Buffalo Billion trial hanging by a thread

The Buffalo Billion bid-rigging trial appeared to be hanging by a thread Thursday after the judge said prosecutors failed to prove that wire fraud occurred in Manhattan.

The trouble began after the prosecution rested its case against SUNY Poly founder Alain Kaloyeros, two executives from the Syracuse-based developer Cor and the president of the Buffalo-based LPCiminelli for tailoring lucrative bids for state contracts. The men are charged with wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy.

That's when Manhattan Federal Court Judge Valerie Caproni made clear prosecutors had failed to show that any of the emails regarding the Buffalo scheme passed through servers in Manhattan.

“This was a mistake that shouldn't have been made,” Caproni said.

The judge said she was on the verge of dismissing counts regarding the Buffalo scheme against Kaloyeros and LPCiminelli President Lou Ciminelli. But she instead let prosecutors reopen their case.

“I am balancing the public's interest in having the jury decide this case for good or ill … as opposed to the court saying the government messed up,” Caproni said.

Though the case involves development contracts in Syracuse and Buffalo, the case is being tried in the Southern District of New York.

Prosecutors said they would return Monday and show that Dean Fuleihan — the deputy mayor who served as chair of SUNY Poly's economic arm — opened a key January 2014 email while in Manhattan.