During his brief tenure as chief executive officer of the Niagara USA Chamber, Erie County resident Bobby Newman has seemingly achieved the impossible.
A strong advocate of "regionalism," he's managed to unite business owners and Chamber members from Lockport to Niagara Falls in disgust and contempt for the organization in general and his leadership in particular. Longtime members throughout the county told the Reporter they plan to either let their memberships lapse or resign outright.
Last week, in a blunder that may signal the beginning of the end for Newman's shaky regime, he unceremoniously and very publicly fired veteran Chamber Vice President Fred Caso.
"Fred was the hardest working, most dedicated person over there," said one longtime Chamber member. "He basically kept everything together while Newman was screwing everything up."
Caso is well known and respected in the community, not only for his work with the Chamber, but for the countless hours of volunteer time he's dedicated to various charitable causes and his non-partisan hosting of political debates. His wife, Lori, is the host of the popular cable television cooking program "Lori and Friends."
The controversy over Caso's firing came on the heels of a July 13 Buffalo News article detailing the dissatisfaction of Lockport area business owners who were forced into a merger with the Niagara Falls Chamber last year.
"The honeymoon is over," said Marc R. Smith, former president of the Lockport Business Association. "We were willing to give the new Chamber an opportunity, six to eight months. But we haven't seen it."
Smith said members are now "voting with their feet" and leaving Newman and his organization in droves.
Caso's firing may bring the same result in Niagara Falls, members told the Reporter.
"Our company is a former recipient of the Chamber's Rising Star Award, and I never thought I'd say we won't be renewing our membership," one Falls businessman said. "But this is the last straw."
Niagara Street Business and Professional Association President Bob Kostoff agreed.
"Since Newman took over, the Chamber has ignored small business completely," he said. "We weren't planning on renewing our membership in any case, but in the wake of Fred's firing we intend to resign."
Kostoff said talks are already underway to form a new Chamber dedicated strictly to Niagara Falls interests, and added that he believes there are enough local businesspeople fed up with Newman and the Niagara USA Chamber to make such a venture viable. He agreed with other sources that the complete abandonment of the Chamber's traditional role here is likely a precursor to the current organization being merged with the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.
Newman was brought in as CEO by Chamber President Steve Braver, who was fired in April from his job as publisher of the Greater Niagara Newspapers. Braver and Newman got to know each other through their membership in the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, an anti-labor organization based in Erie County.
In the months since, he has attempted to muscle his way into a seat on the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency -- which would have been illegal since he doesn't live in the county -- tried to shake down Canal Development Task Force volunteers into "donating" $200 apiece to the Chamber, and outraged Chamber members by falling behind in payments to the group's health insurance carrier.
He also made headlines when the Reporter revealed he had been referring prospective new businesses to Buffalo rather than putting them in touch with Niagara County development agencies.
Newman came here after leaving his family business, NOCO Energy, which has led efforts to impose state taxes on Native American gasoline and tobacco sales. A NOCO subsidiary, Prior Aviation, has the monopoly on fuel sales at the Buffalo airport, and Newman has been a strong advocate against returning the Niagara Falls International Airport to local control, leading some to question where his loyalties lie.
The reasons for his hasty departure from the family business remain obscure, and have been the subject of much rumor and speculation since his arrival here. While Newman has not publicly commented on his separation from NOCO, he talked at length about firing Caso.
In a statement to the press concerning Caso's termination, Newman said his reasons for firing the popular, 21-year Chamber veteran weren't personal.
"We have a different mission and a different direction we're trying to go in," he said.
That remark prompted one soon-to-be former Chamber member to laugh out loud.
"He hasn't said what that direction is, but, seeing the way things are going, my guess is straight into the ground!" he said.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | July 22 2003 |