Genesee County Jail

The story this morning of an inmate who died while in Genesee County Jail custody had a familiar ring to it for a local man who spent four months in the jail back in 2001.

After developing apparent health problems, it took the Batavia resident days to get in to see a nurse, he said, and then she told him he had hemorrhoids and sent him back to his cell.

Days later and after more complaints, she saw him again and gave him suppositories.

After a month of illness and little to no treatment by jail staff, the man said, he collapsed on the jailhouse floor and was taken by ambulance to UMMC.

There, Dr. Bernard Asher found that he had advanced colitis and would soon lose his colon without proper treatment. He was transferred to ECMC for acute hospital care.

The local resident asked that we not use his name to protect his privacy, but he provided us with documentation to support his claim (PDF).

He said he came forward not because he's looking to embarrass anybody at the jail or in the Sheriff's Office, but he just thought people should know what he went through in light of the report on Nikko Gambino's death.

"I'm just saying something like this happened," the man said. "I was diagnosed the wrong way. It wasn't right, but I don't want to get back at them right now."

A year ago, the man spent two weekends in jail on a second-degree harassment charge (he sent a couple of text messages that he shouldn't have sent, he said) and said the same nurse that he saw in 2001 was still working at the jail.

In 2001, the man was jailed on an attempted burglary charge, which stemmed not from a theft case, but because he entered the dwelling of his ex-wife and child without permission, which was a violation of a court order.

"It was a domestic case," he said. "I was young and stupid and chasing love, or what I thought was love."

He eventually spent 20 months in state prison and was on parole for three years.

He said when he saw the Gambino story, he thought, "Man this is crazy and I know what it's like. I'm sure they didn't give him the treatment he needed."

He said he's seen correction officers deny some inmates a chance to see a nurse.

"I'm never a jerk and I understand COs are just doing their jobs," he said. "Other inmates, if a CO had a problem with them, the person wouldn't get to see a nurse.

"I think if you want to see a nurse, you should be able to see a nurse -- to see if you have a problem," he added.

The former inmate said his symptoms during the month prior to his hospitalization included a 40-pound weight loss, severe abdominal pain, blood in his stool and the loss of a lot of blood, yet he was only allowed to see a physician after he collapsed from not eating or drinking and all the pain.

He said if he'd sued back then, maybe he could have saved a life.

"I met with Charlie Mancuso," he said. "We talked about it. He was going to file a suit, but he never did and then he passed away. I never pursued anything (after he passed)."

Sheriff Gary Maha is not familiar with this particular case at this point, but he would look into it if the man would come forward and talk with him. He said everything is documented and he would investigate the complaint if given more information.

We asked Maha if he's received complaints outside of this case and the Gambino case from inmates who say they're not getting proper medical care.

"You always get complaints," Maha said. "They feel they want the best surgeon in the State of New York and the taxpayers are supposed to pay for it. That’s not the case. We give them whatever services are needed and prescribed by the doctor. If you come into the jail and say you need a new pair of glasses, we’re not going to give you a new pair of glasses unless a doctor says you need a new pair of glasses."

Maha said it costs taxpayers about $200,000 a year to provide medical care to inmates at the Genesee County Jail.

"Everyday people come through there who abused drugs or have mental health issues," Maha said. "It’s a difficult population to deal with and it’s a costly population to deal with. It’s something we try to manage as best we can."

Following the Gambino case, Maha said he met with the jail staff and Director Ed Minardo and new procedures and protocols have been developed.

All opiate use and withdrawal cases are monitored now on a daily basis, he said, and all medical procedures have been examined and updated.

He said he is confident in the skill and training of the jail's medical staff.

"They’ve been around a long time and they've been in business a long time," Maha said. "Thye’re a good staff. Again, we have to update the protocols, but they give a lot better care to an inmate in the jail than they would get on the street, I can tell you that."

UPDATE: Looking back over things this morning, I feel I should note that Dr. Asher's note contradicts the recollection of the source in two ways. The health issue was ongoing for two months before Dr. Asher saw the patient, and Dr. Asher notes that the patient additionally received two visits to the ER, which also failed to lead to a diagnosis of colitis.

UPDATE: The source explains, he doesn't think it was a whole two months, but it may have been longer than a month. His two trips to the ER occurred after his mother contacted his primary care physician and the physician requested the visits, he said. He also confirmed he believes he was misdiagnosed at the ER on those two visits.

