batavia

One of the two men arrested in connection to thefts from local liquor stores, where one man would distract the store clerk and another would enter the back room to steal cash or credit cards, admitted to his crimes today in front of County Court Judge Charles Zambito.

The way career-criminal Edward F. Perdue, 58, seemed to figure it when he walked into County Court today, unless he could persuade Judge Zambito to be a bit lenient with him, he won't get out of state prison until he's 67 years old.

Perdue, arrested in Batavia for entering the backrooms of local liquor stores and stealing cash and credit cards, is currently serving three to six years in the Orleans Correctional Facility on a burglary conviction in Monroe County.

Zambito's choice today was to send him to prison, based on his guilty plea to grand larceny, 4th, in November, for either one and a half to three years or for two to four. Perdue added another twist with his own request of the judge: make his Genesee County sentence concurrent to his Monroe County sentence.

The reason the five-time felon should get a break, according to the felon himself, is that he tipped police to a threat against the life of District Attorney Lawrence Friedman. Perdue said he overheard another inmate on a bus make a threat against Friedman (whose name he kept pronouncing "fryedman" and noted that "I never saw him before today").

"I'm not asking to be released," Perdue said. "I'm asking for my time to be concurrent with the time I'm doing now. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

During his talk with the judge, Perdue claimed both that officers did not talk with him about his tip and he also said he spoke with investigators and provided them with the name of the person who he said made the threat.

"The cops said they would help me," he said.

"The detectives said they would come and talk with me and they never did," he said.

"The cops said they would talk with me and I would rather talk with them," he said.

He indicated he thought he deserved a break because he's been labeled a snitch in Orleans.

Friedman, outside of court, said state authorities did investigate Perdue's allegations and found the allegations unfounded.

Zambito noted during sentencing that Friedman asked for the maximum term for Perdue and never mentioned giving him any consideration for his cooperation with police, and without evidence of Perdue's claims, he said he couldn't really consider the request.

What he could consider is Perdue's criminal record going back to 1976 and includes multiple burglaries and other property crimes, a criminal contempt and a manslaughter conviction.

"You're a career criminal," Zambito said. "A career thief." 

He told Perdue, "there's no reason not to give you the maximum allowable sentence and hope that protects society."

The sentence: two to four years consecutive with the term Perdue is currently serving.

Perdue will, in fact, likely spend his 67th birthday in prison.

"I never burglarized anything," Perdue said before he was led from court in a statement that garnered no response from Zambito."Isn't a burglary when you break into some place? I just walked into the backroom of places."

Meet Boots, an adult neutered male domestic shorthair cat that is available for adoption at the Genesee County Animal Shelter.

Boots loves attention, in fact he craves it. But he's not pesky about it -- he's too cool and easygoing for that. You won't find him losing his dignity by dashing spastically around his dwelling, which screams "I'm sooo needy! I'm going mad from this dearth of activity and affection!"

Volunteers For Animals note that he "seems to like everyone." The key word in the descriptor is "seems." Merriam-Webster's Dictionary tells us it means (1) "to appear to the observation or understanding" or (2) "to give the impression of being."

This is a remarkable personality trait that should not be underestimated. The ability to seem to like everyone when in fact you do not or, at best, you harbor an impalpable but distinct qualm about a person and his character, yet mingle amiably with that person/dog/cat and no one is the wiser, speaks volumes about Boots's competence in jibing with others.

That is a great quality to have in a pet; coupled with his striking black and white bib and tucker and a dashing all-white moustache -- it makes for one fine speciman.

The dog here is Tessie, a spayed, adult female boxer mixed breed who straight up likes to be a household's one and only pet. She only has eyes for you and she needs you to only have eyes for her.

She does not share the limelight. She does not take a backseat to any other four-legged friend. And she does not equivocate about it.

She is loyal and true, but the key to her heart is all about fun and playfulness. Fetch? Walks? Yes! Yes! Tugs? Yes! Purposeless goofiness? Doggone right --100-percent. 

The flippy, bouncy ears tell you all of that, especially when matched with the eager eyes that say your mere existance is her pure joy.

Tessie, too, is available for adoption at the shelter.

"Volunteers For Animals is always in need of monetary donations for the animals at the Genesee County Animal Shelter. Our largest expense is veterinary care for sick and injured animals.

