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May 19

2025

‘Hostile takeover’ of union by Granville supporters

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Members of the union that represents Erie County Sheriff’s officers last Tuesday voted to provide $25,000 toward paying the lawyers representing D.J. Granville, the narcotics chief who last April plowed his county-owned pickup truck into seven parked cars on Buffalo’s West Side. But some union members are crying foul on the decision and petitioning for a second meeting to reconsider the matter. “This was an attempted hostile takeover of our PBA’s democratic process by D.J. Granville and a small group of his supporters,” said one union member, who spoke to Investigative Post on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution.[...]

Posted 3 weeks ago

May 18

2025

Sheriff John Garcia’s disdain for the law

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Erie County Sheriff John Garcia has gotten himself sued by The New York Times for stonewalling a Freedom of Information request from the newspaper. The Times filed an FOI request last August 12 seeking assorted police disciplinary records. For example, the Times asked for what are called “Brady-Giglio” lists, named for court decisions that require prosecutors to provide defense attorneys with information about officers that might impugn their credibility with judges and jurors.  By law, the sheriff’s office had five business days to acknowledge receipt of the request. It failed to do so until Jan. 23 of this year, when[...]

Posted 3 weeks ago

May 16

2025

I’Jaz Ja’ciel discusses food injustice on ‘What’s Next?’

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Investigative Post reporter I’Jaz Ja’ciel this week hosted a segment of Buffalo Toronto Public Media NPR’s What’s Next dedicated to food injustice. She sat down with Nnennna Ferguson, chair of the Buffalo Food Equity Network Advisory Board, to discuss food inequities in the Black community and how community-based solutions may help meet the needs of residents. The episode originally aired Wednesday, May 14 to commemorate the third anniversary of the Tops Supermarket Massacre.  Ja’ciel and Ferguson discussed how the definition of food injustice has changed since the tragedy that saw the closure of the Jefferson Avenue grocer for a month,[...]

Posted 4 weeks ago

May 15

2025

In legal hot water again

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  Brent Manor Apartments at 366 Elmwood Avenue, owned by APL Property Group. Photo by I’Jaz Ja’ciel The state Attorney General last week filed a lawsuit accusing a former judge-turned-developer and his property management company of misappropriating tenants’ security deposits. Anthony LoRusso and employees of APL Property Group used security deposits to fund the company’s payroll and other operations, according to the company’s former director of accounting, Ann Morelli. LoRusso is a former Erie County Family Court judge who resigned in 1993 amid sexual harassment allegations from several female employees. “The cash deposit was recorded and credited to the tenant.[...]

Posted 4 weeks ago

May 14

2025

State to take smaller cut of OTB revenue

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Byron Brown speaks to reporters at Batavia Downs. Photo by Garrett Looker. Just six months into his tenure at the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., former Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown netted the agency a major win in Albany. Tucked away in the state’s sprawling $254 billion budget that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Friday is a provision that could save OTB between $4 million and $5 million per year by reducing the state’s take of revenues.  In exchange for the savings, OTB must submit an annual report to the Legislature and governor’s office outlining how it spent the millions it saved.[...]

Posted 4 weeks ago

May 13

2025

Assessing the New York state budget

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Gov. Kathy Hochul. Three prominent think tanks of varying political stripes agree that the state budget just adopted by Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Legislature leaves a lot to be desired. The Citizen Budget Commission labeled the spending plan “a short sighted budget.” “The extremely late $254 billion State budget virtually ignores the double-whammy threat posed by looming massive federal budget cuts and a possible recession. Instead of holding funds aside, lawmakers skyrocketed spending, slashed recession reserves, and sabotaged the State’s fiscal foundation. The budget simply is unaffordable.” The Empire Center concluded the $146 billion spending plan calls for “an[...]

Posted 4 weeks ago

May 12

2025

Scanlon supports Benderson’s move from Buffalo to Amherst

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Benderson Development wants to move its corporate headquarters — as well as those of Delta Sonic, its car wash company — to an office and warehouse complex the real-estate giant owns in Amherst. And the company wants $1.4 million in property and sales tax breaks from the Amherst Industrial Development Agency to help underwrite the $26 million relocation. Benderson’s local operations are currently housed at 570 Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo. Delta Sonic has corporate offices there, too, and in the City of Tonawanda. Surprisingly, the mayors of both cities wrote letters to the Amherst IDA in support of the tax breaks.[...]

Posted 4 weeks ago

May 9

2025

Local landlords, brokers accused of rejecting Section 8 tenants

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A text message between a tester and a real estate agent used as evidence in a housing discrimination complaint. Screenshot provided by Housing Rights Initiative. A non-profit watchdog group Wednesday filed complaints accusing 103 real estate agents, brokerage firms and property owners across the state of discriminating against Section 8 voucher holders. Thirteen of the defendants named in the 52 complaints filed with the New York State Division of Human Rights are located in Buffalo.  Some of the Buffalo defendants, contacted by Investigative Post for comment, are calling foul on the accusations. Housing Rights Initiative — an organization that aims[...]

Posted 1 month ago
Investigative Post