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Press release:

Democratic leaders called on Rep. Chris Collins (NY 27) to resign immediately, in the wake of his announcement that he was suspending his reelection campaign. They also decried the corrupt process of suddenly removing him from the ballot, long after the deadline for changing the ballot had come and gone.

Once again, the Republican establishment of NY 27 is making the interests of the voters play second fiddle to the desires of their own party to retain a stranglehold on power, no matter what. Jamie Romeo, Monroe County Democratic Chair, noted that "Chris Collins has been under an ethical cloud for over a year -- under a congressional ethics investigation -- but the Republican leaders thought it was just fine to have him on the ballot until a few days ago. It's only when they figured out that this seat was in jeopardy that they decided Chris Collins had to go."

Judith Hunter, the Livingston County Democratic chair, said "Republican bosses are absolutely taking the voters of NY 27 for granted again. The federal ballot is set; at least one county in the district has already printed them. But these arrogant power brokers think this seat is theirs to play with and have come up with a corrupt, legalistic sleight of hand without any input from the voters of NY 27. It's shameful."

Michael Plitt, the Genesee County Democratic chair, asked the obvious questions: "If Chris Collins' arrest is serious enough to make him suspend his campaign, why isn't it serious enough to make him resign? We're going to be saddled with a lame duck representative under criminal indictment who has been stripped of his committee assignment and any power in Congress, for what? His arrogant ego? It's a disgrace."

Michelle Schoeneman, of East Aurora, founder of Citizens Against Collins, says she is absolutely outraged: "The arrogance of Chris Collins insisting he is going to serve his term out is beyond belief. And the arrogance of the Republican bosses thinking they can just wave a magic wand and replace him on the ballot is equally outrageous."

"We Democrats are fortunate to have Nate McMurray as our candidate for NY 27," said Jeanne Crane, the Democratic chair of Orleans County. "We know he's going to put the interests of the voters first, whatever he does. He cares about the hard-working middle-class people of this district need, not what shady power brokers want."

The tweet that changed the complexion of the NY-27 congressional race had barely reached all of the followers of @repchriscollins before Republicans with aspirations to serve in Congress started declaring their interest in replacing Rep. Chris Collins on the GOP line of the November ballot.

Dick Siebert, chair of the GOP in Genesee County, said he's already heard from three candidates, including two from Batavia -- Steve Hawley and David Bellavia.

It will be up to the county chairs in the NY-27 -- given that the primary season is already past and it's less than three months to Election Day -- to pick whose name goes on the R line instead of Collins.

That is if a legal way can be found to get the incumbent's name off the ballot. Possibilities include, or so we are told, finding another elected office to appoint Collins to, such as a judgeship, or having Collins declare permanent residency in Florida.

"My reaction?" Siebert said when asked for his reaction to Collins suspending his campaign. "I was relieved that he did it. It was the right thing to do."

This morning, well before Collins announced he was getting out of the race, The Batavian interviewed Michael Caputo, a GOP political consultant from Buffalo and a close ally of President Donald Trump. Caputo talked at length about all the ways Collins staying in the race harmed Republicans and threatened the very survival of Trump's presidency.

"The scandal and prosecution are in small but profound ways a bad reflection on the president," Caputo said. "I don't think Chris Collins will ever darken the doorstep of the Oval Office again."

The president, Caputo said, learned a powerful lesson when he looked past allegations against Judge Roy Moore in the run-up to his Alabama Senate race about the Republican candidate's reputation for chasing teenage girls. 

Caputo said the closer he gets to Collins at this point, the greater the risk it will blow back in his face and he doesn't want a repeat of the Roy Moore fiasco.

"The president is inclined to look past mere partisan allegations because he weathers so many of those himself, but this 30-page indictment of the wealthy trying to preserve their wealth, it's a terrible look in the New York 27th, where the vast majority of voters are low to middle class on the economic scale," Caputo said.

It was Caputo who first introduced Trump to Collins in 2014 when Trump was considering a run for governor. Collins endeared himself to Trump during the 2016 campaign by being such a strong defender of Trump in television appearances but all that goodwill evaporated when Collins was arrested.

