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County government involves a $140 million budget, more than 700 employees in 27 departments, guided by a myriad of state and local laws, a tiered committee and commission structure and covering topics as diverse as criminal justice, mental health, roads and bridges and government assistance programs.

It would be impossible for any new member of the Genesee County Legislature to "hit the ground running."

The shared wisdom among local government observers is it takes at least a year to get even a basic knowledge of how the county operates.

With that in mind, the Legislature's newest member, Darien's Mike Davis, is taking a measured approach to learning his new job.

He's attending every committee meeting he can, making the rounds to various county departments and listening and reading.

"I need to learn what it's all about," Davis said. "I need to go to all of them (committee meetings) right now to understand the breadth of what's going on. Jay (Gsell, county manager) has taken me to on maybe a one-third tour of the county departments to meet the department heads and employees, and I'll continue to do that. We're going to schedule another one next week. I'll try to see who all these people are -- some 700 employees -- and figure out who does what and where."

Davis was a town justice in Darien and he said he's taking the same approach he did when first appointed to the bench: work hard and learn.

"I think I use common sense, and that's how I'm going to approach this," Davis said.

Davis's first committee assignment is Human Services, taking the slot once filled by Annie Lawrence, who is now supervisor in the Town of Pembroke.

Appointed to the office, he'll run for election in November.

Midmorning some time, agents of Homeland Security, Secret Service, ICE and State Police raided a residence at 3618 Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road, Batavia.

The agents arrived in multiple vehicles including two black vans.

While we were on scene, agents were pulling out large and small green branches. It looked for all the world like they had cut up the family Christmas tree and were stuffing it into large black bags.

An agent on scene said, "I can't tell you anything, except those are not Christmas tree branches."

Agents also carried out boxes.

When we asked a Homeland Security investigator if we could talk to the scene commander, he said we would need to contact the public information office for information. He provided a phone number. That number is nothing but an endless loop of voice prompts, making it impossible to speak to a real person or even leave a message.

We're are continuing to try and track down further information.  

UPDATE 11:02 a.m.: Reviewing my pictures from the scene at higher magnification on the computer, the branches appear to be marijuana plants stripped of leaves (one branch still has some leaves on it, and they look like marijuana leaves). Will have pictures posted shortly.

UPDATE noon: Karen Wisnowski, spokeswoman for Homeland Security in Buffalo, confirmed there is an ongoing investigation in a joint operation between Homeland Security, Secret Service and State Police, but could not comment further. She said the case is under a court-ordered seal at this time. More information will be released once the seal is lifted.

UPDATE 5:10 p.m.: We checked in with Karen Wisnowski. No new information available yet.

While the Department of Labor is boasting of 30,000 new jobs in New York in December, Genesee County was apparently not part of the boon.

The county lost 200 jobs from December 2013 to December 2014, according to the latest figures released by the DoL.

There were 21,900 jobs in the county last month, according to the report.

The nation as a whole added 240,000 jobs during the period and the national unemployment rate has dipped to 5.6 percent. New York's rate is 5.8 percent. The county's latest rate is not yet available.

During the same period, Wyoming County lost 100 jobs, down to 13,100. 

For jobs numbers, Orleans and Livingston counties are included in the Rochester count, which totals 129,200 jobs, down 200 from a year ago.

Buffalo-Niagara, however, added 800 new jobs, up to 558,400.

Here's the DoL's press release on the jobs report:

In December 2014, New York State’s private sector job count increased by 30,100, or 0.4 percent, to 7,638,200, reaching a new all-time high and outpacing the nation’s growth. Since the beginning of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration, the state’s economy has added 535,600 private sector jobs and experienced employment growth in 41 of the past 48 months. This period included 22 consecutive months of private sector job growth, the state’s longest streak on record (current data go back to 1990).

