batavia

In January 2015, state and federal law enforcement raided a house at 3618 Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road, Batavia, and by appearances, it looked like a bust on a marijuana growing operation.

Agents at the scene that day declined to share information and a spokesperson for Homeland Security said that the fact that there were sealed indictments in the case prevented her from providing even a general overview of what investigators hoped to uncover.

It turns out, state and federal investigators weren't looking for marijuana -- though they had a pretty good idea they would find a pot-growing operation -- they were looking for evidence in a massive credit card fraud ring involving a group of Cuban nationals from Tampa, Fla., who set up shop in Batavia and Lockport.

Six of the seven defendants associated with the house have now entered guilty pleas in U.S. District Court, so we now have access to much of the details associated with the investigation that lasted for six months, starting in the fall of 2014.

There were two more people arrested and charged in Onondaga County who weren't charged federally.

It was likely a much larger operation, according to available information, but investigators concentrated their efforts on the individuals tied to the best, most solid evidence, said Ron Wilson, an investigator with the State Police in Batavia.

As many as 20 or 25 individuals could have been involved at various times during the criminal enterprise and the people arrested by federal authorities may not have been even the highest ranking in the organization, but according to the evidence uncovered, hundreds of people in Western New York were victims of credit card fraud at a price tag in the $1 million range.

It took several investigators, including Wilson, Investigator John DiPasquale with NYSP Lockport, Sean Needham with Homeland Security, and John Ferris with the U.S. Secret Service, six months to build the case against the individuals eventually arrested on federal charges. Early on Pat Welch with East Aurora PD brought another case to Wilson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell T. Ippolito Jr. prosecuted the case.

Wilson said he and DiPasquale dedicated as much as 50 hours a week on the case for six months, and Ferris and Needham also put in hundreds and hundreds of hours into the investigation.

It all started with a complaint routed to a trooper from a resident in Oakfield who had his debit card with him, but it had been used to make a purchase at a Tops Market in Hamburg.

The case made its way to Wilson and he secured a surveillance video that showed two subjects working together.

Wilson used law enforcement communication channels looking for help within the region (sharing the photo, among others, at the top of the story), but no IDs were forthcoming, so he published the photo on CrimeStoppers. Needham saw that post and called Wilson.

"I think I can identify one of your guys," he said.

Misael Toledo Rios was picked up for questioning, but Wilson quickly realized that Rios wasn't the man in the Tops video, but Rios, who had a prior record related to credit card fraud made some admissions that put him on the radar of investigators.

About this time, a Town of Batavia employee reported he was victimized as well, with his Discover card number being used for thousands of dollars of charges at chain retailers in Erie County, including the purchase of a full set of weight-lifting equipment from Dick's Sporting Goods later located in the Batavia house.

Meanwhile, Welch called Wilson and said he had a similar case he was handling and that the subjects in the Hamburg video matched a video he had that related to a fraudulent transaction in East Aurora.

Then DiPasquale called Wilson and said that Cornerstone Bank had just turned over information on 200 bank customers who had been victimized by credit-card cloning.

"At that point, we knew we had the same kind of investigation, but we didn’t know we had the same individuals," Wilson said.

The men decided to work together to find the criminals.

They started assembling the jigsaw puzzle.

The suspects, particularly the man in that first Hamburg Tops video, provided a stream of cued-up clues, showing up frequently on the cameras of Big Box stores and, once investigators could connect names with faces, in their own social media posts wearing the same outfits, sunglasses and rings that were clearly visible on them in surveillance videos. This match of fraudulent transactions and social media posts helped investigators link locations, purchases, times and dates.

For example, one of the women arrested usually posted from Tampa, Fla., where she apparently lives with her two children, but on the day of at least one fraudulent purchase, she posted a picture of herself with a geo-location of Oakfield, NY. There's also a picture of her where the Walmart in Batavia is obviously identifiable in the background.

