Category: PostNews

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Buffalo mayoral candidate India Walton said her car has been towed.

In a Facebook post, Walton says she was late on some parking tickets, and her inspection was expired.

She goes on to hint that the towing may have been an act of retribution by City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.

We have reached out to the mayor’s office for a statement and are waiting to hear back.

Read the full Facebook post below:

India Walton For Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — After being accused of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend, Shane Casado is walking free.

Back in November 2018, Casado had been accused of killing 22-year-old Rachael Wierzbicki outside a home on Edson Street in south Buffalo. Casado, who was 24 at the time, was charged with second-degree murder.

In a wrongful death lawsuit filed earlier this year, Wierzbicki’s parents named both Casado and his grandmother. They claimed his grandmother should have known that Casado had a gun and a history of violence.

MORE | New lawsuit filed in 2018 death of Rachael Wierzbicki

On Thursday afternoon, Casado was acquitted of both second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. News 4 will provide more information when it becomes available.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Doug Jemal’s footprint on the Queen City is growing Wednesday afternoon.

The developer won an auction for the five-story Mahoney Office Building on Court Street.

His winning big was $4.1 million. He beat out nine other bidders.

Jemal also owns the Seneca One Tower, Statler City and the Hyatt Regency Downtown.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Buffalo Bishop Michael W. Fisher reinstated four priests Thursday on the recommendation of the Diocese’s Independent Review Board, which found allegations against the priests unsubstantiated.

The Diocese said the Erie County District Attorney’s office was also notified of the allegations and chose not to act on any of them.

The reinstated priests are:

Rev. Adolph Kowalczyk, pastor of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Orchard ParkRev. Gregory Dobson, who is retired but continues to assist in various parishes of the DioceseRev. Matt Nycz, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul in WilliamsvilleRev. Msgr. James G. Kelly (83), a retired priest of the Diocese of Buffalo who continues to assist in parish ministry

State assessing “South Park Site” in addition to Orchard Park for Bills stadium

“The Diocese followed its rigorous policies and protocols in dealing with the allegations in question, including notifying the Erie County District Attorney’s office, which declined to act on any of the allegations,” the Diocese said in a statement. “In addition, Diocesan attorneys reached out to the attorneys for the plaintiffs, and the Diocese confronted each of the accused priests, all of whom denied ever committing any acts of abuse. Some of the accusers cooperated with the investigation, and one refused to cooperate or provide information beyond the accusation.”

The Diocese said it encourages any person who wishes to report an instance of sexual abuse or sexual harassment by a member of the clergy, diocesan employee or volunteer to contact the Victims Assistance Coordinator at (716)-895-3010 or Jacqueline.joy@ccwny.org. More information is available on their website at https://www.buffalodiocese.org/abuse-response.

BATAVIA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Batavia Police are reporting the arrest of a man they charged with first-degree rape for a 2000 incident.

Police tell News 4, Roger K. Brinkman allegedly forcibly raped a woman who was 14 at the time.

Brinkman remains in jail following his arraignment in Batavia City Court.

He was due back in court Thursday at 9 a.m.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A representative of Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) says a nine-year-old brought a stun gun onto a school bus Thursday morning.

Buffalo police responded to Lakeview Avenue around 8:30 a.m. after the student was found to have the weapon, officials say. It was confiscated by the school bus driver.

No charges will be pressed, but the student has been suspended from school. BPS says “restorative justice support will be provided to assist the student to understand the seriousness of the infraction and to help him/her with making better future decisions.”

The school district is asking parents to check the backpacks of students before they go to school.

“Weapons or threats of any kind will not be tolerated, and use of such will impede a student’s education negatively,” a representative of the school says.

AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — Amherst police say all town department phone lines are currently experiencing an outage.

This includes the number for the Amherst Police Department. Despite this, people can still call 911.

It’s not clear when service will be restored. News 4 will provide more information when it’s available.

ASHFORD, N.Y. (WIVB) — An Ashford man faces multiple gun charges following a verbal altercation at the Springville Walmart.

The Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office says 57-year-old Stanley McCarty Sr. fired off a gun from his car in the direction of individuals involved in the altercation.

Officials say the “altercation ensued” into Cattaraugus County at Route 219 and Schwartz Road, where McCarty fired the gun.

According to the Sheriff’s office, there were no injuries, and authorities took McCarty into custody with no issues.

McCarty is charged with second-degree and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and first-degree reckless endangerment.

He is currently in the Cattaraugus County Jail with no bail after his arraignment.

HINSDALE, N.Y. (WIVB) — Four people have been charged with burglary after New York State police say they broke into a motel in Cattaraugus County.

According to police, Joshua Fernandes, 47; Erika Bulkeley, 28; Charlene Bulkeley, 49 and Edward Bulkeley, 30 broke into the Moonlight Motel on State Route 16 in Hinsdale. While there, police say they forcibly entered a room and removed items.

In addition to the second-degree burglary charge each person faces, Fernandes was additionally charged with tampering with physical evidence.

All were arraigned in Allegany Town Court and released on their own recognizance. They’ll be back in court next month.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Newly revealed documents confirm the consulting firm hired by New York State to look into the Bills stadium situation is assessing more than just the Orchard Park location of the current stadium.

AECOM, which will be paid as much as $154,561 to conduct the analysis for the state, says in addition to looking at whether to renovate or build in Orchard Park, they will analyze a “South Park Site.” The paperwork, obtained by News 4 through the Freedom of Information Law, does not specify where the South Park Site is, but it is believed to be in the City of Buffalo in the vicinity of South Park Avenue and Louisiana Street or Hamburg Street.

The consulting firm previously studied that location for the state in 2014.

Tom Scerbo, a vice president for AECOM, laid the scope of their present-day project out in a the firm’s proposal to conduct the study. It also notes that AECOM will “review with State and others regarding additional sites that should be evaluated”.

The Bills lease to play at Highmark Stadium expires after the 2022 season. The state, team, and Erie County are engaging in three-way negotiations to determine what happens after that.

The Bills have said publicly that they would like to play in a new stadium to be built across the street from the current stadium in Orchard Park. The $1.4 billion price tag would be shared between the team and government, under the proposal.

A spokesperson for Pegula Sports and Entertainment had no comment on the scope of the state’s study.

State study of Bills’ stadium needs reviewing all possibilities, including renovation

In late September, Governor Kathy Hochul said the study would come out “in the next couple of weeks”. She also said the report would be made public.

“There’s a study going on by a company that’s just assessing the different options and we’re going to release the study in about two months,” Hochul said.