"A great deal of our money is spent spaying and neutering as many animals as possible BEFORE they leave the Shelter. Spaying and neutering animals is the ONLY way to reduce the number of homeless animals. In addition to vet care, we also purchase FIV/FeLV tests for cats and heartworm tests for dogs.

"Please consider making a donation today. All donations to Volunteers For Animals, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, are tax-deductible."

You can make a donation through PayPal or mail a check to: 

Volunteers For Animals
P.O. Box 1621
Batavia, NY 14020

Batavia cops are on the lookout for a loose chicken in the vicinity of 111 Washington Ave. in the city. The caller to dispatch is the owner, who says it made its escape this morning.

UPDATE 1:39 p.m.: "Rooster secured at 127 South Swan," a dispatcher tells a patrol, now en route to that location. The officer says he'll try to speak with the person who captured the fowl.

UPDATE 1:45 p.m.: No word yet on how the rooster got across busy East Main Street and continued in a southeasterly direction, a trek totaling about a mile -- which Google Maps says is a four-minute drive. Here's a map of the driving route(s); but of course it's most likely the bird hoofed it.

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) will consider approving incentives for Custom Vehicle Operators (CVO), which is transferring operations from its existing facility on Ganson Avenue in the City of Batavia to the former PW Minor manufacturing facility at 3 Treadeasy Ave.

CVO is investing $2 million to purchase and make capital improvements at the 80,000-square-foot building. The project will retain 36 jobs.

CVO is the authorized distributor/installer of accessories for General Motors automobile dealer locations in Central and Western New York and Western and Northeast Pennsylvania.

CVO is seeking sales, mortgage and property tax exemptions of approximately $60,000.

The Batavia Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center’s Culinary Club will host a Pop-Up Dinner at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 8. It is open to the public.

This three-course dinner will be held in the Culinary Arts Dining Room at the Batavia CTE Center, located at 8250 State Street Road.

Tickets are $25 per person and may be purchased at the Batavia CTE Center.

Chef Tracy Burgio is the Culinary Arts instructor at the Batavia CTE Center. She noted how events like these give student real-world experiences as the event is student driven.

“The students have researched menu possibilities in order to plan the menu," Burgio said. "They will prepare and cook all the entrees and also serve our customers. Everyone works together as a team to create a memorable, pleasant experience for our patrons."

Any questions may be directed to Chef Burgio at (585) 344-7795 or tburgio@gvboces.org.

About the Batavia Career and Technical Education Center

It is a program of the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership. The Partnership operates as a Board of Cooperative Educational Services providing shared programs and services to 22 component school districts located in Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston and Steuben counties in New York State.

A change in federal tax law in 2017 could help attract Downstate investors to Upstate communities such as Batavia and the Batavia Development Corporation is planning on pursuing those dollars for economic development in wards three and six.

The new tax law allows investors who have realized profits from prior investments, known as capital gains, to defer and reduce capital gains taxes on those profits if they invest those gains in economically distressed neighborhoods.

Wards three and six -- which contain the City Centre mall and the Harvester Center, among other distressed properties -- were previously designated Opportunity Zones by the City of Batavia and would be eligible to attract investment under the terms of the revised Federal Tax Code.

Rachael Tabelski, BDC director, asked the City Council on Monday night to approve at its next business meeting a resolution that would allow the BDC to invest $20,000 in setting up a Batavia Opportunity Zone investment vehicle.  

"These wards are distressed and would benefit from both large and small investment projects," Tabelski said.

The goal is to attract $5 million in investment funds. Tabelski said there are already potential investors Downstate who have expressed an interest in such investments.

Urban Vantage LLC, a Buffalo-based urban planning firm, would assist, including financially, in setting up the investment package.

The $20,000 would come from BDC's revolving loan fund, which has a current balance of $319,000.

At its next business meeting, the City Council will also be asked to approve a resolution that would allow the revolving loan fund, first established with Federal grants in 1997, to start assisting small businesses in Batavia with cash grants (in addition to continuing revolving grants).

Tabelski told the council that the purpose of the fund is to get money into the hands of local businesses to help spur economic development and the fund isn't accomplishing that goal if the money isn't being put to use.

The $20,000 initial investment would be used for legal preparation of the investment vehicle, listing and marketing the project, along with filing and accounting fees.

"We're setting this up so we are on the map as a proactive community taking advantage of a new federal tax law that is allowing investment into low-income census tracks and to show investors and developers that we're serious about moving our sites forward and creating our own fund as a city," Tabelski said.

