Racetrack project won't begin soon

The future of a racetrack project near Massena, once scheduled to begin construction this month, is in the hands of a bankruptcy court overseeing the assets of a jailed financier.

Agape World, the financial backer of racetrack and entertainment complex developer Northway Island Associates, went into Chapter 7 bankruptcy in February after owner Nicholas Cosmo, 37, was charged with mail fraud.

Prosecutors have accused Mr. Cosmo, of Lake Grove, of running a Ponzi scheme, paying off older investors with money from new clients. Mr. Cosmo allegedly lost $370 million in unauthorized futures trading.

His assets, including a $2.15 million loan to Northway in 2007, were frozen by a federal judge in March. Some of the bilked investors have been discussing their options in recovering as much as possible of their money, including listening to a presentation by consultant Robert A. Wilson, Riverhead, who developed the business plan for Northway.

Mr. Wilson's proposal would reimburse the Agape investors, plus give them equity interest in the development.

"The general consensus is we're optimistic because we don't really have a choice," said Dominic DeColandrea, who coordinates an Internet site for victims of Agape World. "They want Agape out of the way so they can proceed with funding from an alternate source."

Mr. Wilson's plan would give Agape investors 25 percent ownership in a new corporation. If the development failed and the nearly 1,000 acres were sold, the first $500,000 would go to the Agape investors. One year after the entertainment complex began operations, shareholders would have the right to sell their shares back to the company for a value set by an investment bank.

Once the land was released from bankruptcy proceedings, Northway would secure a loan to complete the environmental review and engineering for the project.

Mr. Wilson estimated an opening in 2011.

"He wants to see this finished and would like to see the victims group reimbursed," Mr. De-Colandrea said.

Mr. DeColandrea and a fellow investor met Friday with Ken P. Silverman, the court-appointed trustee, and other representatives. Although he declined to talk about specifics, he said he was pleased with Mr. Silverman's attitude.

"I went in there thinking I was ready to fight. When we left, we were quite content," Mr. DeColandrea said. "They would like to see the victims recover as much as possible. They are 100 percent willing to work with the people involved in the Northway project. They're not looking to hurt anybody."

Mr. Wilson said he doesn't stand to gain financially from his proposal putting together Northway and the Agape investors.

"I put my word out there and now I'm obligated to help those people. It's their only chance to have something other than hamburger. The real assets are the real estate," he said. "I think the project is viable if they did it properly."