"The investigation was arduous, to say the least," Wilson said. "Every day was something new with them."

The primary suspects were working out of the house in Batavia and a house in Lockport. In order to get a search warrant, investigators needed rock-solid evidence of potential crimes. It couldn't be just a hunch.

Wilson started collecting garbage from the Batavia residence, which is how he came to realize there was obviously a marijuana growing operation going on there.

Much of the case was built before the search. Ippolito wanted a solid case to prosecute. Crime scene photos had to show faces clearly, clothing had to match, times and locations had to match, so the investigators had to cross-reference every shred of evidence and only use the receipts, photos and social media postings that wrapped up each accusation in a tight bow.

That's why the final criminal charges covered only a bit less than $100,000 in fraudulent transactions, even though in the time frame of the credit-card cloning operation, the suspects probably conducted transactions worth as much as $1 million.

That's also why there was neither a state nor federal charge for the marijuana growing operation. Too many people had access to the house in Batavia that there simply wasn't enough evidence to tie any one or two people specifically to cultivating pot.

As investigators were moving in, the suspects started moving further afield, with transactions popping up further and further east.

Wilson said he was getting nervous that the suspects were getting ready to wrap up operations in WNY and head back to Florida.

Then, they got caught.

Police in DeWitt, which is in Onondaga County, received a complaint from a store of a fraudulent credit card transaction and the suspects were still in the store.

Two subjects were picked up and questioned. It became clear to investigators that there were other individuals involved. They figured out what hotel they were staying at and what vans they were driving. The District Attorney got involved. Search warrants were obtained.

What investigators found were hundreds of credit card blanks, the hardware and software to make credit cards and evidence of prior purchases.

All six were arrested and charged in Onondaga County and the evidence obtained by investigators there helped seal the deal on search warrants for Batavia and Lockport.

"They did an amazing job in DeWitt," Wilson said.

While the U.S. District Attorney's Office has released information in the federal indictments and guilty pleas in the case, the scope of the case and its ties to Batavia, Lockport and DeWitt were not discussed openly pending convictions of five of the suspects.

Investigators believe members of the ring acquired the card numbers through two common methods: placing a scanner over the top of a card reader on a gas pump, allowing the card numbers and information to be read and stored in memory for later collection, and by purchasing numbers from hacker websites (often referred to as the "dark web").

As part of the surveillance during the investigation, one member of the group was observed placing a reader on a pump at a gas station in Oakfield. A week later, he retrieved it.

The dark websites allow credit-card cloners to search for high-limit cards within a certain geographic location. For the Cuban ring operating in Western New York, a card belonging to a resident in Oakfield or Batavia, for example, wouldn't raise suspicions for the bank or credit card company if used in Rochester or Buffalo, where a card issued to a resident in Nevada or California might. This would allow the scammers to get more use out of the card before it was shut off.

The ring members purchased merchandise, such as sunglasses, clothing and jewelry and gift cards and gasoline for later resale.

One member of the ring owned a Ford F-250 pickup with a plastic fuel tank that could hold 300 to 400 gallons of gas in the bed that had a hose and pump nozzle attached. At the time, gas was selling for about $4 per gallon, so a member of the ring would fill up the plastic tank and sell the gas for $2 or $2.50 a gallon, and since the initial purchase was with a stolen credit card, the proceeds were pure profit.

A seventh suspect is in custody and awaiting extradition from Costa Rica.