The statewide unemployment rate in New York declined from 5.9 percent to 5.8 percent in December 2014, reaching its lowest level since September 2008, according to preliminary figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor. In addition, New York City’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.3 percent, remaining at its lowest level since October 2008.

The state’s private sector job count is based on a payroll survey of 18,000 New York employers conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Monthly payroll employment estimates are preliminary and subject to revision as more data becomes available the following month. The federal government calculates New York’s unemployment rate partly based upon the results of the Current Population Survey, which contacts approximately 3,100 households in New York State each month.

“In December 2014, New York State’s economy experienced its largest monthly private sector job gain in two years and outpaced the nation. In addition, the state’s unemployment rate continued its recent downward trend in December,” said Bohdan M. Wynnyk, deputy director of the Division of Research and Statistics.

Imagine a country with only one kind of cheese. If you can, you're thinking of Russia in the aftermath of the fall of communism.

That was the situation Tony Kutter found on his first trip in 1995 to the former Soviet Union as part of a trade exchange program to help aspiring Russian entrepreneurs learn how to start cheesemaking businesses.

Who better to teach how to make and market more than one kind of cheese than the 81-year-old Corfu resident who is a former owner of Kutter's Cheese, a cheesemaker with a reputation for developing dozens of varieties of cheese.

That's what leaders of the exchange program thought after Kutter volunteered for the assignment and his resume landed on their desks.

It was one of Kutter's suppliers who suggested he apply for the volunteer position.

"He said, 'just send in your resume,' so I did," Kutter said. "I did and as soon as I did they responded right away. 'Oh, this is the one we're looking for.' "

Working through Agricultural Cooperative Development International, Overseas Cooperation Assistance and Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs, all three nonprofit, private organizations based in Washington, D.C., Kutter made 31 trips to Russia over a 12-year span.

Batavia's own Barber Conabel, then president of the World Bank, was among the first to suggest Kutter write a book about his experiences during those many trips.

"He said, 'you've got to write a book,' " Kutter said. "He said, 'I don't know anyone who has been there 31 times and all over Russia.' "

The book is published now and it's called "Cheese in the Time of Glasnost and Perestroika."

Kutter tells the tales, recalls the tribulations and revisits the sometimes sad family histories of the people he met while helping to build cheese plants, instructing cheesemakers on marketing, and sharing with them the recipes for any variety of cheese from munster to gouda to cheese curds.

"I got over there and said, 'geez, you make one kind of cheese and it ain't very damn good,' " Kutter said. "So I took about 20 varieties over from our cheese factory and told them, 'tell me what you want to make and I'll show you how to do it.' "

The organizations sponsoring these missions -- and there were many -- wanted to help Russia transition from a command economy to a market economy and help open up the country to U.S. goods and services. American companies helped sponsor the programs in the hopes of developing a new market.

Goals that haven't exactly been met.

His first mission was to help start a cheese factory in St. Petersburg. This mission was also Kutter's first introduction to Russian bureaucracy and the national penchant to operate on bribery.

Organizations sponsoring Kutter's trips purchased supplies for the new factory and Kutter arrived at the border with the equipment. 

A customs official wanted to know, "What the heck is this stuff?"

It's for making cheese, Kutter told him.

The official went through the boxes and proclaimed, "This isn't humanitarian aid. You falsified the papers."  

The fine was $75,000.

Kutter returned to the U.S. without the new factory in place, but when he returned a few months later, the factory was ready to start making cheese. All of the new equipment was installed and ready to go.

He wanted to know how it happened.

"Let's not get into that," he was told. "That's not for you to know."

Kutter added, "everything in Russia is predicated on a bribe. It's still that way."

Sadly, the St. Petersburg factory went bankrupt after two years, but others Kutter helped start are still operational.

In his travels, Kutter was often invited into the homes of his Russian hosts and he often quizzed the older Russians about life under the former Soviet regime.

When Stalin died, Kutter was serving in the Army in Korea and he remembers reading in "Stars and Stripes" about people weeping in the streets, so he asked one old Russian gentleman, "did you cry when Stalin died?"

