Category: PostNews

TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Police are searching for the people who cut catalytic converters out of seven Ken-Ton school district vehicles.

They said the incident happened sometime Wednesday night.

Town of Tonawanda police chief James Stauffiger said this is a problem across Western New York and there’s been a recent uptick in the town of Tonawanda.

He said several of these incidents have been reported over the past couple of weeks but seven vehicles at once is unusual.

Stauffiger said the seven maintenance vehicles were damaged in the parking lot of the Ken-Ton district buildings and grounds department.

“These incidents are happening during the evening hours when most people are asleep and it’s really hard to detect at this point in time but if they have cameras make sure their camera are activated and they’re recording so in the event that there is something that this happened to them or perhaps one their neighbors we can in fact reach out to them and see the video to help us solve these crimes,” he said.

He said police are reviewing video evidence in this particular case.

He also said in general some people taking these converters want to profit off the precious metals in them, highlighting the importance for scrap yards to be reputable.

“When they have someone that comes in with these types of metals or catalytic converters in general that they contact their police department and make proper identification of the people that are coming in to turn in the scrap.”

The chief said not only are the converters expensive to replace, the damage caused by cutting them out also adds to the high bill.

“Not to mention the fact that once a person goes in there it sounds like a monster truck and that’s when people recognize that something has happened to them. Quite alarming.”

A spokesperson for the school district says they have already started having the vehicles fixed.

Someone familiar with the case said the damage could be upwards of $10,000.

Kayla Green is a reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Members of the public on Thursday will have their say on how millions of dollars will be spent from the Buffalo Survivor’s Fund.

So far, nearly $5 million has been raised to help families of victims and survivors in the Tops mass shooting.

But, how exactly will that money be spent?

That still needs to be worked out.

A public hearing on the fund will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. at City Honors in Buffalo.

Kishia Douglas says she was checking out at Tops, joking with the cashier, right before the mass shooting and managed to escape. She and others who say they were there say they’re dealing with mental health issues and cannot return to work.

“I was inside and I’m not the same person, I lost something I’m trying to figure out how am I supposed to live. When all of this is over, I’m not eligible for workers comp, I’m not eligible for unemployment,” Douglas said.

They say they should be entitled to money from the survivor’s fund, right now.

“At the end of the day, we all were affected I’m affected, they’re affected, you’re affected we’re all affected and we need to be treated equally,” said Brooklyn Hough, who says she’s a Tops employee and is now dealing with mental health issues.

According to the National Compassion Fund, the administrator of the survivor’s fund, a portion of the money has already been released, as advanced payments, to families of five of the 10 victims who were killed and the three who were injured.

“We should be right at the top with everyone else, I can’t work, he can’t work, she can’t work, so how are we supposed to live,” Douglas said.

But, according to the current proposed protocol for the fund, survivors who are suffering from psychological trauma cannot get advanced payments and need to apply for funds next month.

“A lot people say why does it take so long?” Jeff Dion, executive director of the National Compassion Fund, “First we collect all the money and see how much we get, then the steering committee can make informed decisions about what they can do.”

Dion acknowledges that there have been disagreements on who should be deemed a survivor and whether people who live in the area should qualify.

In order to confirm someone was a survivor, Dion says those people will be to be validated by police and/or Tops.

“The best way for us to validate is to validate their presence, if they’re an employee, we’ll validate their presence with Tops, if they were present as a customer or just someone who was in the parking lot we’ll validate their presence with law enforcement,” Dion said.

He adds that the fund needs to follow state gifting laws and make sure they don’t impact any Medicaid recipients negatively.

Fundraising for the survivor’s fund isn’t expected to close until mid-September, with payments being made into the fall on a rolling basis. The application process will be online. For those who want to see changes to the process, Dion recommends people make their voices heard.

“Come to the town hall, tonight we want to hear from you, anyone who wants to be involved in this process can be involved in the process,” Dion said, “That’s why it’s so important that we put this work in up front to give everybody a chance to understand and weigh in on what the rules will be governing eligibility and distribution of these funds.”

The steering committee for the Buffalo Survivor’s Fund will decide what the final rules are. The final protocol will be released next week. Business leaders and community leaders such as Bills legend Thurman Thomas and his wife, Patti sit on the committee.

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) — On Wednesday, Governor Hochul announced her plans for a pandemic after-action review to determine how the state can be better prepared for any emergency. One major topic for investigation is nursing home deaths handled at the height of the pandemic.

“Because this is gonna be thorough, this is for the ages.. Identify strengths, best practices as well as deficiencies, provide key recommendations and prepare a planning guide for the state to use in future emergencies,” said Governor Hochul.

Republican lawmakers say Hochul is stalling covid report

Many criticized the former administration under former Governor Andrew Cuomo. Over two years ago, Cuomo issued a directive sending 9000 COVID-19-positive patients into nursing home facilities. According to the NYS Comptroller’s office, the number of senior deaths in those facilities was understated by at least 4100. Lawmakers and families continue to seek justice for those they lost and want to ensure this never happens again.