Then Collins became a liability, both because of the perception of his close proximity to the president, and because there is a recognizable danger of Republicans losing control of the House in the midterms.

"It may boil down to one or two seats," Caputo said before we knew Collins was dropping out of the race. "It may boil down to Nate McMurray and Chris Collins. If we lose control of the house, there will be impeachment proceedings, no doubt about it."

In an analysis of data about scandal-plagued incumbents running for reelection, the political prognostication site 538 gives Collins a slender 2 or 3 percentage point chance of winning the election in November.

With the race potentially cut down to a margin of two or three points, Caputo thought it would be a hard race for Collins to win without an energized base. He was already seeing rank-and-file party leadership peeling away from Collins since his arrest.

Collins would not be able to run an effective campaign without squarely addressing the allegations, which at his Wednesday press conference he was unwilling to do, Caputo said. Every time he appeared in public, the press would be there and the lasting image, if Collins wouldn't answer questions, would be of him running away from reporters.

And his own supporters wouldn't have been willing to defend him, then, in their neighbor-to-neighbor conversations.

"One by one, they (would) drop away and in the end, he (wouldn't) have the people to mount an effective get-out-the-vote effort," Caputo said.

That is the kind of tough-love analysis Collins probably heeded when he said in his withdrawal statement, "After extensive discussions with my family and my friends over the last few days, I have decided that it is in the best interests of the constituents of NY-27, the Republican Party and President Trump’s agenda for me to suspend my campaign for reelection to Congress."

The process for picking GOP congressional candidates for the GLOW region is heavily weighted toward Erie County and that process over the past decades has given us: Tom Reynolds, who retired under a cloud of scandals involving Rep. Mark Foley and the treasurer of National Republican Congressional Committee while Reynolds was chair; Chris Lee, who resigned after he was reportedly trolling for transgender women on Craigslist; and now, Chris Collins, accused of insider trading.

It's too soon to know if there are other GLOW-based candidates who might be interested in the seat beside Hawley and Bellavia, but there are Hawley and Bellavia. 

Steve Hawley, a six-term member of the state Assembly, was born and raised in Batavia, is a farmer, local business owner and was a member of the Ohio Army National Guard and the United States Army Reserves.

"Collins has suspended his campaign, whatever that means, but it's not clear if that means his name stays on the ballot or there may be some way to get his name off the ballot," Hawley said. "If that were to occur, I am proud to continue serving and helping people at any level of government and this is something I will look at if it comes up and certainly make a strong push for it."

David Bellavia was born and raised in Buffalo but is a longtime resident of Batavia. He is an American Iraq War veteran who was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the Second Battle of Fallujah, along with other military awards and honors. He is currently a talk show cohost on WBEN. He lost a 2012 primary race to Collins, though he beat Collins in every county but Erie and Niagara.

"This is something I've dedicated 10 years of my life to doing," Bellavia said. "I'm committed myself since 2012  to correct my deficiencies in Erie and Niagara counties. I'm ready to run."

Previously:

• Chris Collins suspends campaign for Congress
• For area GOP chairs, uncertainty hangs over NY-27 race after arrest of Chris Collins
• Collins has reportedly used campaign funds to pay legal fees amidst ethics and criminal investigations
• In criminal indictment, Collins accused of lying to FBI about substance of conversation with his son while on phone at White House
• Collins mum on substance of insider trading charges, refuses to take questions at press conference
• Reform candidate for NY-27 responds to arrest of Chris Collins
• SEC complaint against Collins reveals alleged insider trading saved sellers $768,600
• McMurray responds to arrest of Rep. Chris Collins
• Chris Collins reportedly indicted by federal grand jury on insider trading charges

Rep. Chris Collins announced this morning that he has dropped out of the race for the NY-27 congressional seat.

“After extensive discussions with my family and my friends over the last few days, I have decided that it is in the best interest of the constituents of NY-27, the Republican Party and President Trump’s agenda for me to suspend my campaign for reelection to Congress,” he wrote in a statement posted on his official Twitter account.