The man said, no. He wasn't really all that saddened by the brutal dictator's death.

The man told Kutter, "I put spit in my eyes so it looked like I was crying."

Kutter had dinner with a woman whose husband was taken to Siberia during Khrushchev's rule.

The couple had eight children. The man's crime? He took a bag of grain so he could feed his family.

The mother wrote her husband every day, but never got a reply.  They assumed the letters were getting to him, but that he wasn't allowed to respond.

In 1975, after Brezhnev became chairman, she received a letter informing her that her husband "had been killed unnecessarily." The package contained all the letters she had ever sent him.

"I can tell dozens of stories like that," Kutter said.

In the town of Perm, Kutter helped establish a cheese factory and taught the owners how to make a great variety of cheeses, all of which most Russians had never even tried.

He told his hosts that with these great cheeses ready to sell, they needed a way to market them. Thinking of the booming tourist business Kutter's has always done in Pembroke, Kutter suggested they set up a sample table at City Hall. 

As a condition of the permit, Kutter had to speak Russian. Fortunately, he had hired for the plant in Pembroke a woman who was a Russian translator, and she had been tutoring him on his Russian.

"I can speak enough Russian," he told them, "to say, 'I'm from America and I'm working at this cheese plant right here in your city and we developed these new variety of cheese and so perhaps you can try some and tell me what you think.' "

The people came out of the woodwork, Kutter said.

"One woman said to me, 'why are you giving all this stuff away?' " Kutter said.

He told her, "We want to introduce it to you."

She replied, "In Russia, if somebody is giving something away, it usually means it isn't any good."

The Russians liked the free cheese, but that didn't mean they were buying cheese at first.

"I asked one woman, 'would you buy this cheese?' and she asked me what we were selling it for, and I told her, and she said, 'you know, I'd really like to but, no, I wouldn't buy it.' She said, 'I don't have a lot of money, so I would save my money and buy a dress because when I go out in public they can see what I wear, but they can't see what I ate.' "

Asked if he felt he had any lasting impact on Russia, or left a legacy, Kutter demurs.

"I'm just a little old cheese maker," he said.

A little later he came back to the question and recalled the time a sales rep came into the Kutter's factory and asked him if he had heard about the cheese curds recall in Russia.  

"I thought," Kutter said, "there never was any cheese curds in Russia until I went there, so I must have had some effect."

"Cheese in the Time of Glasnost and Perestroika," by Tony Kutter, is normally on sale at the Holland Land Office Museum, but they just sold out. More copies are expected soon. 

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) today called for the resignation and removal of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Hawley said Silver’s resignation is necessary to preserve the integrity of the office and keep focus on the importance of the upcoming budget negotiations.  

“Speaker Silver owes it to his legislative colleagues, the State of New York and his tens of thousands of constituents to step down as speaker,” Hawley said. “Speaker Silver owes the public an explanation for his actions, and it would be outrageous and irresponsible to allow him to continue his Assembly duties while he faces a possible indictment for corruption charges. It is time for members of the Assembly Majority to do the right thing and elect new leadership that will serve our state with a greater sense of honor and dignity. We have important business to conduct as public representatives, and the upcoming budget negotiations deserve our utmost attention. Silver’s resignation would allow us to continue the people’s business.”

Hawley’s comments come after Silver turned himself in to the FBI this morning following an investigation about incomplete financial disclosures required by state law.

Lauren Charache Duane Charache

Two people have been arrested in connection with a series of vehicle thefts in Le Roy, but the arrests only potentially solve two of the crimes, according to Le Roy PD.

Lauren E. Charache, 35, and Duane J. Charache, 31, both of 115 Myrtle St., Le Roy, are charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 3rd, two counts of criminal possession of stolen property, 4th, and one count of criminal mischief, 4th.