The Genesee County Jail medical staff is being accused of mishandling the medical needs of an inmate going through narcotics withdrawal prior to his death while in custody in July.

Nikko C. Gambino, 42, was originally arrested for impersonating law enforcement officers. He was later accused of smuggling drugs into the jail while on weekend incarcerations.

The NYS Commission of Correction investigated Gambino's death and a report obtained by the Democrat and Chronicle through a FOIL request is critical of jail medical staff.

Specifically, nurses who allegedly missed “florid signs and symptoms of worsening acute withdrawal."

A nurse reportedly refused Gambino his prescribed medication during his weekend incarcerations.

According to the D&C story, Gambino, as a consequence, suffered tremors, sweats, hallucinations and delirium, but nursing staff allegedly failed to recognize the signs of withdrawal and the need for medical attention.

Gambino's family has reportedly filed a lawsuit against the county over his death.

The Batavian requested a statement from Sheriff Gary Maha about the report, but he has been in meetings all morning and has been unable to respond.

UPDATE 2 p.m.:  Here is a statement from Sheriff Gary Maha on the report:

Sorry for the delay in responding. I have been in meetings since early this morning. I really can't comment too much with regard to the Commission of Correction report as a lot of it deals with the medical condition of the inmate. However, we disagree with several portions of the report. It is easy to Monday morning quarterback situations such as this and the Commission is known for criticizing jails and jail staff whenever there is a death in a jail. We do not agree with Commission use of such verbiage as "gross incompetent" and "gross negligence" as they describe the actions of our medical staff. Our medical staff is not incompetent and did not act with gross negligence. This is the Commission's language and is not based upon any determination of fact. Mr. Gambino was a drug user and abuser which also, in my opinion, played a part in his death. The time period from when jail staff saw Mr. Gambino, where he appeared to be okay, to the time he was found unresponsive was only approximately twenty minutes.

We did receive the preliminary report from  the Commission back in December 2012 and shortly thereafter I met with my Jail Superintendent and Medical Staff to discuss the content of the report. We did implement some of the recommendations outlined in the report and are in the process of reviewing and upgrading all of our medical standards.

For previous stories about Gambino, click here.

For 35 years Bob Zehler has enjoyed his work and his coworkers, but the time has come to hang up his badge, he said.

"I'm not quite ready, but now is the time to get out while I still like the place," Zahler said.

Today, in the basement of the jail, coworkers, colleagues and friends gathered for lunch and cake to celebrate Zahler's career.

Many years ago, the Sheriff's Office switched from hiring deputies to work in the jail to hiring corrections officers. Zahler, a supervisor, is the last deputy sheriff to work in the jail.

As for retirement, the Bethany native said he'll spend more time with his 87-year-old mother, complete remodeling his home -- a project he started 20 years ago -- and take care of some neglected work around the family farm.

With Zahler, left in the photo, is the current director of the jail, Ed Minardo.

Press release:

The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office recently filled two vacant correction officer positions with the hiring of Michael J. Robinson and Michael E. Glow. These two correction officers graduated in a class of 20 from the Erie County Basic Corrections Academy yesterday, April 26, 2012.

The speakers at the graduation were Erie County Undersheriff Mark Wipperman and Erie County Deputy Executive Richard Tobe. Training at the academy included instruction in the care and custody of inmates, inmate supervision, defensive tactics, firearms training, and other topics pertaining to corrections.

Correction Officer Michael J. Robinson is a 2000 high school regents graduate from Oakfield-Alabama Central School and a 2003 graduate from Genesee Community College with an Applied Associate Degree in Criminal Justice. C.O. Robinson was previously employed as a mental health therapy aide for the New York State Office of Mental Health and as a security guard for Batavia Downs. C.O. Robinson enjoys roller and ice hockey and is Booster Chairman of American Legion Post 626 in Alabama, New York. He is a current resident of Elba.

Correction Officer Michael E. Glow is a 1998 graduate from Batavia High School and a 2002 graduate from Hilbert College with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice. C.O. Glow was previously employed as a collector for Admin Recovery, Creditors Interchange, Evans Law & Everest Receivable as well as being a foster care attendant for Genesee County Social Services. C.O. Glow is affiliated with Hometown Hoops for Hope and is a basketball counselor at YMCA’s Camp Hough and at Hilbert College’s basketball camp. He is a current resident of Batavia.

