corfu

A CSX train stopped in Corfu after a conductor complained of tingling in his arm and his face.

Corfu Fire Department and Mercy EMS responded. The conductor is being taken to a waiting ambulance. He will be transported to an area hospital for evaluation.

Patrick Raymond Krieger, 21, of East Main Street, Corfu, is charged with menacing, 3rd, reckless endangerment, 2nd, and harassment, 2nd. Krieger was arrested following an investigation by Deputy Jason Saile and Deputy James Diehl into a 9-1-1 hang up call in the Village of Corfu at 3:50 a.m., Saturday. Krieger is accused of grabbing the steering wheel of a vehicle he was riding in and jerking it in an alleged attempt to scare or cause harm to the female driver. The vehicle nearly struck a tree and a mailbox when the driver lost control of the car. Krieger then allegedly took the ignition key and shoved it into the neck of the woman and made threats of physical harm. When the woman wouldn't exit the vehicle, Krieger allegedly grabbed her by her throat and hair and threw her out of the car and onto the ground. Krieger was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Nicholas J. Pascucci Jr., 21, of Main Road, Stafford, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 5th, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, unlawful possession of marijuana and inadequate stop lamps. Pascucci's vehicle was stopped by Le Roy Police on Friday afternoon for an alleged traffic violation. The officer suspected there may be narcotics in the car and requested the assistance of the Sheriff's K-9 unit. The K-9 reportedly alerted on the vehicle and Pascucci was found allegedly to be in possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. Pascucci was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Willie C. Armstrong, 40, of Tolland Avenue, East Hartford, Conn., is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Armstrong was charged following a traffic stop at 4:30 p.m., Nov. 20 on State Street, by Deputy Brian Thompson.

Christopher Nathaniel Johnson, 24, of Salina Street, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Johnson was charged following at traffic stop at 8:41 p.m., Saturday, on Route 33, Bergen, by Deputy Brad Mazur.

Her husband has forgiven her for shooting him in the knee and dozens of friends and family members sent letters of support to Judge Robert C. Noonan, but a 52-year-old Corfu resident will still spend three years in state prison.

The sentence is what Patricia Hardesty agreed to when she entered a guilty plea Sept. 22 to assault, 2nd, and it was the minimum sentence available to Noonan under the state's sentencing guidelines.

"This is kind of a sad case," Noonan said. "Everybody who has had any input to the court has said, 'please be merciful,' 'please don't send her to jail,' 'don't send her to prison,' 'send her to counseling or back to her family.' But I can't do any of that. I have no power to do any of that."

Hardesty shot her husband in the knee Aug. 1, 2010, during an argument at their home on County Line Road.

Typically in assault cases, Noonan is asked to sign an order protecting a victim for a period of time, but in this case, there was no request for such an order.

"It should have become clear to you before this event, and it should certainly be clear to you now, that you should never drink alcoholic beverages," Noonan said before Hardesty left the court room. "Whatever you do to stay away from alcoholic beverages, whether in prison or out of prison, that should be a very important thing for you to do."

In a 3-0 vote Wednesday night, the Corfu Fire District Board of Trustees approved a resolution disciplining three people for alleged ethical violations and misappropriation of funds.

The vote came following a closed session in which the trustees met with members of an ethics review panel that looked into accusations that the district's treasurer, a former fire chief and a sitting trustee allegedly misused district credit cards and kept incomplete records.

The panel was appointed in September after a NYS comptroller's audit uncovered possible irregularities in the use and reporting of credit card transactions.

Based upon the findings of the ethics panel -- which reportedly uncovered possible further misappropriations not contained in the state's audit report -- the district's former treasurer, Shari Salim, was suspended from the district for two years; her brother, and former department chief Jeff Ammon, was suspended for one year, and their father, trustee Bob Ammon, was asked to resign from the district board.

The trio will also be asked to reimburse any funds due to the district, plus legal and accounting fees.

The district's recently retained attorney, Mark Boylan, of Le Roy, said after the meeting that the matter has also been turned over to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office for a possible criminal investigation. 

The resolution passed by the board also appoints a CPA to do a thorough audit of the district's books.

While the ethics panel's report indicates there was allegedly repeated personal use of the district credit cards by Shari and Jeff, it's unclear how much of that personal use was reimbursed to the district.  

One charge by Bob Ammon came under scrutiny. In 2007, Ammon reportedly made a $359.51 purchase at Dick's Sporting Goods. While listed in the report as a not approved purchase, Ammon reportedly told the ethics panel that the purchase was agreed to and paid for by the fire department. The purchase, he reportedly told the panel, was for exercise equipment for the fire hall.