Right now the Governor’s office is taking bids for law firms to look into what went right and what went wrong. This investigation could start early to mid-November, roughly the same time as the general election. This has some thinking the Governors strategies are politically motivated. 

New York’s true nursing home death toll cloaked in secrecy

“Regardless of the politics we want to take this seriously, we want this to be a serious investigation with subpoena power to make sure that we can get to the truth. And because she’s broadened the scope of the investigation, we don’t want the nursing home piece to get lost in there. We want that also to be a hyperfocus of the investigation,” said Assemblymember Ron Kim.

The Assembly member along with Senator Jim Tedisco proposed legislation for an Independent Investigation of COVID-19 related nursing home deaths, which did not pass this session. Until this investigation is complete, Tedisco has concerns with the Governor extending her emergency powers, “We don’t need one person making all the decisions right now especially on a holistic evaluation and investigation. We need a bipartisan, nonpartisan investigation where both sides are involved, and those family members are involved. Believe me those family members aren’t going away without getting the information.”

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) — Chief John Faso of the Niagara Falls Police Department is looking for new recruits to fill out his department. With many members of his force preparing for retirement, he’s anticipating filling vacancies with good men and women who are interested in law enforcement.

To learn more about the criteria and requirements for the NFPD’s police academy, click here or visit the found it on 4 tab.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A former Erie County Sheriff’s Office jail deputy will have a one-year conditional discharge following charges for cocaine possession.

45-year-old John A. Gugino of Hamburg received the sentence Thursday morning. As part of it, he will pay a $205 fine and was ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.

Gugino was stopped by the Erie County Sheriff’s Office at approximately 10:30 p.m. on October 17, 2020 and was subject to a search warrant, where deputies found a small quantity of cocaine in the car. He was initially charged with felony possession of cocaine but further testing determined that the weight of the cocaine was a misdemeanor level. He pleaded guilty to one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, a misdemeanor.

Gugino was off-duty at the time of his arrest. He was terminated on June 10, 2022.

Latest in crime news:

LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that their canine, Atom, received a donation of a bullet and stab proof protective vest.

The donation came from the non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s Inc., which was founded in 2009 with the goal of providing vests to police dogs and other forms of assistance to the approximately 30,000 canines in the country. The vest is custom-fitted and made in the U.S. Each vest has a value of $1,744 to $2,283. The organization has donated over 4,700 vests across the country at a value of nearly $7 million.

State parole officer accused of planting evidence

“I appreciate the generous donation of a best from Vested Interest in K9s. K9 Atom will be well-protected while he is serving the residents of Niagara County,” said Sheriff Michael Filicetti.

The organization accepts donations from the public and a donation of $960 will sponsor one vest. For more information, click here.

TOWN OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Town of Tonawanda Police Department is receiving a $287,000 grant from the state.

“The allotment of funds will make it easier for officers to do their jobs for us,” Assemblyman Bill Conrad said. “It will also spare the town taxpayers a full burden of equipment upgrades and program enhancements.”

Those upgrades and enhancements are coming in the form of license plate readers and mounted radar units, allowing police to better locate stolen vehicles and stop speeding drivers.

According to Tonawanda police, complaints about speeders and stolen vehicles have gone up since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A 23-year-old man from Springville is headed behind bars for eight years for critically injuring a man, who later died, during a fight.

Tyler Rehrauer, also known as Tyler Lux-Rehrauer, got into a physical fight outside his home on December 7, 2020, around 2:20 a.m. on Greenwood Place in Springville with 43-year-old Patrick Flynn. Flynn was critically injured in the fight and later died at Erie County Medical Center, according to the Erie County District Attorney’s Office.

An autopsy done by the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Flynn died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Rehrauer pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter on May 17.

Following release from prison, the 23-year-old will be subject to five years of supervision.

Erie County District Attorney John Flynn has no relation to the victim, in this case, the DA’s office said.

OLCOTT, N.Y. (WIVB) — The beach advisory for Olcott Beach has been rescinded once again.

The Niagara County Department of Health says the water there is now safe for swimming after a sample was taken on July 20.

“The Niagara County Department of Health will continue to monitor water quality closely and will immediately notify the public of any problems associated with water quality,” the Department of Health said.

HARTLAND, N.Y. (WIVB) — A 68-year-old man is dead after he collided with a tree in the Town of Hartland Thursday morning.

The man was the only one in the vehicle when he veered off Ridge Road and hit a tree, according to the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office.

When crews arrived on the scene, the man was rescued from the vehicle and was unresponsive. Despite efforts by patrols, Mercy Ambulance and Mercy Flight Helicopter crews, the man died at the scene.

Lockport man dies after motorcycle accident with deer

The Niagara County Accident Investigation Unit is investigating the crash.

The name of the victim hasn’t been released pending family notification.