered during grand jury testimony, has been suppressed.

After decades of legal battles, the state paid out a settlement of $8 million to inmates in 2000 and $12 million to guards and other workers in 2005.

Schneiderman's appeal for transparency and full disclosure is separate from the rescinding of public access to the State Museum and State Archives items, Schaming and Ward said.

Journalist and author Scott Christianson disagreed. He described it as a long-running state cover-up in an article he published last month in The Nation.

"This was the worst blunder by state government in its history," said Christianson, of Great Barrington, Mass., who has written about Attica since he covered it as a reporter for the Knickerbocker News in 1971. "Instead of providing more transparency about this historic event, there is a new effort by the state to clamp the lid."

"We put a lot of work into the Attica collection and it would have made a powerful exhibit," Williams said. He was the catalyst behind several award-winning exhibits over a State Museum career that spanned more than 30 years.

"These objects tell stories about Attica that have not been told before and they should be told," Williams said. He described a tearful, emotion-tinged meeting in 2011 with members of the Forgotten Victims of Attica, State Police, state correction officers and others with ties to Attica. "It was a cathartic moment and they strongly supported public access and a public exhibit," Williams said.

The Smithsonian Institution, the New-York Historical Society and other museums asked to borrow Attica objects for exhibits, but they were denied by State Museum officials, Williams said.

Williams is worried that state officials will return the Attica items to the State Police or even discard them.

Schaming and Ward said there are no plans to do so.

Colonie

While some might say finders keepers, James Villeneuve III believes in the golden rule.

Walking to the car after enjoying the Tulip Festival with his family on Saturday, the 15-year-old Shaker High freshman found a CVS deposit bag in which there was more than $4,500.

He returned it right away to the drugstore nearby on New Scotland Avenue.

"The bag had the cash amount on it, the CVS logo and the name of the person who was supposed to deposit the money," James, who lives in Latham, said Tuesday.

Arriving at the CVS with his cousin, an aunt and her boyfriend, James recalled, "we asked for the person whose name was on the slip, and when the employee came out he was sweating profusely because he was so nervous. He said, 'Thank you, you saved my job.' That made me feel pretty good."

James handed over the lost-and-found bubble-wrapped pouch, and the family foursome headed on. Moments later, an employee came out and said, "Come back. We want to give you something."

It turned out to be a $20 CVS gift card.

Cynthia Villeneuve, a teacher, said she wasn't surprised by her nephew's decision to do "the right thing."

"He's pretty great," the Cohoes woman said. "James always jumps at the chance to give the homeless man on the street his pocket money. He's got a really big heart and good, strong morals."

James is an altar boy at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Albany and member of Boy Scout Troop 1099 in Menands, and also is an aide to an autistic child named Joey.

A manager at the CVS at 16 New Scotland Ave., between the Stratton VA and Albany Medical Center hospitals, had declined Monday to talk about a proverbial headache with a happy ending. But a call to corporate headquarters in Woonsocket, R.I., got this response on Tuesday.

"We are very grateful," CVS Public Relations Director Mike DeAngelis said. "Our local team is in the process of trying to contact the boy. We want to appropriately recognize him and his honesty, and express our gratitude by rewarding him with more."

DeAngelis, however, balked when asked how much that reward would be and indicated such information was not for publication.

As luck would have it, CVS' good fortune was actually the second instance of James finding something of great value that day during the Tulip Festival. First off, it was an iPhone, and he returned that too after getting a message on the cellphone to make contact with the owner, who wanted to give him $100.

"When the iPhone owner offered me money, I said no because I'm a Boy Scout," James said. "It's what I do. That's what a Boy Scout is. When we find something or help someone and someone offers us a reward, we refuse it because it's about doing a good deed."

As to the $4,500-plus pharmacy find, James said, "The gift card was nice of them, but I didn't feel that I needed any recognition. I felt that me being proud of myself was good enough."

"Even though I've never held that much money in my hands, returning it makes me feel like a better person. If I had kept it and spent it, I would have felt a lot of remorse," he said, adding his version of the golden rule: "If it was my money that was lost, I would want someone to return it to me, too."

kseckinger@timesunion.com • 518-454-5387 • @kateseckinger

Members of the capacity crowd at the Times Union Center in Albany reach out as Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band perform Tuesday night in Albany.

Schenectady

Mayor Gary McCarthy said the city will seek bids to demolish decrepit properties after getting clearer direction from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The agency has apparently clarified that a nearly $2.5 million HUD loan can be used for the work whether or not the structures are city-owned.

McCarthy said some properties destined to be knocked down might have environmental problems that need to be remedied before they are bulldozed.

