Articles for Geoff Kelly

Sep 26

2022

Podcast: Interview with Brian Higgins, part 2

Geoff Kelly recently interviewed U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins about a variety of topics, including national politics, the Tops massacre and the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Congressman’s response, in so many words, involved what he sees as division. We posted the first half of the interview on Friday. You can watch that first part via our YouTube channel or listen to it as a podcast. Next up: an interview with Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Toles.

Posted 3 years ago

Sep 23

2022

Podcast: Interview with Brian Higgins

Geoff Kelly recently interviewed U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins about a variety of topics, including national politics, the Tops massacre and the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Congressman’s response, in so many words, involved what he sees as division. You can watch the first part of the interview via our YouTube channel or listen to it as a podcast. We’ll post the second half of the interview Monday. Next up: an interview with Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Toles.

Posted 3 years ago

Sep 14

2022

New York’s Oath Keepers

New York has more law enforcement officers who are members of Oath Keepers than any other state in the country. That’s according to a study released last week by the Anti-Defamation League, whose analysts examined a list of 38,000 purported members of the militant far-right group, looking for elected officials, law enforcement and military personnel among its ranks. The list was first published last September by the nonprofit journalist collective Distributed Denial of Secrets, along with Oath Keepers emails and other data obtained by hackers.  By cross-referencing the names on the list with public databases, ADL confirmed the identities of[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Sep 8

2022

Belatedly, City Hall has an ethics board

 The city’s ethics board has been resurrected from the dead. Investigative Post reported last month that the ethics board hadn’t met in two and half years because the mayor and Common Council had failed to appoint enough board members to comprise a quorum. Last week, Mayor Byron Brown submitted five nominees for the ethics board to the Common Council for approval. All five were approved Tuesday without debate or discussion, bringing the ethics board to its charter-prescribed membership of seven.  Before Tuesday, it had just three members — one short of a quorum. The five newly appointed members are: John[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Aug 31

2022

Buffalo cop in hot water again

Last summer, Buffalo Police Officer Richard Hy — a.k.a. the “Angry Cop,” notorious for posting satirical videos online — is accused of letting his anger get the best of him. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in state Supreme Court, Curtis Lee Dean, of Buffalo, claims Hy intentionally backed his patrol car into Dean’s motorcycle at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Edward Street in June 2021. Dean was riding with a group of motorcyclists, whom Hy decided to pursue several blocks through the city’s West Side, according to a WGRZ News report on the incident.  Some riders took off to[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Aug 23

2022

Just how rich is Carl Paladino?

  Carl Paladino, who says he’ll be “a voice for the people” in Congress, waited until the Friday before election day to tell voters how rich he is. Spoiler alert: He’s very rich. Paladino’s income was at least $4.5 million last year, according to a personal financial disclosure he filed last Friday with the U.S. House Ethics Committee. The outer limit of his income was seven times greater. In addition, he listed assets worth as much as $86 million. The Republican real-estate developer was a month late in filing the disclosure statement, required of all candidates running for federal office.[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Aug 17

2022

Police union pressing to suppress records

Buffalo’s police union is making headway in its efforts to put a lid on the release of officers’ disciplinary records. Last Friday, lawyers for the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association filed a lawsuit against the City of Buffalo, asking a judge to order the city to honor an arbitrator’s decision curtailing the public’s right to learn about allegations of police misconduct. If successful, the lawsuit would require the city to destroy all records of a misconduct complaint against an officer unless the department’s Internal Affairs Division finds the officer guilty.  That would eliminate records of almost all complaints and the investigations[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Aug 8

2022

City ethics board out of business

Last September, 140 people signed a formal complaint filed with Buffalo’s Board of Ethics. The complaint alleged city workers, including police officers, were campaigning for Mayor Byron Brown on city time, using city resources. Almost a year later, there has been no response — not even an acknowledgement the complaint was received.  Little wonder, as it turns out: The ethics board hasn’t met in two and half years. According to the Office of the City Clerk, the ethics board — charged with monitoring compliance with the city’s code of ethics — hasn’t met since Covid struck, “due to lack of[...]

Posted 3 years ago
Investigative Post