There's much about how the new investments will work that hasn't yet been determined by the Treasury Department. The final guidelines should be released in a few weeks.

In general, the idea is if an investor has capital gains, the investor can move those funds to an opportunity zone investment fund and defer any capital gains tax until 2026. After five years, the basis of their taxable gains would be reduced by 10 percent. For example, if an investor had $100,000 in capital gains and invested those gains in an opportunity zone, the investor would owe taxes only $90,000 of those gains. After 10 years, the basis would be reduced another 5 percent.

Also, after 10 years, the investor would not owe any taxes on any additional gains on their opportunity zone investments. In other words, if that investor put $100,000 into an opportunity zone and at the end of 10 years, exited the investment and got back $150,000, there would be no capital gains tax on that additional $50,000 realized from the investment.

"It's really designed to attract investment in projects that have a high likelihood of appreciation," said Richard Rogers, a principal in Urban Vantage.

Tabelski first met Rogers and his partner Travis Gordon during the Downtown Revitalization Initiative process, when they represented Ken Mistler on the Carrs Reborn project. They worked together on developing a plan to create the opportunity zones under the tax code revisions.

Tabelski and Gordon both said Batavia could be attractive to investors not just because of a break on capital gains tax but also because of other credits available, such as historic building tax credits, new market tax credits, and the availability of PILOTs (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) on building improvements.

"This is a marketable location for people from places like Downstate to put the money into to actually get a good return on their investment as well," Gordon said.

The BDC-initiated fund will focus on real estate investment but there's no reason private investors can't establish their own funds to support business startups and expansions. So long as the business is based in designated opportunity zones, investors would be eligible, potentially, for the same tax breaks on capital gains.

There are some guidelines yet to come yet, however, that will either expand or limit those opportunities. For example, initially, the tax code would have required at least 50 percent of a business's revenue to come from within the opportunity zone.

That would seriously limit, as Rogers noted, a new firm's ability to scale, which would make a much less attractive investment for venture capital.

Tabelski said there is already an investment fund established in Buffalo that might be interested in projects in Batavia.

Photo: Rachel Tabelski presenting the project to the City Council on Monday, accompanied by Richard Rogers and Travis Gordon.

The following people are wanted on warrants issued out of Batavia City Court. If you have any information on the whereabouts of these subjects, please contact the Batavia Police Department at (585) 345-6350.

Do not make any attempt to apprehend these individuals on your own.

If you have an active warrant and want to avoid ending up on a WANTED list like this, the Batavia Police Department would be more than happy to assist you on resolving the warrant.

Arlena G. Cox, age 58
Charge(s): petit larceny Jeanine L. Turner (AKA Calice), age 46 (2012 photo)
Charge(s): aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle 2nd degree Martin J. Rodgers, age 35
Charge(s): sex offender failure to register a change of address

 

  Sara J. Smith, age 33 (photo from 2012)
Charge(s): criminal mischief 4th degree Tera M. Williams, age 45
Charge(s):  aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle 3rd degree and harassment 2nd degree

Juaquin E. Davis, 23, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with first-degree criminal contempt -- physical contact; first degree criminal contempt -- with a previous conviction within five years; and second-degree burglary -- illegal entry to a dwelling. Davis was arrested on March 21 after an alleged domestic incident on Thomas Avenue in Batavia on March 18 against a person with a complete stay away order of protection. Davis was arraigned in Batavia City Court then jailed in lieu of $5,000 bail. He was due back in city court on March 22. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Jamie Givens, assisted by Officer Marc Lawrence.

Henry L. Banks, 49, of Ross Street, Batavia, was arrested at 12:49 a.m. on March 24 on Ellicott Street in Batavia. He was stopped for a traffic violation and it was shown that a bench warrant for his arrest was issued by Batavia City Court. He was processed and arraigned in city court, then jailed in lieu of $2,500 bail or $5,000 bond. He was due back in city court this afternoon (March 25). The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Miah Stevens, assisted by Officer Stephen Cronmiller.

Aisha I. Culver, 20, of Thomas Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on a Batavia City Court warrant March 17 after she failed to appear in court on a traffic summons. Culver had previously been charged with: aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree; operating a motor vehicle with a suspended registration; and various other traffics infractions. She was released on her own recognizance. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Peter Post, assisted by Officer Jason Ivison.

