State Sen. Don White today accused The Bank of New York Mellon of "total disregard and indifference" for halting a $70 million data center expansion in Armstrong County.

The New York financial services firm disclosed its change of plans on Tuesday, saying it had decided to keep open another processing center in New Jersey instead. The company's "continued global business growth" and the rising costs of construction and specialized equipment were also cited as reasons for the switch.

"This decision," Sen. White, R-Indiana, said in a letter today to Bank of New York Mellon Chief Executive Officer Robert Kelly, "has broken the trust of local elected and economic development leaders and only serves to enhance the skepticism with which many working class communities view corporate America."

The company could not be reached immediately for comment.

Sen. White said he worked with local officials on a property tax abatement package for The Bank of New York Mellon that won approval from South Buffalo Township, Freeport Area School District and Armstrong County. The request for so-called Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance "was approved with the expectation (The Bank of New York Mellon) would honor its obligation to the community," Sen. White wrote.

The abatement no longer applies now that the company has decided not to pursue its expansion.

"I hope this unfortunate situation is not indicative of how (The Bank of New York Mellon) will fulfill other significant commitments made to southwestern Pennsylvania," Sen. White wrote.

The Bank of New York Mellon promised last June to bring 200 new jobs to Armstrong County as part of the expansion. Earlier this week, the company said the "majority" of those positions will now be housed in the company's Downtown Pittsburgh offices.

When The Bank of New York agreed in December 2006 to purchase Mellon Financial Corp. and place the combined company in New York, it pledged to create 1,000 to 2,000 local jobs in three to five years. It also predicted fewer than 10 percent of 6,200 local positions would be cut through dismissals, not filling open positions or normal job attrition. It has said little about local job cuts since December 2006, but it has announced a total of 620 new positions and a net gain of 482 since Jan. 1, 2007.