"This loan is going to be used for the worst of the worst property, and that has been the assumption we've been working on from Day One," McCarthy said Wednesday.

The Section 108 Loan Program helps communities finance housing rehabilitation, economic development and large-scale physical development projects, said Holly Leicht, HUD regional administrator. She said the razing of properties may be an eligible use if redevelopment of the empty parcels benefits low- and moderate-income people. "Schenectady's application for Section 108 funds was approved as meeting the initial national objective test, and HUD is working closely with the city to finalize the loan documents," said Leicht. The mayor expects the city will receive the Section 108 loan money in a month or so.

Last month, Acting Director of Development Richard Purga told the Times Union that city officials discovered the terms of the loan prohibited them from tearing down properties already owned by the city. He did not return several calls Wednesday seeking comment.

But it appears Purga and other city officials got it wrong.

"They were just looking at one section that we weren't going to use and those things don't apply," said McCarthy.

He estimated there are more than 100 rundown structures with "significant problems" that his administration hopes to demolish using the HUD money, along with funds from the attorney general's office in conjunction with the regional land bank.

"It's juggling the different pots of money to cover all the bases," added McCarthy. "What seems to be the consensus is that we're probably going to bid these out by neighborhood."

A city lawyer previously said only 10 of the 325 properties in foreclosure were on the demolition list and the city would decide in August whether to assume title to the foreclosed properties depending on the parameters of the HUD loan.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer has advocated in Washington for the city to receive the loan.

"I was none too happy with the confusion and poor communication, that followed so I made sure the decision-makers at HUD understood that they needed to allow Schenectady to use the loan – ASAP – for its intended purpose: to address blighted homes," Schumer said in a statement. "I am glad that HUD has come to its senses and decided to clarify the loan terms, freeing up Schenectady to carry out its original demolition plans, which will energize renovation and revitalization throughout the city."

pnelson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5347 • @apaulnelson

Albany

The retrial of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno on bribery-related charges is expected to go to the jury Thursday afternoon.

Attorneys on both sides of the political corruption case will deliver closing arguments — each of which are expected to last more than an hour — starting at 9 a.m. The panel of nine women and three men will receive instructions from U.S. District Court Chief Judge Gary L. Sharpe and then begin deliberations.

Lawyers rested their respective cases Wednesday, as the trial reached its eighth day. Prosecutors called some 20 witnesses, the defense around five. Bruno did not take the stand.

Bruno, 85, is charged with two counts of "honest services" mail fraud — the same charges he was convicted of committing in his 2009 trial before Sharpe.

The allegation is that Bruno, a Brunswick Republican, engaged in scheme to defraud New York citizens of his "honest services" through his lucrative side employment from Loudonville businessman Jared E. Abbruzzese, 59, who had business before the state.

Abbruzzese paid Bruno $20,000 a month to work as a consultant for four different companies starting in February 2004. Abbruzzese said Bruno never provided written work and he never asked for it.

Federal prosecutors for U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian contend the payments were bribes and kickbacks intended to buy Bruno's official action or influence. By February 2004, Abbruzzese had been waiting more than a year for the Senate leader to release a $250,000 state grant to Evident Technologies, a Troy nanotechnology company in which Abbruzzese held a stake.

Once he agreed to start paying Bruno in February 2004, Bruno ordered the money to be moved within five days. Abbruzzese vehemently denied allegations of bribery. Bruno's attorneys say the leader was convinced to release the grant after speaking to then-Senate Finance Secretary Mary Louise Mallick.

Abbruzzese testified that Bruno, as his consultant, gave him credibility and stature on business trips and dinners — and that Bruno introduced him to Donald Trump.

The final prosecution witness, FBI Special Agent Brian Jacob, said he compiled a calendar of Bruno's activity between 2003 and 2006. He specifically logged trips taken with Abbruzzese.

Jacob's list, which was shown to jurors, showed the only trip with Trump was in 2006 — after Bruno's employment for Abbruzzese had ended.

Last week, under questioning from Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak, Abbruzzese defiantly defended his arrangement with Bruno.

"I'm asking you if hanging around with him gave you stature," he said to Abbruzzese.

"I didn't just hang around with him. I took him to D.C., did things with him," Abbruzzese responded. He said he introduced Bruno to Kenneth Mehlman, the chairman of the Republican National Committee at the time.

"You introduced the Senate majority leader in New York state to the Republican national leader in D.C.?" Pericak asked incredulously.

"I did," he responded.

"He didn't know him?

"Ken Mehlman was rather new," Abbruzzese said.