Collins was arrested Wednesday morning on federal charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, and lying to the FBI.

UPDATE: The congressman's press office just issued this statement:

"Democrats are laser-focused on taking back the House, electing Nancy Pelosi Speaker and then launching impeachment proceedings against President Trump. They would like nothing more than to elect an 'Impeach Trump' Democrat in this District, which is something that neither our country or my party can afford.  

After extensive discussions with my family and my friends over the last few days, I have decided that it is in the best interests of the constituents of NY-27, the Republican Party and President Trump’s agenda for me to suspend my campaign for reelection to Congress.  

I will fill out the remaining few months of my term to assure that our community maintains its vote in Congress to support President Trump’s agenda to create jobs, eliminate regulations, reduce the size of government, address immigration and lower taxes.

I will also continue to fight the meritless charges brought against me and I look forward to having my good name cleared of any wrongdoing.”

Yes, the Ellicott Station project is proceeding slowly, but it is proceeding.

Last night, Savarino Companies sought County Planning backing for a special use and site plan review, two formalities before they can start construction on the mixed-use complex that will include a brewery, apartments and office space.

"This might be one of the more complicated projects I ever work on in my lifetime because New Market Tax Credits are involved and the New Markets just haven’t really been paired with HCR money before," said Courtney Cox, development associate with Savarino. "We might be like the second case ever, so the legal teams are just trying to figure out how they want to make this work."

The New Market Tax credit is a mechanism that enables Savarino to secure private financial support for a bulk of the project's $17.6 million price tag. The New Market Tax Credit program, was created about two decades ago, in part to replace grants that financed many failed urban renewal programs. Tax credits on the project can be sold as assets to help create a market-driven way to encourage development in economically distressed neighborhoods. 

HCR is Homes and Community Renewal, a state agency that provides funding for housing in financially depressed neighborhoods.

These two financial programs are not commonly brought together and they have different criteria that developers must meet. HCR has a 30-year compliance period and New Markets has a seven-year period with a requirement to refinance after seven years, as one example of the complications that need to be worked out.

Still, Cox still estimates financing will close in this month or nextl, thereby allowing contractors to get a shovel in the ground before the first freeze. If crews can get the site cleared and foundations built before winter, then workers can put up steel and start working on walls.

The entire construction cycle, however, is estimated to be 24 months.

Despite these delays, the anchor tenant, Resurgence Brewing in Buffalo is patient, Cox said.

"They understand," he said. "We renegotiated some of the terms of the lease pretty easily between the two parties, so they're are hanging in there."

One of the biggest changes in the site plan is the apartment complex, which will now include 55 apartment units instead of 51.

That's a change needed to comply with HCR requirements.

"These programs all have design guidelines," Cox said. "There is a limit on how large one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom units can be. In the original plan, the one-bedroom units were larger than what they allow, so we had to downsize."

The one-bedroom apartments will be about 785 square feet.

"They’re not tiny units by any means," Cox said. "I think it's just being efficient with space that public money is being invested into."

Even though no ground has been broken yet, Rachel Tabelski, director of the Batavia Development Corp., said Ellicott Station remains one of the state's ground-breaking projects.

"This is the first brownfield opportunity area -- they have these all over the state -- but this is the first one that is actually close to putting a shovel in the ground," Tabelski said. "So across the state, we are the poster child for having a developer come in and commit to this site and prove that the brownfield opportunity area works."

The success in getting the project this far has put Batavia on the map with investors looking to finance similar projects.

"This project is a catalyst," Tabelski said. "Everybody wants to know what’s going on. They’re calling us out of Manhattan now asking are there deals here they can play. That’s a huge testament to how big this is."

He said the executive committee will meet Aug. 20 to discuss their options, which would include everything from standing by there man or asking him to resign.

The case against Collins, Siebert conceded, looks pretty strong but he also believes that in this country, we support the rule of law and a person is innocent until proven guilty.

He understands, though, not all voters are going to see it that way and that could make it hard for Collins to get out in the district over the next three months and battle for re-election.