The report states that while payments were made on the credit cards with other than district funds, some of those payments were late resulting in late charges on the district's cards.

There are also authorized purchases on the cards, allegedly, for which there are no receipts and no proof that the purchases were actually made.

The total of non-approved charges from 2004 to 2007 (the period reviewed by the panel, since the comptroller's office had looked at more recent dates) exceed $2,600, according to the report. Again, a substantial amount of that money appears to have been repaid with non-district funds, but the panel could not determine the exact amount that was repaid.

The district board, while it includes volunteers for the department, is elected by Corfu residents. The board collects taxes and manages some of the revenue used to help fund the fire department. The fire district and fire department are separate entities.

Only three members of the district board participated in the closed session because Bob Ammon recused himself and a fifth member was unable to attend because of health issues.

Robert L. Williams, 21, of 112 State St., Batavia, is charged with assault, 3rd, and disorderly conduct. Williams was arrested on a warrant. He is accused of punching another person onOct. 22, which resulted in the alleged victim suffering a fractured nose. Williams was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Tanyka N. Blanding, 33, of 7 Madera Drive, Rochester, is charged with DWI and criminal possession of a weapon, 4th. Blanding was arrested by Le Roy Police in the early morning on Sunday. Blanding was stopped after the car she was driving allegedly almost collided with a police car on Lake Street. At the time of her stop, she was allegedly found in possession of brass knuckles. Blanding was jailed on $2,000 bail.

Dustin J. Good, 24, of 2937 Merle Road, Attica, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, and possession of a hypodermic instrument. Good was stopped at 11:12 p.m., Friday, on North Lyon Street, Batavia, by Officer Matthew Fleming.

Kenneth M. Gray Jr., 24, of 77 Myrtle St., is charged with leaving the scene of a property damage accident, failure to keep right, operating in violation of restriction and inadequate tires. Gray is accused of hitting a street sign and a parked car on Hutchins Street near Ellicott Street. Gray was stopped some time later on South Main Street by Officer Darryle Streeter. Gray was arrested without incident. The investigation was handled by Officer Jason Ivison.

Jeffrey Matthew Kaczmarek, 42, of Alleghany Road, Alexander, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, felony aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st, driving left of pavement markings in no-passing zone and violation of conditional license. Kaczmarek was stopped at 11:23 p.m., Saturday, on Attica Road by Deputy Jason Saile.

Steven Michael John Kaczmarek, 25, of Gilhooly Road, Alexander, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Kaczmarek was arrested at 4:03 a.m., Friday, after deputies were called to an address on Gilhooly Road to investigate the report of a domestic incident. 

William Thomas Foley, 19, of Main Road, Stafford, and Kristian Nicole Elderbroom, 19, of Marlton Circle, Liverpool, are both charged with unlawfully dealing with a child, 1st. Foley and Elderbroom are accused of hosting an underage drinking party Nov. 13 at a location on Main Road in Stafford.

Ryan D. Wilson, 19, of Alexander Road, Attica, and Jay W. Schafer, 19, of Broadway Road, Darien, are charged with harassment, 2nd. Wilson and Schafer are accused of punching another person while at College Village at 2:42 a.m., Sunday.

Jesse Lee Harner, 25, of Country Route 41, Friendship, is charged with violation of a child-support order. Harner was turned over to the Sheriff's Office after being arrested by Cuba Police officers on a warrant out of family court.

Jered Michael Brown, 23, of North Baxter Street, Sutton, W. Va., is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and failure to keep right. Brown was stopped at 1:57 a.m., Friday, on Route 5 in Pembroke by Deputy Kevin McCarthy.

Mercedes Anne Marchese, 20, of Indian Falls Road, Corfu, is charged with false written statement. Marchese is accused of making a false written statement to the Sheriff's Office on Nov. 6.

Dajuandrick A. Gardner, 16, of Byron Holley Road, Byron, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing and endangering the welfare of a child. Gardner is accused of choking a 15-year-old boy in the Town of Bergen at 7:40 a.m., Oct. 3.

A Corfu resident allegedly was following another vehicle too closely at 6:03 p.m., Tuesday, when his car rear-ended another vehicle that had slowed because a truck had stopped to turn.

The vehicles were both westbound on Route 33 near Boyce Road, Pembroke.

Three people were treated at UMMC for injuries sustained in the two-car accident.

Raymond E. Judd, 83, of Phelps Road, Corfu, was allegedly following to closely a car driven by Diane M. Weaton, of Blood Road, Cowsville.

