BUFFALO, N.Y. —The RiverBend manufacturing facility in South Buffalo already houses hundreds of employees from Tesla and Panasonic and represents a roughly $750 million state investment.

Following Thursday's conviction of four men, including the complex's developer and one of the state's former top economic development officials, it may well represent something else too.

"This does not upset that business endeavor that's going on there but it certainly casts a cloud over everything that went into it," said Assemblyman Robin Schimminger, D-Kenmore.

Schimminger, chair of the Assembly's Economic Development Committee, sees opportunity in an otherwise black mark for the state, calling again for his colleagues to take up legislation aimed at adding oversight and transparency to the process.

"There's a whole cast of characters beyond these who were part of this construct that, if you will, enabled this to happen, so that's the next level of analysis which really has to be done here," he said.

Meanwhile, local leaders are disappointed with the scandal but continue to defend the vision and results of the Buffalo Billion, the governor's signature economic development initiative.

"That money is still flowing in many ways through the community, many projects going forward, many more projects to come, so there will be ample opportunities for people to participate in the resources that have been provided through the Buffalo Billion," said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.

Brown said the initiative has been transformative for the city but has no problem with the state continuing to review how that money's disbursed.

"I'm sure the state will take another look at all of its processes to make sure that any mistakes, any wrongdoing are less likely going forward," he said.

Schimminger believes the Legislature potentially could even return before next year to pass bills to, for instance, create a searchable database of deals or give the comptroller's office more oversight authority.