batavia

The Batavian received a reply from the City of Batavia today on its FOIL request regarding the loan that Chad Zambito received through the Batavia Development Corp. for his business, Grammy's Laundry, which is set for an asset auction Sept. 4.

Answers to key questions:

• Date loan approved: Conditional approval, May 2010
• Amount of initial loan: $20,000
• Purpose of the loan: working capital/equipment
• Amount still owed on the loan: The pay off is $14,532.15
• Date of last payment: July 3

Zambito also owes money to the Bank of Castile. He said previously that his total debt is less than $20,000 and he expects the asset auction to raise enough money to satisfy both debts.

Previously: Business owned by Chad Zambito closed, assets up for auction to pay debts

Kyle W. Nash, 25, of 7 Myrtle St., Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and felony aggravated unlicensed operation. Nash was involved in a motor vehicle accident Tuesday night in the area of 76 North St., Le Roy. Nash was reportedly looking for an item inside the vehicle and his car veered to the right and struck the rear of a tractor-trailer parked alongside the roadway. Two passengers in the vehicle were transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Following arraignment, Nash was jailed on $5,000 bail.

David Bruce Piechowicz, 36, Eagan Drive, Lackawanna, is charged with trespass. Piechowicz allegedly went to the home of his ex-girlfriend after being told to stay away.

James J. Angelo, 48, of Churchville, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Angelo was stopped by State Police on Route 77 in the Town of Darien at 12:05 a.m., today.

Reuben L. Bumpus, 29, of Newark, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08. Bumpus was stopped by State Police in the City of Batavia, at 12:35 a.m., today.

Walter L. Knickerbocker, 54, of South Street, Pavilion, is charged with unlawful growing of cannabis. Knickerbocker was arrested by State Police at 12:45 p.m., Tuesday. No further details were released.

A 14-year-old from Albion is charged with petit larceny after being arrested by State Police for allegedly shoplifting at Kmart on Tuesday. No further details were released.

Kelvin B. Murphy, 39, of Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd, and second-degree harassment/physical contact. Murphy was arrested by State Police Tuesday for an alleged incident reported at 1:01 a.m. in Oakfield. He was ordered held in jail, no bail information given in the report. No further details released.

A group of at least five men showed up at 400 Ellicott St., Batavia, Wednesday evening to box up the inventory and remove the fixtures of the former location of The 420 Emporium.

The 420 was suspected of selling synthetic marijuana and synthetic amphetamines from the time it opened in Batavia in May.

The store was raided by the DEA on July 25 and its apparent local owner, Joshua Denise, was arrested. The store never reopened after the raid, though its shelves remained stocked -- until Wednesday night -- with glass pipes, bongs, rolling papers and other retail items.

For our prior coverage of The 420 Emporium, click here.

Grammy's Laundry, a business located on West Main Street and owned by Chad Zambito, a candidate in the GOP primary for Batavia Town Board, has been closed and its assets are being sold at auction.

The auction is set for 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 4, at the order of the Bank of Castile.

Besides owning money to the Bank of Castile, Zambito also borrowed money from the Batavia Development Corporation (BDC) to help upgrade and modernize the laundry.

In total, Zambito said, he owes less than $20,000 against the business's assets, which he said he expects to fetch close to $30,000 in the auction.

Zambito said today his business got into trouble in January when a plumbing problem forced him to close the laundry for two months. Even after the doors were open again, customers did not return with the same frequency as before.

He believes another business caused the blockage in the plumbing system, but it wasn't resolved in time between the other business and the landlord to get his doors reopened in a timely manner.

"It wasn't my responsibility to fix it, but yet I'm left to deal with the consequences," Zambito said.

The failure of Zambito's business was brought to the attention of The Batavian by his GOP primary opponent John Gerace. Gerace didn't accuse Zambito of stirring the pot on Gerace's own personal issues, but said if others are going drag the campaign into personal issues rather than real issues, people should know about the auction proceedings.

Zambito was appointed earlier this month to fill the vacant spot left on the Town Board by Gerace's resignation from the board in April. Zambito is also the endorsed candidate by the town's GOP committee in the Sept. 13 primary race.

While the notice on the door of Grammy's Laundry confirms the auction, The Batavian has not been able to confirm the amount of debt Zambito incurred and has not repaid. A FOIL request to the City of Batavia for related BDC documents has not yet been answered.

