College big salary off-limits in trial

THE HIGH-FLYING lifestyle of the former head of SUNY Polytechnic Institute will not be on display for jurors determining whether he and three developers are guilty of corruption.

Judge Valerie Caproni ruled Wednesday that Alain Kaloyeros’ salary, which was as high as $800,000 per year — making him the state’s highest-paid employee — would not be admitted in the trial starting June 18.

Caproni said the government could describe Kaloyeros as “wellpaid.” The description made sense, she said, because it spoke to Kaloyeros’ motive for engaging in an alleged bid-rigging scheme with developers who donated to Gov. Cuomo.

Kaloyeros will be tried alongside Louis Ciminelli, of Buffalo-based developer LPCiminelli, and Joseph Gerardi and Steven Aiello, both of Syracuse-based Cor Development. They are accused of orchestrating a scheme in which their firms would score valuable state contracts linked to Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion Upstate development program.