Jordan R. Rose, 18, of Maple Street, Batavia, is charged with: criminal possession of marijuana in the fourth degree -- weight more than two ounces; and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree. Rose was arrested at 10:45 a.m. on March 22 following a search by the Probation Department of his residence. He was allegedly found in possession of marijuana and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia. Rose was arraigned in Batavia City Court and jailed in lieu of $1,500 cash or $2,000 bond. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Peter Post, assisted by Officer Marc Lawrence.

Nearly 500 people turned out at Batavia Downs on Sunday afternoon in support of Joe Trigillo, who is battling glioblastoma, a cancer that forms in a person's brain and is very difficult to eradicate.

Trigillo was diagnosed in January and has been through two rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatment -- one for 33 days and another of 40 days -- and the fundraiser is intended to help Joe and his wife Kathy with any extra expenses.

Kathy said her husband was overwhelmed by the outpouring of community support.

"It means the world to him," Kathy said. "Every time I bring it up he just starts to tear up and he can't believe the great outpouring of love that he's gotten."

Trigillo and members of the Trigillo's family have worked at Batavia Downs for decades, including both of Trigillo's parents. Trigillo has been a stalwart of the local bowling community his entire adult life and is a regular on the local golf tournament circuit.

"He's always been the social person," Kathy said. "He's the one that goes to the bowling tournaments. He's the one that goes to the golf tournaments. He loves to be with people. He never, ever says no because he loves to go out with other people and do things. He's just always happy to do that and he loves people."

The symptoms of glioblastoma can be non-specific and are different for individuals, depending on where in the brain the cancer starts and how it progresses. At the start of the bowling season, Trigillo didn't have his A-game going and he and Kathy took it as an early-season slump.

"You just think it's a slump but he wasn't getting out of the slump," Kathy said. "Still, we didn't think much of it other than he's in a slump."

The community sees Joe the competitor and may not perceive he has a softer side, Kathy said, but he can get emotional in private; however, when Joe started crying during Hallmark movies, Kathy sensed he was being more emotional than usual. Even so, she didn't suspect a serious issue.

But then one day DirecTV called and when Joe wanted to hand the phone off to his wife, he couldn't remember her name.

That weekend, walking across some pavement, Kathy noticed Joe was shuffling his feet. She started to suspect a mini-stroke. That Monday, Jan. 14, she called a doctor who told her to take Joe to the emergency room at UMMC.

"They immediately ordered an MRI after I told them the symptoms," Kathy said. "I think they must have known more than we did."

The MRI revealed two tumors in the lower left frontal lobe and Joe was taken by ambulance to Buffalo General Medical Center.

Once there, surgery was quickly ruled out for treatment.

"If they did surgery to remove the tumors, it was a high risk to cause the whole right side of his body to be paralyzed and he would not be able to speak," Kathy said.

From Buffalo General, Joe was sent to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, which is also in Buffalo.

The regime of chemo and radiation was rough, Kathy said. Joe was hospitalized a couple of times during the treatment, with treatment suspended once because of complications.

The typical prognosis for glioblastoma is a survival rate of 12 to 15 months. Kathy is hopeful Joe will get back to doing the things he loves this spring and summer.

They'll know more when they meet with doctors at Roswell again on April 14.

"We're hoping that we're going to fight this and that we're going to play golf this summer and we're going to be at the long end of that prognosis," Kathy said.

Get ready for the eye-poppin' big honkin' "Mega Mega Mammoth" sale at St. Joseph School from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 27.

Billed as Western New York's largest indoor garage sale, it will feature "tons of indoor and outdoor furniture," and "tens of thousands of items." (As someone said "It's like they've been saving up for it since the last Ice Age!")

Whether you're interested in antiques, arts and crafts, collectibles and vintage wares or you want to check out gobs of household goods, baby things, linens galore, kitschy stuff/whatnots and holiday doodads, righteously expect an elephantine selection. 

In a nutshell, a stupefying amount of merchandise will fill two gargantuan showrooms, a ginormous second floor and a billowing, bulging tent. 

To be abundantly clear, it will behoove bargain hunters to go to this behemoth bazaar at the corner of East Main and Summit streets in the City of Batavia next month.

Admission is free to this "quality sale" with low, low prices and basket raffles; hot dogs and hamburgers and will be available for sale, too.

Press release:

Nominations are being accepted for the 2019 Batavia City School District Foundation Inc. Scholarship.

This scholarship will be awarded to a graduating senior from Batavia High School.

The nominee has been successful in his/her educational program and has sought out skills to further his/her career. In addition, he or she has exemplified our Batavia school culture and climate of “Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe, Be Connected and Be Ambitious.”

