Category: PostNews

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) — More than 9 million tourists travel to Niagara Falls State Park every year from all over the world — and many don’t pass up the opportunity to experience the true power of the Falls, safely.

The Cave of the Winds, allows you to step as close as 15 feet away from the rushing water of Bridal Veil Falls. You might feel a gust of wind that can reach up to 75 mph, similar to a category one hurricane.

“When they get here, they’re in awe, it’s breathtaking to see how close we can get to the Falls,” said Carlos Nieves, who works at the Cave of the Winds.

This attraction dates back to even before Niagara Falls became a state park, and has seen a splash of changes throughout the years.

“It used to be a spiral staircase, that you took down here, it was a wooden one and you would walk along the upper part of the gorge, to a cave that was by the Falls,” Nieves said. “Once that collapsed, they took out the stairs, decided to put in the elevator, [that] took about two and a half years to put that in, and they did it all by hand; hand carved it out, no machines, no dynamite.”

Nieves has devoted more than a decade of his life to the Cave of the Winds and helps build these decks by hand every year. He says it takes six weeks to put up and four weeks to take them down, but the view never gets old.

“As a person who does build the decks, and all the guys that do build, we all find happiness in their happiness because it took us a lot to do that,” Nieves said. “It makes us feel good that people are enjoying it, something we can put up for them to enjoy.”

Before you make your 175-foot journey down to the base of the Falls, at the beginning of the tour, you can learn more about how the power of the falls has really changed the world.

“There’s so much more to Niagara Falls than just the water falling over the rocks and to be able to tell those stories is really exciting for us,” said Angela Berti, Director of Public Information for New York State Parks.

“Alternative Current, we would not have the electricity in our home that we have, without what happened here in Niagara Falls, Nikola Tesla, and the world changed because of it. We learned how to make private property public green space, you know parks were created, there’s so many stories that happened here beyond those things–it’s really exciting to be able to share that with people from around the world.”

Your shoes might squeak after the experience, but there are other attractions to enjoy just down the path. Like walking around the 400 acres of Niagara Falls State Park, or maybe taking a ride on the Maid of the Mist, but whatever attraction you choose, you can enjoy the beauty of a natural wonder.

Though the decks are only standing through the fall, some parts of the Cave of the Winds are open all year round. All tickets can be purchased only in person.

For more information on the Cave of the Winds, visit their website here.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Comedian Taylor Tomlinson is set to hold two shows at Shea’s Performing Arts Center in October.

Tomlinson, who is the host of the CBS late-night show “After Midnight” will bring her “Save Me” tour to Shea’s on Oct. 4 and 5.

Presale tickets are available at 10 a.m. Thursday and the general sale begins on Friday. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.

SALAMANCA, N.Y. (WIVB) — A light blue home two houses down on West Avenue in Salamanca is where Cattaraugus County sheriffs detained Edward Kindt around 1:40 a.m. on Wednesday. Officials told WIVB News 4 that Kindt willingly surrendered.

Kindt, now 41 years old, pleaded guilty 25 years ago to raping and killing wife and mother Penny Brown in Salamanca in 1999 at the age of 15. He was released from prison last year and sent to supervised housing in Dutchess County.

“Our entire criminal bureau was called out,” said Eric Butler, the Cattaraugus County undersheriff. “Our special response team was put on standby because we didn’t know what we were gonna run into with this guy.” 

He was found Wednesday morning in what was his childhood home on West Avenue in Salamanca. According to officials, it’s just around the corner from where the Brown family lived.

“About 10:40 p.m. I got a call from the sheriff who was notified just prior to that and he was in custody at 1:40 a.m., so it was literally three hours or less,” Butler said.

Sheriff’s deputies, Salamanca Police and agents from the Department Of Corrections were on hand. The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said Kindt didn’t report to his parole officer on Tuesday. Local authorities believe he may have been in town for almost a week before anyone knew. 

“We don’t know if he was here last Thursday or he showed up here Saturday, but he’s been here for a significant amount of time,” Butler said. 

Both New York State Senator George Borrello and Assemblyman Joseph Giglio said the state failed to notify the sheriff’s office that he was missing for six days. 

“They did not contact local law enforcement,” Borrello said. “They did not contact Seneca Nations of Indians to let them know, who banned him from ever coming back.”