Also injured in the crash was Judd's passenger, Rosa Laurentina, 62.

The accident was investigated by Sgt. Greg Walker.

A Corfu resident who admitted last month to possessing cocaine will spend five years on probation, even though Judge Robert C. Noonan said he was reluctant to give that sentence to 29-year-old Brandon R. Brade.

Noonan told Brade that reading pre-sentence reports is often like reading a novel, and before he gets to the end he can anticipate the outcome.

In this case, Noonan said, Brade's story said, "he's going off to prison," but the twist in this story was that the probation department was recommending probation for Brade. The recommendation was based on Brade's recent success, and "only his recent success," said Noonan, in substance abuse treatment.

But Noonan counseled Brade that if Brade continues in some of his behavior, and especially some of his attitudes, the story wouldn't turn out well for the Corfu resident.

"If you display your defiance of authority and the world's rules as you have seemed to do in the past, that’s not going to work for you," Noonan said.

Brade admitted to possession of cocaine Aug. 18. He originally faced several drug-related charges, including the sale of cocaine.

While Brade had some minor scrapes with the law prior to 2005, his attorney said, this is Brade's first felony conviction.

Aaron J. Wood, 20, of Iroquois Road, Caledonia, is charged with petit larceny. Wood is accused of unwrapping and eating a $3 pizza while in the Tops Market in Le Roy. Wood allegedly tried to leave the store without paying for the pizza.

Joseph Dennis Vendetta, 30, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, tinted windows and driver's view obstructed. Vendetta was stopped at 2:21 a.m., Saturday, on Richmond Avenue by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Billy Joe Budziszewski, 20, of Alleghany Road, Corfu, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, and criminal mischief, 4th. Budziszewski is accused of getting into a dispute with his father Friday morning. During the dispute, Budziszewski allegedly became verbally abusive and punched the kitchen wall and front door, causing some damage during the argument. Budziszewski also allegedly had a pair of metal knuckles in his bedroom dresser.

Luis Geraldo Pacheco, 49, of Webster Avenue, Rochester, is charged with three counts of criminal contempt, 2nd. Pacheco is accused of violating a stay away order on three separate occasions.

Melvin Gaylord Draper, 30, of Webber Avenue, Oakfield, is charged with felony DWI, aggravated DWI (BAC of .18 or greater), aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st, and improper signal. Draper was stopped at 12:47 a.m., Saturday, on Bank Street Road, Batavia, by Sgt. Brian Frieday.

Gene Robert Schmidt, 44, of Dodgeson Road, Alexander, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 and failure to keep right. Schmidt was stopped at 1:33 a.m., Saturday, on Bowen Road, Alexander, by Deputy Jason Saile.

Trent H. Burgess, 39, of West Avenue Brockport, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 and speeding (89 mph in a 55 mph zone). Burgess was stopped at 12:26 a.m., Sunday, on Clinton Street Road, Stafford, by Deputy Howard Carlson.

Brian James Nelson, 24, of Grove Street, Painted Post, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to keep right and driving left of pavement markings in a no-passing zone. Nelson was arrested following the investigation by Deputy Jason Saile into a one-car accident at 6:04 a.m., Sunday, on Route 77 in Darien. 

Daniel L. Cone, 51, of 6380 Clinton St. Road, Bergen, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speed not reasonable and prudent, following too closely and moving unsafely from lane. Cone was stopped at 5:55 p.m., Saturday, on East Main Street, Batavia, by Officer Dan Coffey.

Lawrence D. Williams, 51, of 148 Hutchins St., Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Williams was allegedly found in possession of a small quantity of cocaine following a traffic stop.

Scott G. Tooley, 26, of 199 S. Main St., Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Tooley is accused of leaving a young child at home without adequate supervision.

Joshua Ray Radley, 25, of Old Meadow Lane, Batavia, is charged with unlawfully growing cannabis, unlawful possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of fireworks. Radley was arrested following an investigation into a complaint filed on July 27.

Loralyn L. Bateman, 35, 874 Gabbey Road, Corfu, is charged with driving while ability impaired by alcohol. Bateman turned herself in at Batavia PD on a warrant out of Batavia City Court.

Michael A. Witkop, 19, 249 Ross St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, aggravated unlicensed operation and improper right turn. Witkop was stopped at 12:38 a.m., Sunday, on River Street, Batavia, by Officer Darryl Streeter.

Brian M. Raphael, 23, of 4 Noonan Drive, Batavia, is charged with aggravated DWI, moving from lane unsafely and improper turn. Raphael was stopped at 1:09 a.m., Saturday, on Liberty Street, Batavia, by Officer Marc Lawrence.