Below are the names and information on the people identified in the cases:

• Jose Valdivia Quinones, 41, Cuban National from Tampa, convicted of bank fraud, was sentenced to 10 months in prison and required to pay $1,642.51 in restitution. He was known to investigators as "JVQ" and was one of the men captured in the surveillance video at Tops in Hamburg. He as also among the six indicted in Onondaga County (Town of DeWitt).
• Eduardo Hernandez Quinones (Hernandez), 46, Cuban National and former resident of Miami, was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and was sentenced to 31 months in prison. He was ordered to pay $13,785.29 in restitution. He was also arrested in DeWitt.
• Misael Toledo Rios, 46, a Cuban National and former resident of Miami, was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and was sentenced to 31 months in prison. He was ordered to pay $13,785.29 in restitution.
• Yasser Carrillo Chartrand, 24, a Cuban National, entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in U.S. District Court. He's scheduled to be sentenced in September. He was also arrested in DeWitt.
• Claudia Diaz Diaz, 22, a Cuban National, was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and sentenced to time served and three years probation. Diaz was convicted of using the credit cards (79 different accounts), but not tied to the operation to obtain numbers and make cards. She was also among the six arrested in DeWitt.
• Yaily Santurio Milian, 32, Cuban National, was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. She was scheduled to be sentenced in May, but we don't have information on her sentencing. She was also arrested in DeWitt.
• Fernando Pizarro, 38, of Miami Gardens, Fla., and Humberto Roche, who is homeless, were also arrested in DeWitt, but not charged federally.

These two photos show one of the suspects wearing the same blue jacket in social media posts that she was seen wearing at a time and place where she used a cloned credit card.

File photo: An officer removing a marijuana plant from the house at 3618 Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road, Batavia, which served as a base of operation for members of the credit card cloning ring operating in Western New York.

Mary Frances Cronin, 20, of Sheppard Road, Scottsburg, is charged with false written statement. She was arrested for making a punishment false written statement at 4:30 p.m. on July 2. At that time, she provided a signed supporting deposition at the Genesee County Sheriff's Office on Park Road in Batavia, which allegedly contained several "non-truths" in relation to an investigation into an alleged sexual assault. Cronin was issued an appearance ticket and is to appear in Batavia Town Court on July 25. The case was handled by Sheriff's Deputy Chad Minuto.

The City of Batavia lost out to the City of Geneva in the regional competition for $10 million in grant money to assist with downtown redevelopment.

Here's what the governor's office said about Geneva:

Over the last decade, Geneva has emerged as a major employment center, boasting over 200 firms and nearly 1,500 jobs in the central business district alone. Geneva’s historic walkable downtown is poised to become a vibrant retail, dining, cultural and entertainment destination for the burgeoning workforce and for students at the three local colleges. Under the DRI, the City will focus on the rehabilitation of key buildings; diversification of housing and retail options; access to healthy food; and building entrepreneurship in the downtown area.

Submitted photo and press release:

St. Joseph Catholic School finished the school year with their annual prayer service at Resurrection Parish followed by an awards ceremony recognizing students for their accomplishments throughout the year.

In addition to the many awards handed out that morning, scholarships were presented to the following students as well:

• The Michael Napoleone Scholarship -- Michael Cianfrini and Connor Dwyer;
• The Good Shepherd Scholarship -- Veronica Bochicchio and Nathanael Brew;
• The Msgr. Kirby Knights of Columbus Council 325 Scholarship -- Kaiden Campopiano, Teresa Compton, Matthew Compton, Jekora Anderson, Randall Laska, Maria Prattico and Justice Yourkowski;
• The Msgr. Zupa Scholarship -- Hope Miceli;
• The Patrick Suozzi Memorial Scholarship -- Sarah Lumberg;
• The Mercedes Mahoney Mancuso Scholarship -- Kaylie Kratz.

Thank you to these generous donors for their continued support!

Press release from the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce:

Two prominent automobile clubs will be visiting the Batavia-area beginning Sunday, July 10^th.

The 1965-66 Full-Size Chevrolet Club will use Batavia as a base of operations for five days. The Early Ford V-8 Club of America will embark on a five-day driving tour that will begin and end in Batavia. In total, more than 200 people will be coming to the area.

The 2016 International Meet for the 1965-66 Full-Size Chevrolet Club will take place at the Quality Inn in Batavia on from Sunday, July 10 to Friday, July 15. The group is celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the 1966 Impala.