"It's a tough situation to campaign in with this hanging over your head," Siebert said. "The people in Genesee County are tough people and they don't like scandals and they don't like to feel betrayed so I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now."

Ellen Grant, chair of the GOP in Wyoming County, said she is also waiting to see how things play out, with a similar belief in America's justice system but recognizing the case presented by federal prosecutors doesn't look good for the incumbent congressman.

"I was very surprised and very dismayed by the news," Grant said. "It seemed like a strong case that was put forth in New York City. I listened to the timelines they presented and the other information but I also understand people have an opportunity to rebut and refute and that everyone is innocent until proven guilty."

She understands, she said, that these charges were just filed and Collins has a lot on his plate but she was disappointed in his press conference in Buffalo on Wednesday. While he proclaimed his innocence, she noted, he provided no information that might convince constituents to believe him.

"I don't know when he might make any further statements beyond what he has said but I'm hopeful more information will come out to assure voters and the people in the party who are working for his re-election so he can continue to be our representative as a candidate and a congressman and do those jobs well."

As an elected official holding national office, Collins is in the public eye, she said, so "you have to prove your innocence instead of just proving you're not guilty to retain the public's confidence."

In Orleans County, GOP County Chair Ed Morgan said the future of the congressman is entirely up to him.

"My opinion, my stance is, we're in American and in America, you're innocent until proven guilty," Morgan said. "He's in the driver's seat. He can stay in the race if he wants. He is still our congressman and I will still back him and wait and take a deep breath and in a week (when his committee will meet) we'll see what our options are."

Morgan said he sees the legal issues faced by Collins as separate from his position and our congressional representative.

"This is not a congressional issue," Morgan said. "It's more of a legal issue. I think he's done a great job for the area and I think he would continue to do a great job. I'll keep an open mind. Our county is one of the smaller ones but one of the more heavily Republican ones."

The only other GOP county chair The Batavian tried to reach is Nick Langworthy from Erie County. We have placed calls yesterday and today and sent him a text message and have gotten no response.

Morgan also questioned the timing of the charges, just three months before an election, and wondered if they might be politically motivated (for the record, the prosecutor in the case is a Trump appointee) but Dick Siebert had a different take on the timing of events.

He wonders why Collins didn't alert the county chairs sooner about the pending investigation. The allegations stem from June 2017, months before Collins asked local party members to start passing around petitions for his candidacy (though it's hard to know when Collins became aware of the federal criminal investigation, he certainly knew as far back as April 25 and the news of his arrest caught everybody by surprise).

"If we had known before," Siebert said, "It would have given Chris a chance to explain himself before we decided whether to endorse him."

As for Siebert's own take on the allegations, he's been pretty unhappy since the news came out, he said.

"Right now from everything I've seen of the evidence, and what I watched of the proceeding when the charges were filed, there is no doubt about it, it's very disturbing," Siebert said. "It's very damning. This is not what you expect from a congressman or any elected official for that matter. In Genesee County, I'm proud of all the people we've helped get into office. We run clean campaigns. We've had no scandals in Genesee County in my 44 years and so I'm disappointed in our congressman."

Previously:

• Collins has reportedly used campaign funds to pay legal fees amidst ethics and criminal investigations
• In criminal indictment, Collins accused of lying to FBI about substance of conversation with his son while on phone at White House
• Collins mum on substance of insider trading charges, refuses to take questions at press conference
• Reform candidate for NY-27 responds to arrest of Chris Collins
• SEC complaint against Collins reveals alleged insider trading saved sellers $768,600
• McMurray responds to arrest of Rep. Chris Collins
• Chris Collins reportedly indicted by federal grand jury on insider trading charges

A dog was reportedly stuck under the foundation of a house at 3810 Pike Road, Batavia.

Town of Batavia fire responded and the dog was just extricated.

Apparently, some ground gave way near the foundation.

Animal Control was also dispatched.

