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Oct 16

2020

He shoved a cop and got away with it – maybe

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Back in June, acting New York State Supreme Court Justice Mark Grisanti shoved a Buffalo cop as police attempted to sort out an altercation between the judge and his wife, Maria Grisanti, and some neighbors. Police body-camera video, obtained and published earlier this week by Law360.com, has drawn considerable media attention. In the video, Maria Grisanti stomps about screaming obscenities at her neighbors and the cops. An officer tackles and cuffs her, prompting the judge — his t-shirt torn and hanging around his waist — to run across the street and try to wrestle the officer away from his wife.[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Oct 12

2020

Chris Jacobs: Trumpster or moderate?

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Editor’s note: This column originally published in Buffalo Spree. Chris Jacobs used to be a moderate Republican who Democrats could think about voting for. No more. Not if you go by his words. The moderate Chris Jacobs made a deal with the devil in accepting the endorsement of Donald Trump during his successful special election campaign for Congress. There was clearly a quid pro quo: Trump endorses Jacobs, who in turn supports the president, no matter how outrageous his policies or behavior. Jacobs underscored his fealty to Trump during an interview with me a couple of weeks after he took[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Oct 12

2020

Help wanted: muckraking reporters

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We’re in the hunt for a couple of experienced muckraking reporters. We’re seeking job candidates with investigative reporting skills and experience producing, or a willingness to learn to produce, stories for online, television and radio. Newspaper, television and radio experience are all valued, as are data skills. Reporting and writing skills are paramount. A minimum of five years experience is preferred. We produce fact-based, high-impact stories for our website and our television and radio partners, including WGRZ, the NBC affiliate for Buffalo, and WBFO, the NPR outlet for Western New York. Our multiple partnerships enable us to reach an audience[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Sep 30

2020

M.T. Pockets is open – and under investigation

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M.T. Pockets, the North Buffalo bar that closed earlier his month after its patrons shouted racist slurs at demonstrators rallying for police reform, has quietly reopened. The Erie County Health Department cleared the Hertel Avenue bar to reopen Monday, after it submitted a plan to ensure the safety of patrons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plywood that had covered its door and front windows has been removed and a limited number of patrons are being admitted. Meanwhile, the State Liquor Authority told Investigative Post it opened an investigation into the bar earlier this month. Apparent violations of COVID-19 health and safety[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Sep 29

2020

Merrill elected president of Investigative Post

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Dr. Michael Merrill has been elected president of the board of directors of Investigative Post. Merrill is medical director, clinical performance management, with Independent Health. Before attending medical school, he worked as a newspaper reporter for three years after graduating from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. “Investigative Post is the most important nonprofit in Buffalo because it puts everybody on notice that if they misbehave, there’s a risk of getting caught,” he said. Merrill succeeds Jody Kleinberg Biehl. Previous presidents include two veteran investigative reporters, David Cay Johnston and Lee Coppola. “Mike has been an enthusiastic board member[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Sep 24

2020

No more name tags for Buffalo cops

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Concerned with officer safety following an uptick in online harassment, Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood is no longer requiring Buffalo cops to display name tags on their uniforms. Many officers had been ignoring the previous edict requiring officers to display their name tags on their outermost garments since anti-racism protests began in late May. Members of the public, including demonstrators, have said the absence of name tags makes it impossible to identify officers engaged in misconduct.   According to Captain Jeffrey Rinaldo, the department’s spokesman, the policy was altered last Friday after more than a dozen police officers were doxed —[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Sep 17

2020

Working for $1 a day

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The company that oversees people held at the immigration detention center in Batavia exploits detainees by paying them $1 a day to perform menial labor, according to a lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court.  The lawsuit, filed Sept. 3, stops short of saying the detainees are forced into doing the work, but suggests that there’s an implicit threat of consequences if they refuse. The practice of assigning work to detainees, a longstanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement initiative known as the “Voluntary Work Program,” violates the state constitution and labor law, the suit contends. The company, Akima Global Services, or AGS,[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Sep 14

2020

Saturday’s shooting wasn’t Buffalo cop’s first

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Karl Schultz, identified in press reports as the police officer who shot Willie Henley Saturday afternoon, has pulled the trigger on a civilian at least once before. In 2012, Schultz fired multiple shots at 17-year-old Wilson Morales on the city’s East Side. One of the bullets he fired left Morales paralyzed for life.  The City of Buffalo settled a lawsuit with Morales in February for $4.5 million, the largest settlement of its kind in the city’s history. Schultz’s disciplinary history landed him on a list of officers, provided to Investigative Post by the Buffalo Police Department, investigated by Internal Affairs frequently[...]

Posted 5 years ago
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