“This is a breakdown in the system and it is a breakdown in parole, and the fact that again they did not make an immediate call to where he came from to let them know that he was dangerous and out there, there’s no excuse,” Giglio said.

Butler said Kindt was wearing a GPS monitoring device when they found him. He also said they had suspicion he was in the area as of this weekend, but we’re never notified by DOCCS until Tuesday night.

“We were surprised to find it,” Butler said. “That the find that device was still intact in fact, but it went dead, and that didn’t happen overnight, certainly not three hours.”

On Wednesday, the Cattaraugus County Legislature adopted a resolution to revoke Kindt’s release and called on Governor Kathy Hochul to investigate this failure and remove parole board leaders.

“It is both appalling and outrageous that this murder was not appropriately supervised for six days outside of his geographical jurisdiction, subjecting Cattaraugus County families and the broader community to extreme risk,” said Andrew Burr, chairman of the Cattaraugus County Legislature.

Butler told News 4 the state has taken over the investigation into the incident, telling him it’s “ongoing” when he pushed for answers of when exactly Kindt left Dutchess County.

“The genie was already out of the bottle and I think state was trying to put it back in before anyone found out,” Butler said.

“And let the investigation start tomorrow for the New York State Community Supervision and the other failed bureaucracies that let this animal loose in our community,” Burr said.

Butler said Kindt was transferred Wednesday from the Cattaraugus County Jail to the Dutchess County Jail, and will be there until the parole violation process concludes.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The man accused of attacking author Salman Rushdie at the Chautauqua Institution in August 2022 is now facing federal charges. The federal charges brought against him say Hadi Matar was carrying out his attack in the name of Hezbollah.

Matar is already facing attempted murder and assault charges at the state level for stabbing Rushdie more than a dozen times. Matar rejected a plea deal earlier this month where state prosecutors recommended a shorter prison sentence if he agreed to plead guilty.

Barry Covert, a local criminal defense lawyer, said choosing to reject the plea deal might’ve gained Matar a lot more time behind bars.

“He’d be looking at, possibly if he’s found guilty or takes a plea, he could be looking at life incarceration,” Covert said. “That’s on top of whatever happens on the state court charges in Chautauqua County.”

The new three-count federal indictment officially offers, for the first time, a motive for the 2022 attack. Each of the indictments is a form of supporting a terrorist organization or committing an act of terrorism. Covert said these are some of the most serious charges that can be brought in federal court.

“Because Hezbollah is a designated terrorist organization by the United States, any support that you provide to them is illegal,” Covert said. “Any act on their behalf is illegal and supporting them any way is illegal.”

One of the new three charges could put Matar behind bars for the rest of his life. As a criminal defense lawyer, Covert said they often advise their clients to accept a plea deal, especially in cases like this.

“Given that he was caught at the scene, with a weapon, and there’s a lot of witnesses, it’s hard to imagine that there are really any outstanding defenses here,” Covert said. “We will certainly see. He’s entitled to the presumption of innocence and the case must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Covert explained that while the charges on the state and federal level were both brought forth because of the events that occurred in August, both trials will look extremely different. Covert does not expect Matar to receive any sympathy.

“Watching these cases play out is going to be fascinating because they are such different charges in state and federal court,” Covert said. “It’s so important. It’s a worldwide story. The world is watching to see what happens here. It’ll be very interesting to follow this.”

Jury selection in the state case is set for Oct. 15 and is expected to proceed as normal.

For the federal case, Covert said he expects Matar’s defense team to file motions for the judge to rule on and eventually, a federal trial date will be set.

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) — A local officer jumped into action to save a woman from being swept into the rapids near Niagara Falls Friday afternoon.

During New York State Park Officer Nathan Sibenik’s patrol around Niagara Falls State Park, multiple people flagged him down, saying a woman was in the rapids and needed help.

Without thinking twice, the officer jumped into the rapids to save her.

“You kind of don’t really think. You just go based off your training,” he said. “I knew that I just had to get in there quickly, get into the water, grab that person, shield that person and recover them to a safe area.”

Sibenik’s quick response highlights how important it is for officers to be equipped with the skills and tools needed to handle intense situations.