Sheriff Maha stated, “Correction officers Robinson and Glow are great assets to the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office Jail Division. They are both very dedicated, hard-working, and responsible employees. We are pleased to have them as part of our team."

The phone system for the Genesee County Jail is out of service for technical reasons.

Repair crews are on scene.

Emergency contact with the jail can be made through the dispatch center at 343-5000.

Kurt Hamilton Hawkins Jr., 18, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with assault, 2nd. Hawkins, an inmate at the Genesee County Jail, is accused of assaulting another inmate at 4:26 p.m., Thursday. The alleged victim was treated at ECMC where he was held overnight for observation.

Sandra Louis Chilano, 51, of Dodgeson Road, Alexander, is charged with petit larceny. Chilano is accused of stealing $100 while employed at Alexander Deli as a clerk.

Ryan Christopher Riggi, 16, of Ridge Road, Lyndonville, was arrested on a warrant issued by Batavia City Drug Court. Riggi was jailed on $100,000 bail.

Samual Christopher Dilcher, 28, of Lewiston Road, Oakfield, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Dilcher was arrested following a complaint of harassment at 2:10 a.m., Sunday on Park Road in Batavia.

Samual Christopher Dilcher, 28, of Lewiston Road, Oakfield, is charged with criminal mischief 4th. Dilcher is accused of smashing the driver-side window out of a pickup truck during an argument at a location on Park Road, Batavia. He is is also charged with trespass. Dilcher was allegedly involved in an incident Nov. 20 in the Batavia Downs parking lot. Upon further investigation Deputy Joseph Graff came to believe that Dilcher had been previously banned from Batavia Downs property.

Christopher Jordan Rhodes, 41, of Transit Road, Wyoming, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI and failure to keep right. Rhodes was stopped at 2:01 a.m., Sunday, on Lewiston Road, Batavia, by Sgt. Brian Frieday.

Zachary Michael Rebert, 20, of South Pearl Street, Oakfield, is charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, 2nd, and harassment, 2nd. Rebert is accused of getting into a domestic dispute with a woman, pushing her several times and then taking her car without her consent. Rebert was jailed on $5,000 bail.

John Edward Bird, 70, of Barrville Road, Elba, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to stop at a stop sign, moving from lane unsafely and driving left of pavement markings. Bird was stopped at 9:43 P.M., Saturday, on Chapel Road, Byron, by Deputy Jason Saile.

The widow of a Wyoming County man who died while in custody of the Genesee County jail has filed paperwork that paves the way for a possible lawsuit against Genesee County, the Democrat & Chronicle reported this morning.

A doctor who was treating Nikko Gambino questions whether Gambino -- who changed his name at some point from Robert Goering -- was given safe access to his prescription medication.

"When somebody is incarcerated you have a responsibility to avoid doing things to them that are going to lead to them dying," said (Dr. Thomas) Walters, a physician based in Livonia. "This is a predictable, preventable death."

Whether Walters' belief is true — namely, that negligence contributed to Gambino's death — could be answered by his autopsy. That autopsy, which would include toxicology results, has yet to be finalized, according to a Genesee County coroner.

As is required in all in-custody deaths, the NYS Commission of Corrections is conducting its own investigation into Gambino's death.

Gambino's wife, Holly Gambino, last month filed a notice of intent to sue the county, alleging in court papers that the death was caused "by withdrawal and other illnesses from medications wrongfully and negligently withheld and/or disallowed by the Jail."

Gambino first made the news locally when he was arrested in September 2010 for impersonating federal law enforcement agents.

He was serving an intermittent sentence in July on that conviction when he was arrested for allegedly smuggling drugs into the jail in a body cavity.

The D&C article says some or all of those drugs were his own prescription medication, which he was allegedly not being allowed to lawfully bring into the jail.

County officials were not able to comment on the case because of possible pending litigation.

Investigators have yet to determine the cause of death of 42-year-old Nikko C. Gambino, an inmate of the Genesee County Jail, who died Friday after being transported to UMMC.

Gambino was reportedly going through withdrawals from drugs and suffered various other medical issues, according to Sheriff Gary Maha.

Medical examiners have yet to determine the cause of death and are conducting an autopsy.

Gambino most recently made news locally after he was caught allegedly smuggling drugs into the jail. In that case, the search warrant was executed at UMMC, where Gambino reportedly had to pass the drugs before they could be recovered.