Zambito is a former BDC board member, but said he left that position when he was no longer employed by Genesee County Economic Development Committee, and didn't request the loan until after he was no longer a BDC member.

Grammy's Laundry, Zambito said, went through three or four years of ups and downs as he tried to get the business going and in time, prior to the plumbing problem, the laundry was not much more than a break-even proposition.

"I worked with both lending institutions in an attempt to stay on track, but it got to be too much," Zambito said.

Richard Russell Vetter, 57, of Main Street, Varysburg, is charged with grand larceny and 10 counts of falsifying business records. Vetter is accused of making false metal purchase entries into business records while employed at Stanley Staba & Sons in Darien and writing himself checks in excess of $7,000.

Brian Mark Mahaney, 24, of Indian Falls Road, Pembroke, is charged with reckless endangerment. Mahaney is accused of being involved in a domestic dispute. He allegedly drove a motor vehicle eastbound on Indian Falls Road, crossed the center line into the path of a westbound vehicle. The westbound vehicle reportedly had to drive off the pavement to avoid a collision. Mahaney then allegedly followed the vehicle to a residence and threatened to fight the vehicle's occupants.

Thomas Jacob Wolcott, 26, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, and harassment, 2nd. Wolcott is accused of being involved in a physical altercation with a protected person whom he was ordered not to engage in any criminal act against. He allegedly grabbed the victim by her neck and threw her about a room. Wolcott was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Steven James Scott, 21, of Dellinger Avenue, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .10 or greater, open container and unlawful possession of marijuana. Scott was taken into custody following a report at 8:36 p.m., Tuesday, of a motorist needing assistance on Route 33 in Bergen. The motorist reportedly attempted to flag down passing cars. Upon investigation, deputies Joseph Graff and Matthew Butler identified Scott as the operator of a motor vehicle who was allegedly driving while drunk.

Triton Adam Drock, 18, of Buell Street, Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and sexual abuse, 2nd. Drock allegedly had an ongoing relationship with a minor female. Drock is accused of acting in a manner injurious to the physical and moral welfare of a minor. Following arraignment in Darien Town Court, Drock was released on his own recognizance and issued a stay-away order for the minor female.

City of Batavia firefighters got to get a hands-on experience for the first time today with their new fire engine, to be known as Engine 11.

Representatives from Rosenbauer, the company that built the engine, were on hand for the orientation.

Firefighters were able to try out all of the controls -- from the spray canon to the foam nozzle -- to familiarize themselves with the operations of the engine.

Two platoons went through the orientation today and two more will get their chance to check out the new apparatus on Thursday.

Chief Jim Maxwell said he expects Engine 11 to go in service on Sept. 10.

Purchase of the $342,000 fire truck was approved by the city council in April using funds specifically set aside for the fire department.

Engine 11 replaces Engine 14, which was retired due to escalating repair costs to keep it up to standards.

Batavia Fire Department has responded to 104 Jackson St., lower, for a possible oven fire.

The apartment is full of smoke.

The resident states he just moved in and it's the first time he used the stove.

UPDATE 7:33 p.m.: Burnt food. City fire ventilating the apartment.

UPDATE 7:45 p.m.: The food is out of the stove, the stove is out of the house and City fire is back in service.

The signs say "Re-Elect John Gerace, Town Board," but it's not that simple.

Gerace is not the incumbent in Batavia.

Chad Zambito is. He was appointed earlier this month to the seat vacated by Gerace in the spring.

Gerace has been trying to get the seat back ever since his letter of resignation, which he says was written in a "knee-jerk reaction," was accepted by Supervisor Greg Post.

As for Zambito, he's not overly concerned about Gerace posting "re-elect" signs.

"I don't think he's necessarily trying to confuse the issue," Zambito said. "I just think they're from a prior election."

Gerace said he figures he can run for reelection because he's been elected before.

Of course, so has Zambito.

Both were first elected to the town board in 2003, and then Zambito resigned in 2007 when he became VP of marketing for Genesse County Economic Development Center, causing a possible conflict of interest.

Now they face each other in a GOP primary Sept. 13 that is the result of Gerace's resignation in April.

At the time, Gerace wouldn't discuss his resignation. Now he acknowledges it was spurred by events at the awards and installation dinner for the Town of Batavia Volunteer Fire Department.

Gerace was intoxicated at the event and was observed being loud and boisterous.

What happened later in the evening isn't clear, but Gerace said that contrary to various rumors, he was not involved in a physical altercation with Supervisor  Post.