“We get extensive training in our academy, but we also get additional training through the State Preparedness Center for actual swift water training,” he said. “We have 11 members in our district that are all highly trained.”

“This job as civil servants, we’re always on it for the people, the citizens, the visitors,” said James McCartney, president of the Police Benevolent Association. “We put them before us most of the time because we’re in it for the community, and that’s what we love about our jobs and that’s why we are in these jobs.”

Sibenik said it was his training that allowed him to rescue the woman and also keep himself out of danger.

“I’m just glad I could be there and we could get this person help and just get her to safety,” Sibenik said. “At the end of the day, it’s about everybody’s safety here, and that’s what we’re here for.”

The woman who was rescued was taken to the hospital, but is OK.

“These are beautiful areas, but the hazards are there,” Sibenik said. “Swift water is a very deadly thing to come in contact with. You just want to stay clear of the water when you’re visiting these parks.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A man who severely injured author Salman Rushdie in a frenzied knife attack in western New York was motivated by a Hezbollah leader’s endorsement of a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death, prosecutors said Wednesday in announcing new terrorism charges.

The three-count indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in Buffalo offered for the first time a potential motive for the 2022 attack on “The Satanic Verses” author.

Man accused of stabbing Salman Rushdie in WNY rejects plea deal, will face trial

Hadi Matar, a U.S. citizen from New Jersey, was attempting to carry out a fatwa, Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kruly said. According to the prosecutor, Matar believed the call for Rushdie’s death, first issued in 1989, was backed by the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah and endorsed in a 2006 speech by the group’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah.

“We allege that in attempting to murder Salman Rushdie in New York in 2022, Hadi Matar committed an act of terrorism in the name of Hezbollah, a designated terrorist organization aligned with the Iranian regime,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a news release. “The Justice Department will prosecute those who perpetrate violence in the name of terrorist groups and undermine the basic freedoms enshrined in our Constitution.”

Matar, who faces separate state charges of attempted murder and assault, pleaded not guilty to the new federal charges of terrorism transcending national boundaries, providing material support to terrorists and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization.

“The investigation was lengthy, for the last two years, and I’m sure involved a number of different agencies, a number of different countries and a number of individuals,” Matar’s attorney, Nathaniel Barone, said after the arraignment. He said the federal case will be far more complex than the state charges, which focus largely on the assault on Rushdie while he was onstage and about to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in August 2022.

“Federally, you’re looking at more of conspiracies,” the lawyer said.

Matar, he said, “plans on proceeding with a vigorous defense and maintain his innocence.”

Matar, 26, has been held without bail since the attack, during which he stabbed Rushdie more than a dozen times before a stunned audience of about 1,500 people. Knife wounds blinded Rushdie in one eye. The event moderator, Henry Reese, was also wounded before bystanders subdued the assailant.

“This defendant put time and effort into traveling to the western district of New York with the intent of taking the life of another,” U.S. Attorney Trini Ross said. “Only because of the brave efforts of those who were present that day, the defendant was prevented from completing his murderous intention.”

Rushdie detailed the attack and his long and painful recovery in a memoir published in April.

The federal charges come after Matar earlier this month rejected an offer by state prosecutors to recommend a shorter prison sentence if he agreed to plead guilty to both state and the anticipated federal charges. Instead, both cases will now proceed to trial separately. Jury selection in the state case is set for Oct. 15.

A detention hearing in the federal case is scheduled for Aug. 7.

The author spent years in hiding after the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa in 1989 calling for Rushdie’s death over his novel “The Satanic Verses.” Khomeini considered the book blasphemous. Rushdie reemerged into the public in the late 1990s.

Matar was born in the U.S. but holds dual citizenship in Lebanon, where his parents were born. He lived in Fairview, New Jersey, prior to the attack. His mother has said that her son became withdrawn and moody after he visited his father in Lebanon in 2018.

The attack raised questions about whether Rushdie had gotten proper security protection, given that he is still the subject of death threats. A state police trooper and county sheriff’s deputy had been assigned to the lecture. In 1991, a Japanese translator of “The Satanic Verses” was stabbed to death. An Italian translator survived a knife attack the same year. In 1993, the book’s Norwegian publisher was shot three times but survived.

The investigation into Rushdie’s stabbing focused partly on whether Matar had been acting alone or in concert with militant or religious groups.