At the time, the Covington resident was serving an intermittent jail sentence for impersonating a federal law enforcement officer.

In a press release, Maha said Gambino was being closely monitored by corrections officers and medical personnel because of his health issues.

On Friday, at 2:12 p.m., a corrections officer spoke with Gambino who reportedly motioned he was OK. At 2:26 p.m., an officer making his rounds "noticed that Mr. Gambino wasn't doing well," Maha said.

The officer summoned assistance and another corrections officer administered CPR.

Gambino was transported to UMMC by Mercy EMS. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at 3:05 p.m.

As required by regulations, the NYS Commission of Corrections was notified immediately of Gambino's death. The commission will conduct its own investigation, as required by law.

There is no sign of foul play, Maha said.

The inability of the Genesee County Jail to house female prisons continues to create an expense and drain of resources for the Sheriff's Office, according to Sheriff Gary Maha.

Monday, Maha informed the County Legislator's Public Service Committee that the cost of housing female prisoners in other counties is going to be $30,000 more than anticipated.

That's the bad news. The good news is, Genesee County Jail has been getting additional federal prisoners for short-term detention. So while the county anticipated $10,000 in revenue from the Border Patrol and Federal Marshals, the actual figure will be closer to $30,000 or $35,000.

But keeping female prisoners in out-of-county facilities has a cost that doesn't show up on a balance sheet -- the only means of transporting female prisoners is to use a designated road patrol.

Deputies must shuttle inmates from Genesee County to Orleans County, or Wyoming or Allegany.

And a deputy on prison transport is a deputy who isn't on patrol.

Ideally, the Sheriff's Office would have a dedicated prisoner transport team, Maha said, but that just isn't a realistic proposal right now.

"Unfortunately we have to live with it, with the resources we have, with the situation the county is in economically," Maha said.

Orleans charges the county $70 per day per prisoner to house Genesee's female inmates.

Because Orleans County jail is closest to Batavia, the Sheriff's office prefers to keep detainees not yet convicted and with pending court dates at that facility.

Convicted prisoners are housed primarily in Allegany County.

Sometimes, however, Orleans runs out of space, and deputies are dispatched there to pick up one of Genesee County's female prisoners and move her to Allegany County.

Maha said he is particularly worried about what the impact will be on the jail if Genesee Justice is eliminated.

"They help us manage our jail population," Maha said. "We have a very efficient operation."

Genesee Justice helps with prisoners who need medical care and it also manages programs that provide alternatives to incarceration. Maha said he is concerned that without Genesee Justice, the local male prison population will outgrow available bed space.

He plans on addressing that issue with the County Legislature at a public hearing on the budget at 6 p.m., Wednesday, in the County Courthouse.

A corrections officer at the Genesee County Jail was injured Sunday when an inmate allegedly bit his finger.

Charged with a felony count of assault on a peace officer is Keith Joseph Lyman, 37, of High Street in Brockport.

The officer, Kelly Creegan, was treated at UMMC for a lacerated finger, which required sutures. Creegan also lost his finger nail on his right ring finger as a result of the alleged assault.

The alleged attacked occurred about 9:15 p.m. as Creegan escorted Lyman back to his cell from the law library.

Lyman was in jail on an aggravated harassment charge.

The new charge against Lyman is a Class C felony.

Batavia City Council members have some concerns about a Sheriff's Office proposal to build an emergency holding area for prisoners north of the Genesee County Jail in a current parking area and driveway immediately off Porter Avenue.

The need for the emergency evacuation area is being mandated by the state -- the jail needs a place to put detainees in an emergency situation where they must leave the jailhouse.

The holding area would be surrounded by a chainlink fence, and the county requires an easement from the city to install it.

Councilman Bill Cox raised the concern that in a few years the jail may very well move -- perhaps to a joint facility with Orleans County -- and the proposed evacuation area wouldn't be needed. But if the city grants a permanent easement, it may not be able to get the land back.

He wants the county to agree to remove any structures at its own expense should the need for the facility change.

Councilman Bob Bialkowski raised an issue about limited parking. Currently, the county has 11 parking spaces in the proposed holding area. That parking, apparently, would be pushed into space now used by the Batavia Police Department.

The council asked for more information before voting on the easement proposal at its next business meeting.

Photo Illustration: Satellite image from Google Maps of the jail and police building. The highlighted area is approximately where the holding area would be. This is not an official government document or actual representation of the fence line.