Peter J. Kaiser, 50, of Jackson Road, Middleport, is charged with driving while ability impaired by alcohol, failure to stop for stop sign and speed not reasonable and prudent. Kaiser was charged following an investigation into a traffic accident that occurred Sept. 16 on Lockport Road, Alabama.

Rusty Everett Vanson, 46, of Jefferson Street, Attica, is charged with felony DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and driving left of pavement markings in a no-passing zone. Vanson was stopped at 12:57 a.m., Sunday, on Attica Road in Alexander by Deputy Jason Saile.

Eric Michael Duda, 49, of Main Road, Stafford, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st. Duda allegedly asked a third party to contact a person he is barred by court order from contacting. He has a previous conviction for criminal contempt, 2nd, within the last five years. Duda was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Smoking wires are reported in the area of 9352 Snipery Road, Corfu.

The wires are down and between the residence and the railroad tracks.

Corfu Fire Department is being dispatched.

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Today, the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County announced the results of the third annual Great Pumpkin Weigh-in. It was held Oct. 1 at J&L Feed & Farm Supply in Corfu.

Anna Dorman, of Batavia, grew the largest orange orb -- a Dill’s Atlantic giant pumpkin, which topped the scales at a whopping 120 pounds.

Other participants were Steven and George Underhill, who grew 90-pound pumpkins, and Andrew Underhill who weighed in with a 60-pounder.

The contest also included tiny Jack-Be-Little pumpkins.

The Tarbell family, of Corfu, (Alexandria, Colton, and Quinton) are the lightweight winners with a 40-gram pumpkin.

Anna Dorman came in close with a 42-gram entry. The Tarbells also grew 53-gram and 75-gram pumpkins. Melissa Keller entered a 108-gram Jack-Be-Little.

The pumpkin-growing contest is an annual, educational event and one of many that Genesee County youth participate in as part of the 4-H program.

Youth ages 5-19 who are interested in becoming a member of 4-H, may contact Amy at the Cornell Cooperative Extension, 343-3040, ext. 101.

A chimney fire is reported at 2638 Pearl St. Road in East Pembroke. The house is said to be filling with smoke.

East Pembroke Fire Department is responding along with mutual aid from Corfu.

The location is east of Read Road, on the south side.

UPDATE 2 p.m.: "I think it's pretty much in the chimney, it's just pushing smoke into the house," says the chief on scene. They are going to employ the thermal imaging camera and a fan to blow the smoke from the residence.

A 52-year-old Corfu woman who shot her husband in his knee in August 2010 entered a guilty plea today to a charge of assault, 2nd, as a reckless action.

Patricia A. Hardesty, of 3483 County Line Road, Corfu, admitted to Judge Robert C. Noonan that she fired a .22-caliber rifle at her husband, hitting him in his knee and that she knew at the time her actions could cause bodily harm.

Hardesty faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

Upon Hardesty's request, her bail was revoked and she was remanded to the Genesee County Jail following her guilty plea.

As part of the deal, the District Attorney's Office agrees to expedit the return of items to her husband that were seized as evidence, including siding on their garage, which had bullet holes in it, the gun and a hat.

The Pembroke Corfu Darien Kiwanis Fall Festival and Car Cruise took place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 18 and held something for the whole family at Pembroke Town Park.

In addition to the great turn out of vehicles for the Car Cruise (more than 80 cars), there were vendors, non-profit groups, face-painting for the kids, pony rides, pumpkin patch carriage rides and a chicken barbecue by Krolick's.

More pictures from the event can be found here.

At the end of a sometimes tense meeting, the Corfu Fire District Board of Trustees voted to appoint an ethics panel to look into alleged financial improprities by the district's treasurer and a former fire chief.

The panel will make a recommendation to the district board on how to handle the matter.

The alleged improprieties were disclosed publicly by the NYS Comptroller's Office on Monday in a report that accused the district board of not keeping proper financial records and not reviewing them properly, which led to the board not catching alleged unauthorized use of district credit cards.

The ethics panel will include David Saleh, a volunteer firefighter who often helps the district and the Corfu Fire Department (a separate entity from the district) on legal matters. Saleh is past president of the Genesee County Bar Association.

Pushing hard for the board to take action on the matter was Greg Lang, president of the Corfu Fire Department.