Press release:

As part of the last concert, Dave Lumberg, owner of Tim Hortons, of Batavia, received the annual Pam Frisby Friend of the Band Award.  Pam was a longtime board member and president for the Batavia Concert Band, and the Band honors her memory every year with a Friend of the Band Award. 

Tim Hortons was recognized for their generous donation each season of baked goods for the concession stand, of which the proceeds are used to fund a scholarship program for college students who play in the Batavia Concert Band. 

Pictured is Dave Lumberg, a Tim Hortons Batavia franchise owner, Anne Arent, BCB Board member, and Jason Smith, BCB general manager.

Tim Hortons received a certificate for display in their restaurant, and their name will be engraved on a special plaque displayed at every concert. Tim Hortons also donated the prize award back to the Batavia Concert Band.

The Band also thanks GO ART!, WBTA, the City of Batavia, and Genesee Community College for their support of our entire season, as well as the following concert sponsors: The Zehler Family, Rotary Club of Batavia, HE Turner & Company Funeral Home, Batavia Lions Club, Bailey Electric, GCASA, The Insurance Center, UMMC, friends of Neil Hartwick, the Pacino family, Michael Kubinec D.D.S., and Brighton Securities.  

Thank you to all our audience members who faithfully attended each week, and plans are already underway for the 2019 season!

Thirty years ago, Kathy Ferrara walked into Pontillo's thinking she was just taking a job to help her get through college at GCC.

She never left.

Today she is the owner of the successor to Pontillo's, Batavia's Original.

On Wednesday, she celebrated that 30th anniversary with friends, customers and employees.

"I loved it from day one," Ferrara said. "I look back and I wouldn’t have changed any of it. It was a great environment. I made lots of friends through customers, employees, hundreds of friendships."

Now, she says, she's just doing what she was taught by the Pontillos to do -- take care of employees and serve the community.

"I have pride and it’s humbling, both at the same time — to carry on the tradition of hiring students, college students and high school students, and watching them come through and seeing them make friendships here, just like I had when I was starting out."

CNBC reported today that Federal Election Commission records show that Rep. Chris Collins has been using campaign funds to pay attorneys while under investigation for alleged insider trader acts.

The records indicate Collins has used donor money to fund up to $60,000 of his legal defense.

The payments were made to the legal firm of BakerHostetler.

The use of campaign funds to pay for legal fees is legal.

These legal fees covered the time period of two separate House probes, including one by the Office of Congressional Ethics and another by the House Ethics Committee.

A spokesman for the Collins legal team confirmed that the payments from the campaign were for the investigation by the nonpartisan Office of Congressional Ethics and an ongoing inquiry by the House Ethics Committee. Going forward, the congressman will pay for his legal bills out of his own pocket, the spokesman added.

 NOTE: In our previous coverage of the allegations of insider trading against Rep. Chris Collins, we cited a government document as a "criminal complaint." This was an oversight on our part and we subsequently corrected those stories to indicate we were referencing a civil complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This story is based on the indictment against Collins and his co-defendants. To read the indictment yourself, click here.

Two of the alleged conspirators -- Lauren Zarsky and Dorothy Zarsky -- have reportedly admitted to the SEC that they engaged in insider trading and have agreed to return their "ill-gotten gains."

The SEC settlement is a civil matter. Neither of the women has been charged, at least so far, with a criminal offense.

The three men at the top of the alleged tip tree, however, could go to prison, if convicted, for up to 20 years.

They are, Rep. Chris Collins, his 25-year-old son Cameron Collins, engaged to Lauren, and Lauren's father, the 66-year-old Stephen Zarsky. They are charged with conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements to FBI agents.

According to the criminal indictment, the narrative of how Chris Collins came to be accused of insider trading begins with an email he received at 6:55 p.m., June 22, 2017. Collins was at the annual Congressional Picnic on the lawn of the White House when he reportedly read a message from Innate's CEO, who is Simon Wilkinson, according to the company's website.

"I have bad news to report," Wilkinson wrote. "The top line analysis of the 'intent to treat' patient population (i.e., every subject who was successfully enrolled in the study) would pretty clearly indicate 'clinical failure.' "

He continued, "Top-line 12-month data ... show no clinically meaningful or statistically significant differences in [outcomes] between MIS416 and placebo."