Abbruzzese testified that some of his consultants might "may make one phone call in a year" — and said he employed members of the House of Lords in England to work at TerreStar, one of the telecommunications where Bruno worked.

"All aboveboard, all approved," Abbruzzese testified, "but these were members, sitting members of the House of Lords, who would do phone calls or all they would do is walk on the floor of the House of Lords and ask a question that would impact something that was going on that would affect our satellite industry. You know, they never submitted a time card or anything, they just did a call when we asked them to, and other than that, they didn't do anything."

Bruno's defense team called upon James Featherstonhaugh, a major lobbyist and longtime friend of Bruno who said in his experience, written work is not required of consultants.

Albany

Running red lights is epidemic in Albany, and Madison Avenue is one of the best places to spot the plague.

Spend more than a few minutes on the avenue, especially the four-lane section west of Lark Street, and you'll see drivers speeding to make a light — or ignoring that it's already red as they fly through an intersection.

It's behavior that has Albany officials asking the state Legislature to allow red-light cameras at intersections. And, sure, that's one way to begin addressing the problem.

Another is better road design.

Enter the Madison Avenue "road diet," a long-discussed plan that would (a) reduce a portion of the road to two travel lanes with a turn lane and (b) synchronize signals so that drivers aren't forced to stop ... at ... every ... single ... light.

Not to excuse drivers who blow through red lights, but the city's lack of timed signals is a major and unnecessary source of frustration. It's ridiculous that motorists in New York's capital (and elsewhere in the region) are still waiting for 20th-century technology that's been widely adopted in cities worldwide.

Consider that an engineering study released last year found that synchonizing the lights along Madison would allow for fewer lanes between South Allen and Lark streets without increasing travel times by more than a few minutes. The road diet would make the road safer for bicyclists and pedestrians, while slower travel speeds would presumably lead fewer drivers to run red lights.

Sounds like a plan, right?

It's increasingly likely to happen.

Last week, a Capital District Transportation Committee vote approved a city request for $550,000 that would allow for the road diet's first phase between South Allen and Partridge streets. Final approval of the federal funding is expected next month.

That's a major victory for Pine Hills activists — here's to you, Virginia Hammer — who have long bristled at the four-lane highway through their densely populated area and who demanded the dismantling of a road design that puts rushing through the neighborhood ahead of its quality of life.

This isn't just a Pine Hills or Albany story. Cities and towns across New York are increasingly seeking ways to gain control over speeding traffic, and it's likely that fewer lanes — or lower speed limits — will come to a roadway near you.

Bethlehem officials, for example, are considering a road diet along Delaware Avenue between the Albany border and Elsmere Avenue. Rob Leslie, the town's head of planning and development, said officials there will be closely watching the Madison Avenue project.

A similar plan is being weighed for a section of Routes 9 and 20 in Schodack, where officials are floating fewer roadway lanes as part of a plan to create a walkable town center between Miller and Sherman roads. Meanwhile, the state Senate just passed a bill, sponsored by Queensbury Republican Betty Little, that would allow towns with fewer than 50,000 people to lower speed limits on local roads. And New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is asking the Legislature to let his city reduce its overall speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph.

What we have here is a trend — and it signals that the Cars-Before-People Era is nearing its end. Finally.

Back on Madison Avenue, there are still details to iron out before the road diet is implemented. For example: Will it include dedicated bike lanes?

"That's still undecided at this point," said Councilwoman Leah Golby, a longtime backer of the project who believes that, yes, bike lanes should be part of the project.

It's obvious the current design was a mistake. The road, at 57 feet across, was built wide to allow for streetcars, but four lanes of moving traffic feel squeezed. The lanes are too narrow, and it's impossible (assuming you're not in a Smart Car) to pass a bicyclist without swerving into an adjacent lane.

It's not surprising that the engineering study found that sideswipes accounted for 31 percent of the 481 crashes on Madison between Lark and Allen during a three-year study period, while 24 percent were rear-end collisions. Both accident types could be nearly eliminated by the road diet.

Alarmingly, 7 percent — 32 crashes — involved pedestrians or cyclists. That's for a stretch of roadway that's only 1.8 miles long.

The road diet can't come quickly enough.

cchurchill@timesunion.com • 518-454-5700 • @chris_churchill

With state approval in hand, the new Albany County Land Bank Corp. will start work next week to restore or replace foreclosed properties.

On Monday, the state Empire Development Corp. approved the county's application to form a nonprofit agency to buy vacant buildings and restore them or demolish them to make way for new structures. The county Legislature has agreed to spend $1 million over two years to fund the land bank.

New York had slots for only 10 land banks, eight of which had already been filled. Albany County got the ninth slot.