He said he and Post had words outside of the fire hall about his behavior, and some people followed them out to see what was going on, but that was it.

"I held myself up to a higher standard than most people being an elected representative," Gerace said. "(My resignation) was a knee-jerk reaction. The next day I spoke with the supervisor about it and he asked me what I should do and I said I would fire myself. It was a knee-jerk reaction."

Even though he acknowledges that he wrote a letter of resignation, it was never intended to go through or be made public.

It was supposed to be held in abeyance until and unless he had any similar problems in the future.

Once word got out about the letter, however, Gerace said, Post had no choice but to accept it.

Gerace said he also went to the next board meeting for the fire department and personally apologized to every member for his behavior at their event.

Earlier this month, Zambito, who was endorsed by the town GOP as Gerace's replacement, was selected by the town board to complete Gerace's term.

Gerace believes the process for selecting Zambito violated parliamentary procedures under Roberts Rules of Order. But Zambito said the town's attorney looked into it and the process was fine.

Besides the fire department event and resignation, the other issue that may dog Gerace in the primary is a question about unpaid taxes.

In June, NYS Taxation and Finance issued a tax warrant against Gerace $571.26.

When asked about it, Gerace said, "I know what that's about. It's taken care of."

The Batavian learned of the tax warrant after an unknown person attached a copy of it to our office door.

Even with all these issues, Gerace said he's confident he's the right man for the job and that voters should check off his name on their ballots.

"I have a proven track record serving the Town of Batavia," Gerace said. "I'm a lifelong resident of this area. It's very near and dear to me and the issues that effect this area effect myself. I don't vote to approve or disapprove motions for myself. I look at how they effect every member of the community."

Gerace added that he also has a near-perfect attendance record for town meetings over the past decade.

Zambito said he would bring experience and professionalism to the position.

He noted that besides being a previous town board member and serving on the Genesee Chamber of Commerce Board, his three years with GCEDC is just the kind of experience the board needs right now with all the planned and anticipated growth in the town.

A Wichita, Kan., man who enticed a 14-year-old Batavia girl into sending him naked pictures of herself through text messages was sentenced in Federal Court yesterday to more than 26 years in prison.

Shane M. McClelland, 26, Wichita, Kan., was convicted in a jury trial in May on one count of producing child pornography.

During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that McCelland used the Internet to strike up a relationship with a 14-year-old girl in Batavia.

At McClelland’s request, the girl sent photographs of herself naked to McClelland. The mother of one of the girl’s friends became aware of what happened and reported it to police.

Det. Todd Crossett and Office Jay Andrews initiated the investigation in Batavia and during the course of the investigation Crossett posed as a 14-year-old girl and communicated with McClelland.

Crossett testified at McClelland's trial in May about the chain of evidence and his exchange of text messages with McClelland.

After McClelland's conviction, Crossett said, "He was definitely a sexual predator. He had a past history of doing this sort of thing and he does it again soon after he gets out of prison. That indicates the kind of person he is."

Daniel E. Plath is indicted by the Genesee County Grand Jury on one count of DWI, a Class E felony, for driving a 2007 GMC pickup truck on Old Creek Road in Alexander on May 12 while allegedly intoxicated. He is also indicted on a second felony count of DWI for allegedly having a BAC of .08 or more. In count three of the indictment, Plath is accused of aggravated unlicensed operation for allegedly driving the truck while intoxicated and without a valid driver's license. His license was invalidated following a DWI conviction in 2007, according to the DA's office.

Gary R. Dean is indicted by the Genesee County Grand Jury on one misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated on April 24 in Alexander. He allegedly drove a 2007 Chevrolet on state routes 98 and 20 and in a parking lot on Broadway Road while intoxicated. In count two, he is accused of aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree, a Class E felony, for allegedly driving without a driver's license while intoxicated. His license was revoked following a DWI conviction in 2001, according to the DA's office.

Press release:

The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office has recently hired Anne M. Bezon to fill the position of Justice for Children Advocacy Center (JFCAC) supervisor; a position that was created after a vacancy that was left by the resignation of a Sr. Community Victim Services counselor at the center.

Bezon brings many years of social work experience to the Justice for Children Advocacy Center. In addition to previously being employed with Catholic Charities as a co-facilitator for both the Domestic Violence for Men Program and Our Kids Parent Education Program, she held the title of social worker III. She was also the assistant director of the Geneseo Summer Recreation Program for the YMCA.

