Categories for News

Jan 22

2026

Misconduct allegations could endanger drug convictions

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In a lawsuit, two former employees of the Niagara County Forensics Lab have accused a former director of mismanagement and misconduct that legal experts say could compromise criminal convictions that relied on the lab’s analysis. The plaintiffs, a father and daughter, claim Kori Ortt-Gawrys — the sister of state Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt —  harassed and defamed them over a two-year period, compelling one to quit and the other to retire early. The father, Thomas DiFonzo, claims Ortt-Gawrys turned on him after she pushed him to certify a lab chemist to do forensic drug analysis for criminal cases. DiFonzo[...]

Posted 3 days ago

Jan 20

2026

Niagara County Sheriff pulling back on ICE partnership

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Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti, in a policy change, has “reevaluated” his partnership with ICE and has agreed to detain fewer migrants at the Lockport jail. The sheriff, a Republican law enforcement official in a county President Donald Trump won three times, is not cancelling the agreement he signed in May with the federal immigration enforcement agency. But, he and others said, his deputies will only arrest and detain migrants charged with crimes or whose arrest has been approved by a judge. Previously, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office was holding lawful asylum seekers and other civil detainees, primarily women. Among[...]

Posted 5 days ago

Jan 16

2026

Buffalo mayor to ban city cooperation with ICE, others

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Mayor Sean Ryan addresses community groups Friday. Photo via PPG. Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan announced Friday that his administration is drafting an executive order that will prohibit the Buffalo police and other city departments from working with federal immigration agencies. The order, he said, would ensure “no apparatus of city government interacts in any way with federal immigration.” “And that’s going to be from building inspectors, to garbage collectors to police officers,” he said. “What we don’t want is any chilling effect,” Ryan told civic and advocacy groups assembled at the Buffalo State University Alumni Visitor Center. “We don’t want[...]

Posted 1 week ago

Jan 15

2026

Anger over ICE detention of UB researcher

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Outrage over the ICE detention of a University at Buffalo medical researcher — Shovgi Huseynov — is reverberating around Western New York, with one lawmaker calling for the impeachment of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “This incident is part of a disturbing pattern of lawless and unconstitutional conduct at the Department of Homeland Security, under the leadership of Secretary Noem, and it underscores why she must resign or be impeached immediately,” Rep. Tim Kennedy, D-Buffalo, said in a statement. Huseynov on January 7 made a wrong turn onto the Peace Bridge and crossed into Canada. He was arrested[...]

Posted 1 week ago

Jan 14

2026

Wrong turn lands UB scientist in ICE detention

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  A screenshot of Huseynov’s Facebook page. The Trump administration maintains its mass deportation program is aimed only at “the worst of the worst.” In reality, the crackdown on immigrants is a dragnet, one that’s now ensnared a well-regarded neuroscience researcher from the University at Buffalo. Azerbaijan native Shovgi Huseynov has no criminal record and a visa that allows him to work in the United States through 2029. But on January 7, Huseynov made a wrong turn onto the Peace Bridge and was detained by border agents upon his return to Buffalo. A spokesperson for U.S Customs and Border Protection[...]

Posted 2 weeks ago

Jan 9

2026

Wegmans surveilling shoppers, collecting data

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The word is out: Wegmans Food Markets is snooping on its customers. The Rochester-based grocery chain isn’t just using facial recognition technology in some of its stores — a practice which has generated controversy following a report by The Gothamist on its use in New York City. Investigative Post has found that Wegmans is tracking and collecting data on customers from the moment they enter the parking lot to the moment they check out. The company won’t say whether it’s using facial recognition technology in any of its stores in Western New York.  As soon as a shopper pulls into the[...]

Posted 2 weeks ago

Jan 8

2026

Buffalo sued over East Side police training facility

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A notice posted this summer outside the site of a proposed police training facility on Buffalo’s East Side. Photo by Adam Smith-Perez. An activist organization and four East Side residents have sued the city, the Common Council and the police department to stop the conversion of a former community center into a police training facility and shooting range. The organization Liberation For One, Liberation for All, also known as LOLA, filed the lawsuit on Dec. 23, arguing that the rezoning violates several state and local laws. Much of the suit is based on the city’s alleged violation of state environmental[...]

Posted 2 weeks ago

Dec 24

2025

Tenants again sue judge-turned-landlord

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  APL Property’s apartment building on Elmwood Avenue. Photo by I’Jaz Ja’ciel. A Buffalo couple is suing former county judge-turned-developer Anthony LoRusso for alleged rental fraud — the third lawsuit LoRusso and his real estate companies have faced this year. Two of those court actions originated with renters, the other with a contractor. All told, courts this year have levied more than $300,000 in judgments against LoRusso’s companies. The first suit was filed by LaBella Associates D.P.C., an environmental consulting firm, in March, followed by the attorney general’s in May.  In September, Sabrina and Antonéo Page filed a lawsuit against[...]

Posted 1 month ago
Investigative Post