While here, the group will tour Oliver’s Candies in the City of Batavia (afternoon of July 11) and Kutter's Cheese Factory in Corfu (morning of July 15) and the JELL-O Museum in Le Roy (morning of July 11). The club will also have a show day at Ken Barrett Chevrolet on West Main Street, Batavia, on the morning of July 13.

The Chevrolet club will also be cruising to Letchworth State Park in Wyoming County, touring the Chevy plant in Tonawanda, visiting the Carousel Museum, getting an exclusive tour of the Pierce Arrow Museum, and visiting the Erie Basin & Waterfront Naval Park.

The club was founded in 1983 and has more than 100 members. Members have been successfully working with manufacturers to make hard-to-find parts available again and assist in restoration of the vehicles.

From July 10 to July 15, the Western New York Regional Group #3 of the Early Ford V-8 Club of America will celebrate its 50^th anniversary on a five-day National Driving Tour around the Finger Lakes.

On Sunday, July 10, the group will be hosting an opening party at the Quality Inn in Batavia. The following morning they will depart for a tour of Olean, Corning, Binghamton and Liverpool. The group will return to Batavia on Friday, July 15, for a farewell dinner.

The Western Regional Group of the Early Ford V-8 Club of America is centered in Rochester. It features all Ford products produced from 1932-1953 and are the second-oldest active regional group in the world. They have 85 active members.

Patrick D. Neaverth is indicted for the crime of second-degree burglary, a Class C violent felony. On March 13, he allegedly knowlingly entered or remained unlawfully in a dwelling on Kingsbury Avenue in the City of Batavia with the intent to commit a crime. In count two, he is accused of third degree criminal mischief, a Class E felony, for intending to damage the property of another person and without having any right to do so allegedly damaged property, in this case a glass window to the front door of a residence, and the amount of damage exceeds $250. In count three, the defendant is accused of first degree criminal contempt, a Class E felony, for allegedly violating a duly served order of protection by intentionally or recklessly damaging the property of a protected person in an amount exceeding $250.

Triton A. Drock is indicted for the crime of failure to report a change of address within 10 days as required of a registered sex offender, a Class E felony. The convicted sex offender moved to 20 Buell St. in the City of Batavia then allegedly failed to register his new address with the state Dvision of Criminal Justice within the required 10 calendar days.

Le Roy beat the Batavia 12u All-Stars 5-4 in seven innings Tuesday evening.

Rodney A. Barber, 40, of South Main Street, Batavia, is charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor, and second degree criminal nuisance, a Class B misdemeanor.

Barber was arrested Friday morning after members of the Genesee County Drug Task Force, along with Sheriff's deputies, Batavia Police officers and the Sheriff's K-9 "Destro" executed a search warrant on South Main Street. He was issued an appearance ticket. The investigation is continuing and further charges may be pending.

The task force is comprised of officers from the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, Batavia Police NET officers, and the Le Roy Village Police Department.

Barber's arrest is the result of the task force's investigation into the sale and possession of cocaine in and around the Batavia area.

Calvin L. Mosher, 38, of Maple Avenue, Oakfield, is charged with: driving while ability impaired by drugs; speeding (53 mph in 40-mph zone); unsafe start; criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Mosher was stopped at 12:30 p.m. on Alleghany Road in Alabama for vehicle and traffic violations. The defendant was subsequently found to be operating a vehicle while his ability to do so was allegedly impaired by suspected illicit drugs. Mosher was allegedly found in possession of a small quantity of suspected LSD and marijuana. He was issued traffic summons and appearance tickets and directed to be in Town of Alabama Court on July 9. The case was handled by Sheriff's Deputy Patrick Reeves, assisted by Deputy Ryan Young.