The 2004 high school alumna from Oakfield-Alabama Central School graduated magna cum laude from Gannon University with a bachelor of arts degree in Legal Studies, with minors in Social Work and Pre-law. In addition, she earned a master's degree in Social Work from University of New York College at Buffalo in 2010 and is currently enrolled in the 2012 class of Leadership Genesee.

Sheriff Gary Maha said “Ms. Bezon is a perfect fit for the Justice for Children Advocacy Center Supervisor position. This position requires patience, compassion, sensitivity and social work experience, all of which Anne possesses. She started in this position July 30 and has been doing an excellent job.”

Brandon Charles Smart, 35, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with trespass. Smart was arrested on a warrant out of Le Roy Town Court charging him with trespass. The charge stems from a June 13 incident at Buttermilk Falls, off North Road, Le Roy, in which Smart fell to an outcrop of rocks at the falls and had to be rescued. 

Smart is also charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, speed not reasonable and prudent, moving from lane unsafely and unlicensed operation. Smart was reportedly involved in a single-car property damage accident at 1:11 a.m., Saturday, on Knowlesville Road, Alabama.

Nicholas Joseph Pascucciq, 22, of Main Road, Stafford, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and possession of a hypodermic instrument. Pascucciq turned himself in on a county court bench warrant on charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 4th and 5th. After his arrest, the additional charged were issued stemming from an incident in Le Roy on July 14. Pascucciq was held on the warrant.

Walter B. Hale, 34, of Oakfield, is charged with felony DWI and three counts of felony aggravated DWI. Hale was charged under Leandra's Law for allegedly driving while intoxicated with three children in his car. Hale was stopped on Route 63 by State Police. According to troopers, he failed a field sobriety test and blew a BAC of .09. Hale was jailed on $5,000 bail.

There will likely be seven or eight girls volleyball teams in Section V this season with boys playing right along side the girls, setting, digging and maybe even spiking.

One of those boys may play for Batavia High School.

It's a growing trend, said Ed Stores, executive director for Section V.

"Last year a couple of schools had boys on them and this year there may be seven or eight," Stores said. "It's a concern that it's taking off a little bit. Unless the state education department gives us a little more guidance, there could be more."

State athletic rules allow for girls to play boys sports and boys to play girls sports so long as there is "no significant adverse effect," Stores said.

Right now, Section V interprets the rule to mean no girls are cut from the squad to make room for the boy.

If a boy were 6' 4" or 6' 5", that might fall under "no significant adverse effect," Stores said, but the state hasn't given regional athletic directors enough guidance to know for sure.

There is currently no protocol -- because the issue hasn't come up yet -- on what to do if a boy makes a team and just dominates games. Stores said if that happened, Section V officials would review the situation and determine whether there is a "significant adverse impact."

Mike Bromley, athletic director for BHS, said the boy and his father do not want to be part of any media coverage right now. Since the last step for the boy making the team -- final Section V approval -- won't take place, if it does, until tomorrow, Bromley declined to release the student's name (he anticipates approval, however)

The student was required to go through a review process at the school that determined that he would be able to compete without undue advantage, Bromley said.

"It's not automatic for a boy to be on the team," Bromley said. "If we think it disadvantages the female athletics then we have to look at it differently."

The youth won't be the first boy to compete in a girls sport at BHS, Bromley said. Last year a senior was on the girl's gymnastics team, though he didn't compete for points. He just participated in meets.

"He was really good at floor exercises," Bromley said.

The gymnasts participated, Bromley said, just because he enjoyed the sport. He wasn't trying to prepare himself for a gymnastics career in college.

There have been girls over the years who have played boys hockey, wrestling, lacross and one girl, whose ability was so advanced, played boys tennis.

Bromley described the local male volleyball player as somebody who just really enjoys the sport and wants a chance to participate.

It got a lot of attention from BHS students last year when Pittsford Mendon's volleyball team showed up with a boy on the team.

"They had a kid who was a setter who was pretty good," Bromley said. "The kids who went to the game were, 'wow, boys can do that.' I think that got them thinking about it."

Stores said there's something to seeing other boys play volleyball that helps remove the stigma, which helps encourage them to try out for the team.

In the first season after the summer Olympics, there may also be a heightened interest in volleyball among male athletes.

But there isn't enough interest yet, Bromley said, to create a separate team for boys.

Stores said in this day and age schools simply don't have the money to add more athletic teams.

"I think there are a lot of boys who want to play," Stores said. "But there aren't a lot of schools out there that are going to be adding sports."