Any member of the local community may nominate a Batavia HS Senior who meets the above criteria.

Nomination forms are available on the Batavia City School District website here (print out and mail or fax in) or you may complete the Google Form here.

All nominations need to be received by May 10.

Mail printed form, with any supporting documentation attached, to:

Amanda Marie Bowles, 33, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with: second-degree forgery -- four counts; first-degree identity theft -- four counts; criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree -- five counts; and one count of third-degree identity theft. Following an investigation of multiple credit cards stolen out of the Town of Batavia, Bowles was arrested on March 20 for allegedly using the stolen credits cards at multiple locations around the City of Batavia. She also allegedly completed some transactions by forging the signature of the credit card owner. She was arraigned on March 21 in Batavia City Court and jailed without bail. The case was investigated by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy James Stack.

Woodrow Clarence Horseman, 43, of Porter Avenue, Batavia, is charged with fourth-degree grand larceny and petit larceny. He was arrested March 22 for allegedly stealing a wallet at 5 a.m. on March 21 at a location on West Main Street Road, Batavia. The wallet contained nine credit cards and other personal documents. He was arraigned in Batavia Town Court and put in GC Jail on $2,500 cash or bond. He is due back in court on April 9. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy James Stack.

Yacuzzo Salvatore, 73, of Oak Street, Batavia, is charged with second-degree criminal contempt. He was arrested at 12:30 p.m. on March 21 on Red Mill Road, Le Roy, for allegedly violating a stay away order of protection. He was issued an appearance ticket for Le Roy Town Court and is due there April 11. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Mathew Clor.

Richard Dean Neal, 29, of Roosevelt Highway, Kent, is charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief. Neal was arrested on March 18. It is alleged that at 5:28 p.m. on March 16 that he damaged another person's vehicle while in the Walmart parking lot. He was released on an appearance ticket for April 1 in Batavia Town Court. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Travis DeMuth.

Aaron Lee Heale, 38, of North Lake Road, Bergen, is charged with: introducing dangerous contraband into prison in the first degree; fifth-degree conspiracy; and falsifying business records in the first degree. On March 14, Heale allegedly conspired to have drugs brought into the Genesee County Jail. He is currently incarcerated there. He is due in Batavia City Court tomorrow (March 25) to answer the charges. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy David Moore, assisted by Deputy Ryan Young.

Amethyst Rose McCracken, 31, of North Lake Road, Bergen, is charged with: introducing dangerous contraband into prison in the first degree; criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree; and fifth-degree conspiracy. It is alleged that at 9:48 p.m. on March 14, that she brought drugs into the GC Jail. She was arraigned in Batavia City Court on March 23 and is due back there tomorrow (March 25). The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy David Moore, assisted by Deputy Ryan Young.

Joseph G. Sumeriski, 27, of Batavia, was arrested by deputies of the Wyoming County Sheriff's Office on March 16 in the West Municipal Parking Lot in the Village of Warsaw on a warrant for allegedly failing to pay restitution ordered by Warsaw Village Court. He was arraigned in Village of Warsaw Court then posted cash bail. Warsaw police assisted at the scene. The case was handled by Wyoming County Sheriff's Sgt. Colin Reagan and Deputy John Button.

     Keith White

An inmate in the Genesee County Jail is accused of introducing dangerous contraband into the jail after receiving a birthday card allegedly containing a controlled substance.

Keith White, 47, of North Tonawanda, faces numerous other charges. Besides introducing dangerous contraband, a felony, he is charged with 16 counts felony falsifying business records, 1st, criminal solicitation, 4th, conspiracy, 5th, and 60 counts of falsifying business records, 2nd. 

White, who is being held on a petit larceny charge from July, is accused of using the PIN numbers of other inmates to make telephone calls.

The date and time of the incidents were between November and February.

Deputy Ryan Young is leading the investigation.

White was arrested last July in Batavia, accused, along with Jeffery P. Wozniak, of Niagara Falls, of stealing steaks, lobster, shrimp, a roast and several household items from Top's Market. That case is still pending.

He is being held on the new charges without bail because of prior felony convictions. He's been incarcerated three previous times on burglary and robbery charges. His most recent stint in state prison was from 2001 to 2016 on a robbery conviction in Niagara County. He was released from parole in February 2018.

Updated at 2:30 p.m. with additional information about the case.