Batavia PD first arrested Lauren Charache on Jan. 8 after she was allegedly found in possession of a stolen vehicle. She was charged in Batavia of criminal possession of stolen property, 2nd.

Le Roy investigators say Lauren possessed the same vehicle on that same day in the Village of Le Roy, leading to another criminal possession of stolen property charge.

Both Duane and Lauren possessed one of the vehicles, police say, and it was allegedly damaged through reckless use. The value of the damage exceeds $250.

A third vehicle theft remains under investigation.

Lauren was jailed on $10,000 bail and Duane was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

By Tom Rivers, Orleans Hub

In 1965, a year before Genesee Community College officially started, Carl and Bernice Yunker took up the challenge to help create the college.

They talked to neighbors and friends, and local town and county officials. The idea wasn’t popular. People worried their taxes would go up with a new community college.

The Yunkers and other GCC supporters were able to convince the public to back the effort. The Yunkers’ son, Craig, observed his parents a half century ago and their push to make GCC a reality.

He is taking a turn in the spotlight now, working to rally friends and neighbors, and the general public on behalf of GCC. The college is planning a $20 million-plus project, its most ambitious since its beginning.

Yunker is the chairman of the fund-raising campaign that seeks $5 million in donations from the public. Donors have already stepped forward with $4 million.

“This campaign will change this college,” Yunker said during a campaign kickoff on Wednesday evening with about 100 GCC supporters. “It will propel it for the next 50 years.”

The college in the spring expects to start site work on two buildings – a 9,000-square-foot “Student Success Center” and 43,000-square-foot “College and Community Event Center.”

GCC also is working to raise $1 million for scholarships. That endowed fund will allow GCC to offer financial help to 80 to 100 local students each year.

For more of this story, visit OrleansHub.com.

Photo by Howard Owens.

Robert Propst

A Batavia man with several prior arrests admitted in County Court on Wednesday to stealing another person's wallet at knifepoint in August.

Robert J. Probst, 34, of Maple Street, pled guilty to robbery, 2nd. 

As a prior felony offender, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Probst was arrested in October, accused of confronting a 22-year-old victim on Pearl Street and taking his wallet.

Over the past few years, Probst has been arrested on various lesser charges in Batavia, but his prior felony offense for sentencing purposes is a 2002 robbery of a business in Batavia.

Leslie R. Parris, 32, of Manor Parkway, Rochester, is charged with burglary, 2nd, robbery, 3rd, and criminal mischief, 4th. Parris was picked up on a warrant stemming from an alleged Nov. 26 incident in which Parris is accused of making forced entry into a residence and stealing a mobile phone. Parris was held without bail pending another court appearance.

Andrew Hollis Nickerson Jr., 26, of Livingston Avenue, Jamestown, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, uninspected motor vehicle and driver's view obstructed. Nickerson was stopped at 8:20 a.m. Wednesday on East Main Street, Batavia, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Joseph C. Jeffords, 23, of Ross Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant stemming from a petit larceny charge. Jeffords turned himself in. He allegedly failed to appear on the charge previously. He was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Gregory A. Cole II, 22, of New York Street, Rochester, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear on a theft of services charge. Cole was located by Rochester PD and turned over to BPD. He was arraigned and jailed on $1,000 bail.

Woodrow C. Horseman, 38, no permanent address, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant stemming from a criminal possession of a weapon, 4th, charge. Horseman allegedly failed to comply with conditions of treatment court, so a warrant was issued for his arrest. Horseman was spotted by Officer James Defreze and Det. Eric Hill walking on Ellicott Street and was taken into custody. He was jailed on $100,000 bail.

Ricky A. Marsceill, 50, of East Main Street, Batavia, was arrest on a warrant for alleged failure to appear on a traffic summons. He was located at his residence and taken into custody. He was jailed on $300 bail.