One person is believed still in the vehicle after a one-car rollover accident on the Thruway near mile marker 290.8.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 3:12 a.m.: One occupant, out of the vehicle, declining medical treatment.

UPDATE 3:26 a.m.: Town of Batavia back in service.

State Police conducted a DWI checkpoint Saturday evening on Route 5 in the Town of Pembroke.

Six people were arrested:

• Mark A. Newton, 42, of Batavia, charged with DWI
• Edith S. Williams, 48, of Buffalo, charged with possession of a controlled substance, 7th
• Christopher W. Palmer, 40, of Akron, charged with DWAI
• Armand Cummer, 54, of Amherst, charged with felony DWI
• Frederick E. Perry, 31, of Corfu, charged with DWI
• Nathan C. Swimline, 25, of Corfu, charged with DWI

Earl Key (top photo, Jacquetta Simmons leaving court with Ann Nichols following the verdict).

Lawrence Friedman

Asked if his client, Jacquetta B. Simmons, got a fair trial, attorney Earl Key said, "I'm going to appeal that, so we'll see."

Earlier, as reporters walked with him as he left the courthouse, Key declined to say on what basis he might appeal the conviction.

Expanding on the fair trial thought, however, Key said it's possible intense local and regional media coverage made it much harder to ensure Simmons had her case heard before a fair and impartial jury.

"I think the media coverage -- no offense to you guys at all -- definitely hurt her chances of a fair trial," Key said. "As you heard during jury selection, we didn’t have one juror that said -- well, we had a couple, but not very many – who said they had not heard about this case.

"Even the ones who were on the panel had said they had formed an opinion, but they said they could set that aside and be fair and impartial, and the judge accepted their word at that."

Simmons, the 27-year-old Batavia woman convicted today in Genesee County Court of assaulting a 70-year-old Walmart employee, will be sentenced Nov. 15.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman disagreed with Key's assertion.

"You were there for jury selection," Friedman said. "We went through an unusually large number of people to seat a jury. Obviously there were a lot of people who came through saying they had seen coverage, way more than we’re used to, and they had formed an opinion and, unfortunately, many people said they couldn’t set those opinions aside, and of course they didn’t wind up on the jury."

Key said he was obviously disappointed in the outcome of the case and that he firmly believes the video evidence presented at trial clearly shows a Walmart employee grabbing his client's arm and that she is trying to break free of that grasp when she strikes Grace Suozzi.

"In certain spots, the video is unclear," Key said. "I don't know that they (the jury) saw it the way I saw it."

Asked by a reporter if he thought Sharon Reigle, a Walmart customer service manager, lied on the stand about grabbing Simmons, Key didn't answer the question directly, but said, "She absolutely grabbed her arm, in my opinion."

During the trial there were several profane statements attributed to Simmons that were racially charged.

Some readers of The Batavian have questioned why Simmons wasn't charged with a hate crime.

Friedman said the facts of the case didn't fit the penal code, which requires that race be proven as a motivating factor in the crime.

"Clearly there were comments made, particularly later in the sequence of events, that relate to the race of the victim," Friedman said. "We didn't see necessarily that the crime occured because of the race of the victim."

Simmons was convicted under a relatively new New York statue that makes it a Class D felony for a person 10 years younger than a victim who is 65 or older to assault such a victim.

Originally, Simmons was also charged with the more straightforward assault in the second degree charge, which requires proof of intent to cause serious physical injury.

Prior to the start of the trial, Judge Robert C. Noonan ruled there was insufficient evidence to charge Simmons with intent to cause serious physical injury, so he reduced the charge to a misdemeanor of assault, 3rd.

Without the enhanced assault 2nd charge, the so-called elder-abuse statute, Friedman would have been left with no choice but to prosecute Simmons on the misdemeanor, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail.

While such crime enhancements are often controversial among civil libertarians, Friedman said any time there are additional ways to charge a perpetrator with a crime it "helps keep society safer."

"I think it's appropriate for obvious reasons," Friedman said. "You're dealing with more vulnerable victims, either young children or older adults, who are more vulnerable to injuries that can be much more serious. So from my perspective, it's absolutely appropriate."

Simmons turned down a plea bargain several weeks ago that would have capped her sentence at three-and-a-half years in state prison with an available sentence to Judge Noonan of straight probation (no jail time).

Now she's facing a sentence that ranges from probation up to seven years in prison.