"It's exciting news for us. It's been a long process," said County Executive Dan McCoy.

The land bank board has been meeting to plan its bylaws and processes, he said, but it will schedule an official kickoff meeting sometime next week.

He hopes the approval could mean Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will now direct some money to Albany County for the work.

McCoy said earlier this year that the $1 million would be rolled out over two years; the first $500,000 would come out of the county's contingency fund and the rest would be worked out during the budget process.

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said earlier this year that she would support the land bank with $500,000 in "programmatic funding" from grants, mortgage assistance and other sources.

In recommending approval of Albany County's application, Kenneth Adams, Empire State Development Corp. CEO, pointed to the financial support and backing from other levels of government.

The County Legislature approved creating the Albany County Land Bank in February. A similar proposal narrowly missed passage last year.

"It's great news. We've been working on it for quite some time," said Legislature Chairman Frank Commisso. "We went through bumps in the road."

The focus will first be on neighborhoods within the city of Albany, where nearly half the county's 800 vacant buildings are located.

New York state's Land Bank Program allows governments that possess the power to foreclose on tax liens to create a not-for-profit corporation to help return vacant, abandoned and tax delinquent properties to use.

tobrien@timesunion.com • 518-454-5092 • @timobrientu

Kids and their parents turned out Wednesday to the view the animal exhibits that were part of Baby Animal Days at Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont.

Schenectady

A well-known Schenectady minister who is the county's affirmative action officer is being investigated for allegedly using his work email to forward a message protesting a film that portrays Jesus Christ and his disciples as gay.

The Rev. Emanuel Adams said on Wednesday that he is aware of the probe but doesn't remember the message that urges Christians to circulate the email in an effort to stop the showing of a movie called "Corpus Christi."

"There are many religions, so whatever people want to do, that's their business, and I don't push religion on anybody," said Adams, who is one of the ministers at New Bethel Community Church of God in Christ in Schenectady. "To me, it doesn't ring a bell. When did this happen? I don't know."

The "Corpus Christi" film story is a hoax, according to several websites that debunk urban legends and practical jokes which thrive on the Internet. Such a film was never planned or made, they say.

The 68-year-old Adams said he was caught off guard when County Attorney Chris Gardner notified him Monday about the probe into the April 23 email.

"I'm saying where did it come from because I don't know that; I don't send anything out but job assignments," Adams said.

Adams, who has been a part-time affirmative action officer since September, earns $27 an hour and works 12 hours a week, according to county payroll records.

The one-page email under the heading "Beyond Disrespect!!!" says that the movie "Corpus Christi," which means "body of Christ," is scheduled to be released sometime between June and August.

"It is a disgusting film set to appear in America later this year which depicts Jesus and his disciples as homosexuals," states the email. "If you do send this around, we just might be able to prevent his film from being shown in Canada and America. Let's stand for what we believe and stop the mockery of Jesus Christ our Savior."

The Rev. Philip Grigsby, who received the email, said Wednesday that it went "beyond bounds."

"I want to see if the powers that be will do the right thing," said Grigsby, who runs the Schenectady Inner City Ministry. Grigsby didn't say if by that he meant an apology, a firing or both.

"It's inappropriate for anyone in that county position to share that stuff through their county email," he said. "It's not just innocent information. It's biased information, and it's just very inappropriate."

Gardner said the county is in the early stages of the probe that he expects will take a few weeks. He said he will present his findings and disciplinary recommendations, if warranted, to County Manager Kathleen Rooney.

"There have been incidents where the computer-use policy has been violated and the appropriate action has been taken depending on the circumstances, and we'll treat Reverend Adams the same way we treat everyone else," said Gardner. "The punishment must fit the crime."

The policy in part stipulates that the "use of county-owned computers, computer network, email and Internet access exist solely to facilitate the official work of the county of Schenectady," and "the use of county computing resources by any county employee must be consistent with this acceptable-use policy." The policy lists unacceptable uses, including "for solicitation for religious and political causes."

Speaking in general terms, Gardner said typically a first violation would result in a reprimand unless it involved criminal activity. Gardner said a reprimand is a written admonition that would be entered into an employee's personnel file.

Angelicia Morris, executive director of the county Human Rights Commission, said the organization is aware of the accusations against Adams and is inviting people to attend a community forum from 6 to 8 p.m. on June 11 at Proctors.

"The forum will be designed to promote a dialogue between residents and officials that helps to address issues and challenges the community is facing surrounding the issue of diversity and inclusion in the city of Schenectady and to arrive at constructive solutions," said Morris.

pnelson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5347 • @apaulnelson