Kristine Szumigala, 41, of Batavia, and Michael A. Balla, 39, of Machias, are charged with conspiracy, 6th, and unlicensed operation, 2nd. A car was reported off the road on State Route 39 in the Town of Castile at 9:09 p.m., Jan. 16. Deputy Aaron Chase, Wyoming County Sheriff's Office, responded to the scene. Szumigala and Balla are accused of conspiring to lie about who was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. Balla was charged with third-degree unlicensed operation, second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, and unsafe lane change.

A tractor-trailer has become entangled in poles and wires along Route 77 just south of Route 5 in Pembroke, though no injuries are reported.

A deputy on scene says that the only thing keeping the truck from rolling over are "these poles and wires."

National Grid is requested to the scene.

UPDATE: Reader submitted photo.

From Assemblyman Steve Hawley:

“A plan to expand broadband Internet access will be beneficial to the more rural parts of my district, and I look forward to hearing more about the proposal. I am concerned that Gov. Cuomo’s small-business tax cut plan is not structured in a manner that allows business owners to expand and hire more employees. The proposed cut is less than one-10th of what the legislature gave to Hollywood film executives to entice them to produce movies in New York State. We need to get our priorities straight and protect family-owned businesses that have been in New York for generations. Furthermore, I am concerned that the governor’s plan does not properly fund agriculture in a way that will protect our farmers and allow their businesses to stay in New York and be passed down from generation to generation.”

From State Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer:

State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer has issued the following statement in response to Governor Cuomo’s State of the State Address and Executive budget proposal:

“In the coming days and weeks, I will be going over the Executive budget proposal with a fine-tooth comb. I am pleased that the Governor has proposed major investments in infrastructure, a new property tax relief program and expanding broadband access in rural communities.” 

“For four years, State budgets have passed on time that closed billions of dollars in deficits by controlling spending and reduced taxes for small businesses and middle-class families.  Our priorities should be to build on this progress, including strengthening our economy, ensuring our children receive a first-rate education and repealing burdensome regulations.”

“The 2015-16 Legislative Session presents us with an unprecedented opportunity to keep New York State moving forward. We cannot afford to allow it to be squandered.”

If you missed the speech, here's coverage from The New York Times.

A budget that drops spending by $300,000, even with a tax increase, is a little more palatable than a budget proposal that increases spending and raises taxes, Councilman Gene Janokowski offered near the end of a budget workshop in City Hall on Tuesday night.

There's an element of the council that agrees with Janokowski's balanced take on the administration's proposed budget, with its property tax increase of 16 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, said Council President Brooks Hawley after the meeting.

There are also those who side with Councilman John Deleo, who is having a hard time accepting the thought of any tax increase.

His senior constituents, many on fixed incomes, and his working constituents who haven't had a raise in pay in years are telling him to say no to a tax increase, he said.

"If I want to keep my seat, I've got to answer up to them," Deleo said.

In response, City Manager Jason Molino said the proposed budget continues the conservative revenue and expenditure projections that have been part of his administration's strategies for the past several years and have helped guide the city into calmer fiscal waters.

"We've stuck to the core fundamentals of budgeting," Molino said. "As long as there are no outliers, no huge unexpected expenses and no big dips in revenue, over a 10-year period, you can expect taxes to fluctuate within 3 percent, up to a 3-percent increase or a 3-percent decrease. Generally, residents can live with minor fluctuations in either direction, but what gets you into trouble (are) 4- and 5- and 6-percent increases."

He cautioned against using reserves to balance the budget because that's what puts municipalities in a bad spot and eventually leads to those big tax increases.

The proposed budget anticipates a continued slump in gas prices, cutting heavily into the 18 percent of the city's sales tax revenue that comes from fuel sales, and doesn't assume growing consumer confidence and greater buying power will necessarily lead to sales tax growth in the retail sector.

For the average homeowner, the tax increase and higher water rate will add up to only $27 a year in added expense, Molino said.

Deleo said he knows that doesn't sound bad, but his constituents want no tax increase under any circumstances.