Nicholas D. Martino, 35, of Main Street, Alexander, is charged with second-degree aggravated unlicensed operator. He was arrested at 6:12 p.m. on Bank Street in Batavia following a traffic stop. He was allegedly driving a silver van while his driver's license was suspended. He was jailed in lieu of $2,500 cash or bond and was due in court on June 30. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Chad Richards, assisted by Officer Christopher Camp. 

Eric Richard McWethy, 20, Maple Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, and having only one plate displayed on his vehicle, which was obstructed. He was arrested at 7:40 p.m. July 1 on Main Street, in Oakfield, after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana following a traffic stop. He was stopped for allegedly failing to display a properly affixed rear axle plate to the vehicle he was operating. He was released on appearance tickets returnable to Town of Oakfield Court on July 25. The case was handled by Sheriff's Deputy Michael Lute.

On a night when the Batavia Muckdogs fell to 4-14 in a 5-1 loss to Brooklyn, at least there were fireworks after the game.

There was also the professional debut of the New York Mets' #1 draft pick, Justin Dunn, who brought his own kind of heat, striking out two in the ninth of a jittery eighth frame.

In the eighth, the Muckdogs managed two hits off of Dunn, matching the total number of hits they got over seven innings against starter Merandy Gonzalez (2-0, 2.21 ERA).

Muckdogs starter Reilly Hovis took the loss, giving up four runs and seven hits over four innings to fall to 1-2 with a 5.60 ERA. Relievers Chevis Hoover and Parker Bugg held things down over the final five innings, giving up a run and two hits.

For the Muckdogs, Isaiah White had two hits.

The Muckdogs face Brooklyn again tonight at Dwyer. Game time is 7:05. 

Top photo: Dunn delivering his first professional pitch.

Batavia second baseman Rony Cabrera gets ready to apply the tag on Gene Cone's steal attempt in the sixth inning.

In the second, Samuel Castro attempted to bunt for a base hit, but seemed to wait for the umpire to call his bunt foul before running toward first. He was thrown out at first.

Dale Burdick steals second in the second. Burdick is the nephew of Tom Turnbull, president of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce.

Reilly Hovis pitching.

Aaron Knapp gets a stolen base, his second of the season.

Justin Dunn

The three shots below are from Lincoln Avenue.

The annual July 4 Kiwanis 5K was held this morning, starting and finishing at Centennial Park.

Today is PIcnic in the Park and tonight the Muckdog's play Brooklyn at Dwyer Stadium, game time 7:05, followed by fireworks.

New York Mets fans in the area might be interested to know that Justin Dunn, this year's #1 draft pick by the Mets, and 19th overall, could make his professional debut tomorrow against the Batavia Muckdogs at Dwyer Stadium.

It's July 4th and there will be post-game fireworks, so expect a sellout anyway.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Dunn was born in Freeport and attended Boston College before being drafted.

Photo courtesy Mike Janes/Four Seams Images.

Hundreds of music fans and musicians swarmed into Downtown Batavia today for the annual Batavia Ramble Music and Arts Fest, held in Jackson Square and at a stage set up at School and Center streets.

In all, 40 music acts were scheduled to perform. The last act goes on at 8:40 p.m., so there's still time to see the show.

The 2016 summer season of concerts in Jackson Square kicked off Friday night with performances by St. Joe's of Batavia Brass Ensemble (its 85th Reunion) and the Mighty St. Joe's Alumni Corps (with an interlude covering the history of the bugle, featuring members of the ensemble).

Patrick Burk, right, will continue to serve as school board president during the 2016-17 year, and Jessica Maguire-Tomidy will serve as VP. Madison Moore, left, is the student, ex-officio member for the year.

The district board held its annual meeting this morning at the district office. The meeting included approving the board calendar, appointment of committees and appointment of key district staff. Chris Dailey was reappointed as district superintendent.

A house fire is reported at 54 Hutchins St. Everybody is out of the house, according to a dispatcher. City firefighters are responding.

UPDATE 7:35 a.m.: Fire under control; checking for extensions.

Photos submitted by Frank Capuano.