Hidden amid the U.S. Supreme Court's flurry of high-profile rulings that ended its current term—such as overturning Roe v. Wade and scaling back federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions—was a less-noticed decision to take a case next year that could change the fortunes of a convicted New York contractor who was serving a federal prison term for bid-rigging.
Justices agreed June 29 to hear the case that challenges the legal theory behind the 2018 federal bid-rig conviction of Louis P. Ciminelli, the former CEO of a once high-profile Buffalo construction firm, and those of other upstate developers and officials, related to steered state contracts. The “Buffalo Billions” development pay-to-play scheme involved state officials and industry political donors.