Hawley said it's too early to predict how the council as a whole will direct Molino to modify the budget, if at all.

"I think the administration as a whole did a good job on the budget, but it's just a proposed budget and this is just our first meeting during the session," Hawley said. "We've still got a couple of months yet to look at it. There are some good things and there are some things we might want to change. For right now, I appreciate the administration coming here tonight and laying everything out in front of us."

The budget workshop is a chance for the city's department heads to explain expenditure requests and for council members to ask questions. The session went from 7 to 9:30 p.m. and included all departments except police and fire, which the council will hear from after Monday's regular meeting.

The proposed budget can be downloaded here (pdf).

Here are some highlights:

• Proposed $318,558 on sidewalks for Redfield Parkway, Allen Street, Holland Avenue, North Street, Olyn Avenue and 27 curb ramps at these locations;
• $201,800 on road resurfacing;
• $217,050 on legal services, including $57,550 prosecutorial services;
• Six upgraded computers and support subscriptions for city computers at $23,544;
• Wireless service for City Hall and citywide IT support, $50,625;
• The summer recreation program, $68,000;
• New roof on the youth center, $25,000;
• Total Youth Services spending, $194,715;
• Budget for the Bureau of Inspection, $329,965;
• In Public Works, a purchase of cab and chassis, $20,000;
• The total street maintenance budget is $607,115;
• Fuel costs, $66,500 for diesel and $21,020 for gasoline;
• Total budget for the Public Works garage, $495,345;
• The total cost of snow removal, $541,830, with $150,360 for sodium chloride, $20,800 for parts and equipment;
• Powering the city's public lights, $220,000, plus another $16,000 to power traffic lights;
• Replacing vandalized park equipment will cost $10,500 for Austin Park slides;
• Tree removal and trimming parks, $25,000; tree replacement, $13,900;
• Total parks budget, $217,150;
• Street cleaning, $39,270;
• The fire department proposed budget is $3.9 million, with $2 million in base salaries, $125,000 in overtime, $139,390 in holiday hours, a $35,000 one-ton utility vehicle, $21,000 in professional development and training, a $549,190 contribution to the state retirement fund, $188,430 for Social Security taxes;
• The police budget is $4 million -- $2.1 million for base salaries, $220,000 for overtime, $12,000 for the emergency response team overtime, $85,000 for holiday pay, $63,360 for two patrol vehicles, $61,000 for gas, $44,870 for uniforms and body armor, $19,000 for travel and training, $38,000 for new officer training, $539,980 for the state retirement fund and $194,340 for Social Security tax, and $434,610 for medical insurance.

Kate Sick of Corfu is today's Flip Ad contest winner. Kate was the fifth person to e-mail us today with today's secret phrase, "Trumbull Cary," which was flipped under the Settler's ad.

We'll send Kate $25.

Watch next week for another Flip Ad contest.

Press release:

The Genesee County Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Directors have announced the selection of Post Dairy Farm, LLC, as the 2014 Genesee County Conservation Farm of the Year. The Post family will be the honored guests of the District at the Celebrate Agriculture Dinner on March 21st at the Alexander Firemen’s Recreation Hall. They will be formally presented with their award at that time.

Post Dairy Farms LLC/ Dan and John Post – Town of Elba
The Posts have been working with the district since 1965. Their dairy consists of about 400 cows and they work about 500 acres. They just recently built a new barn with four robotic milkers; the district was involved with installing drip trenches around the perimeter. Some other conservation practices they have implemented include drain tile, diversion ditches, grassed waterways, covered heavy use area protection, and a wastewater lagoon. (Ken Post – father of Dan and John -- was named Conservation Farmer of the Year in 1973).

Previously: For five generations, farming has been all in the family for the Posts of Elba

File photo: Front row, Dan, John and Ken; and, Laurie and Jeff.

A 39-year-old Rochester man has admitted in federal court that he sold drugs commonly known as bath salts in Batavia and other communities and faces a maximum prison term of 30 years or $2 million fine or both.