While Lang (in the background of the bottom photo) never explicitly called for the district to fire its treasurer, Shari Salim, he did talk about the fact he has been contacted by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office regarding a possible criminal investigation. He said he was expected to call the Sheriff's Office today and report the results of the board meeting. What happened, he said, could determine whether the Sheriff's Office would open an investigation, or whether he would ask for such an investigation.

"I'm going to have to do what I have to do," Lang said several times.

“I’m telling you right now, if this thing doesn’t go right, we’re going to lose members," Lang said at one point. "There’s no question about it. You guys up there ain't good for nothin' if you ain't got members back here. ...I've had members call me, I've had members come up to me and say, 'I'm not going to be in a fire department where this is going on.”

Salim (in the second photo, far end of the table) is the daughter of district board Chairman Bob Ammon and the brother of Jeff Ammon, the former Corfu chief also named in the comptroller's report for allegedly using a district credit card for personal purchases.

She is a paid staff member of the district, drawing a stipend to serve as treasurer and secretary.

Ammon, a former chief, has also twice been named firefighter of the year for Corfu.

Salim reportedly admitted to the state auditor that she used the credit card for personal purchases. What wasn't clear from the report -- and came out at the meeting -- was that Salim and Ammon paid back the district prior to the audit. However, the board never found out about the purchases or the payback until after the auditor started going through the books.

The district board, while including volunteers for the department, is elected by Corfu residents. The board collects taxes and manages some of the revenue used to help fund the fire department.

At one point during the meeting, Bob Ammon (sitting in the foreground, second photo) became visibly distraught and made an impassioned speech about the toll the finance matter has taken on him. He said it was "tearing him up" over what it meant for his kids, the department and said he'd received threats.

"I thought we were a sisterhood or a brotherhood, but the crap I hear – my phone rings constantly," said Ammon, who's been with the department for 52 years. "'What’s this I read on Facebook?' they say. 'What’s this text message about?' It's terrible.

"I was told I was going to be friggin’ arrested the other night," saying later that if the board failed in its oversight, "we screwed up."

"We do the things we can do and I’m sorry," Ammon added. "I’ll apologize if I’m the guy who is going to get arrested and go to jail. I just turned 70 years old and they’re going to come, with my broken knee, and lock me up? I’m just sick about it."

It was that kind of talk -- the rumors of arrests and threats of arrest -- that drove Saleh (foreground, bottom photo) to get involved in Thursday's meeting, the attorney said.

"There are a couple of things that really crawled under my skin," Saleh said. "For months we've been hearing about allegations of criminal conduct and people are going to get arrested, but I read the audit report and I see nothing in there that indicates any criminal conduct."

Lang wondered how it could not be a criminal matter, saying it seemed to him that using somebody else's credit card without permission would be stealing.

"There's been talk of a credit card policy," Lang said. "Do you really need somebody to tell you not to use a credit card?"

One of the recommendations by the auditor was that the board write a credit card policy, which the board said it would do in its written response authored by Ammon.

As for whether there is criminal conduct, Saleh said in order for the use to be considered criminal there would need to be proof of intent and he said from reading the audit report, he didn't see the intent.

After some more back-and-forth over whether there was criminal conduct, Bruce Fauth basically said, "enough."

"There is a direct implication on the fire district and therefore the fire department," said Fauth (inset photo). "Therefore, I don't care about the criminality of it. I care about whether it's right or wrong and how it reflects on the fire department."

There was a lot of discussion over how much interest and fees was accrued on the credit cards -- the report said $1,600 -- and how much interest has been paid -- the report said $380 has been paid.

It's unclear how the rest of the balance was paid. The report states that Shari Salim and Jeff Ammon repaid the amounts they allegedly charged on the cards.

An examination of interest accrued and payments made will be part of the investigation by the ethics panel, which will require it to examine all of the credit card statements.

The panel will also look at the purchases, whether the district's sales-tax exemption was used, whether the personal use as a "mistake," what documents may have been altered and why the board wasn't made aware of the personal use.

After the public meeting, the district board went into closed session, permissible to discuss personnel issues, and after the closed session announced the formation of the ethics panel with Saleh heading up the investigation.

Lang questioned whether Saleh -- whom he said is friends with Ammon family -- could be impartial.

Saleh said it was his goal to be impartial and he promised an objective examination of the district records.

"I want to do this as a member, not as a lawyer," Saleh said. "I want us as a group to do this right so we set a precedent as to how we're going to handle this if it comes up again in the future. This is too painful for everybody involved for it to be done the way it's been done."

Sheriff's deputies are responding to a complaint about the rider of a red and blue ATV tearing up the lawn at Pembroke Intermediate School, located at 58 Alleghany Road in Corfu.