Charles Fitzgerald entered a guilty plea to possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute before U.S. District Court Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr.

As part of the plea, Fitzgerald admitted to ownership of the 420 Emporium, once located on Ellicott Street, where substances known as Amped, Pump It, Da Bomb and Mr. Happy were sold.

Shortly after the store opened in the Spring of 2012, local law enforcement officers were responding to a series of calls dealing with people engaging in bizarre behavior. 

By the summer, a number of local residents joined in pickets in front of the store and a rally against bath salts held at a local business.

Federal officials responded as part of a nationwide crackdown on bath salts July 25, 2012, with a raid of the Batavia location as well as Fitzgerald's other 420 Emporium locations.

Fitzgerald lived with Amber Snover, who had previously listed herself on Facebook as the owner of at least two of the 420 locations. Snover was also arrested and agents seized $771,109 in cash at their residence at 221 West Hills Estates, Greece.

The arrests of Fitzgerald, Snover, Joshua Denise (who was listed on state documents as the owner of the Batavia location) and Michelle Condidorio, an employee in Batavia, was the culmination of an investigation that involved undercover buys and an unnamed informant seemingly within Fitzgerald's inner circle.

The substances Fitzgerald sold were synthetic drugs, compounds devised by clandestine laboratories to mimic the highs produced by illicit drugs such as meth, cocaine and marijuana.  

Bath salts were blamed on a rash of unusual behavior across the country, including reports of naked men eating the faces of victims.

Prior to the raids, the federal government listed the known synthetics of the time as analogues to controlled substances, making sales and possession illegal.

While bath salts are known to cause issues locally, including emergency room visits and even possibly one death, bath salt incidents locally dropped off dramatically after the raid and closure of the 420 Emporium.

Three 420 Emporium employees have pled guilty to federal charges and are awaiting sentencing.

“This case demonstrates how by working together, the community and law enforcement can improve the quality of life for all,” said U.S. Attorney William Hochul. “In this case, a rash of emergency room visits due to overdoses of synthetic drugs was brought to our attention by concerned members of the community, including the media. Law enforcement immediately engaged, and within several months, was able to execute search warrants throughout Western New York and make arrests of those selling such illegal and highly dangerous substances. With this conviction, we are able to report that the entire investigation was a success.”

Fitzgerald will be sentenced at 3 p.m. on April 15 by Judge Geraci.

The Batavian provided the most comprehensive, and fastest-breaking news coverage of the bath salt issue in Western New York in 2012. For an archive of those stories, click here.

PHOTO: File photo of cash and drugs seized by federal agents in the raids on July 25, 2012, of the 420 Emporium stores and the owner's residence.

A 16-year-old resident of Sandpit Road, Alexander, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. The youth is accused of confronting a protected person while at Alexander Central School at 7:38 a.m., Tuesday.

Shelley A. Fox, 33, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC .08 or greater and operating in violation of a conditional license. Fox was stopped at midnight Tuesday on East Main Street, Batavia, by Officer Darryle Streeter.

Press release:

“Once again, President Obama used his annual national address to double down on divisive political rhetoric and unrealistic ideas. Rather than focus on policies that brighten the future of the middle class in a sustainable manner, the President has instead, sabotaged success and pitted Americans against one another. The President continues to advocate class warfare, and divide our country. He has repeatedly demonstrated that his idea of a bipartisan solution is his way or the highway.

“What the President failed to address was that this past election, the country spoke loud and clear about the direction we need to take. The result was the strongest Republican House majority since the 1920s, a Republican Senate majority, and Republican control of 68 out of 98 state legislative chambers. Americans recognize that Republicans are focused on creating an environment friendly to job creation through comprehensive tax reform, energy independence, entitlement reform and a patient centered health care system. The President needs to accept this new reality, and find a way to unify the country as we move forward.”