The email concluded, "No doubt we will want to consider this extremely bad news."

Collins responded at 7:10 p.m., according to prosecutors, "Wow. Makes no sense. How are these results even possible???"

He is then suspected of immediately attempting to contact his son. He called Cameron twice. Cameron called back three times. Chris Collins called him back. On their seventh attempt to connect, at 7:16:19 p.m., father and son finally spoke with each other. 

Video has surfaced that shows Collins pacing on the White House lawn at 7:17 p.m. talking on his mobile phone.

Chris and Cameron spoke for six minutes and eight seconds.

The indictment alleges the congressman revealed that the MIS416 trial failed, disclosing nonpublic information, knowing it was a breach of his duties and anticipating his son would trade on the information and tip others.

When Cameron Collins allegedly learned of the clinical trial failure, the over-the-counter market in the United States was closed.

At 7:42 a.m. the next morning, Cameron Collins placed an online order to sell 16,508 shares of Innate. The order was executed at 9:30 a.m. when the OTC market opened.

As the day worn on, Cameron allegedly placed 17 more orders to sell. He's accused of placing 36 more on Monday. 

During this flurry of trading, Chris Collins and Cameron Collins spoke on the phone several times, prosecutors allege. During one five-minute conversation, while still on the phone, Cameron Collins allegedly placed an order to sell 50,000 shares.

In all, he sold 1,930,500 shares during this trading binge. In all, he sold 5.2 million shares, according to federal documents. As a result, he allegedly avoided a loss of $570,900.

In the days before the CEO learned of the clinical trial failure, the future of Innate looked much brighter after the FDA cleared Innate to open what's called an Investigational New Drug application. That clearance moved Innate one step closer to a public release of its new multiple sclerosis drug. 

The company announced the good news June 21.

A few days earlier, on June 19, Lauren Zarsky used her online brokage account for the first time ever to buy Innate stock, grabbing 40,464 shares over a two-day period. 

According to the indictment, Lauren Zarasky didn't even own Innate stock for a full week. At 9:37 a.m., June 22, after reportedly meeting with Cameron Collins at her father's house, Lauren sold her entire Innate portfolio.

Lauren Zarsky avoided losses of $19,440 with the timely sale of her stock.

Lauren Zarsky has not been charged criminally. A spokesman for the Southern District in New York of the U.S. Attorney's Office said he was not permitted to discuss whether or not Lauren Zarsky has cooperated with investigators. 

Before Cameron Collins started his alleged stock dump, he went to the home of Stephen Zarsky, the indictment alleges and met with Stephen Zarsky, Lauren Zarsky, and Dorothy Zarsky.

According to prosecutors, Cameron disclosed information about the failed trial and informed the family that he would sell his shares but give the Zarskys a chance to unload their shares first out of concern that his share dump could potentially depress the share price. The indictment doesn’t reveal how investigators learned the substance of the conversation.

That night, at 9:34 p.m., before trading of Innate shares were halted in Australia, Dorothy Zarsky called her brokerage. A telephone rep walked her through the process of executing an online trade in Australia. That night, she sold 30,350 of her 50,000 shares on the ASX market. The next morning, she sold her remaining shares in the U.S. over-the-counter market. She avoided $22,600 in losses.

At 7:52 a.m., June 23, Stephen Zarsky allegedly contacted his broker and placed an order to sell his 303,005 shares at no less than 41 cents a share. That was well below the previous day’s closing price of 52 cents per share. His shares sold at 9:30 a.m. for 51 cents a share. Stephen Zarsky allegedly avoided $143,900 in losses.

Cameron Collins allegedly contacted another trader the morning of June 23 who immediately sold his holdings to avoid a loss of $680.

That same morning, Stephen Zarsky allegedly contacted three other people, including his brother, who held Innate stock.

Without disclosing how investigators know the contents of Stephen Zarksy's call to his brother, the indictment says that Zarsky advised his brother to sell his stocks. Investigators say Zarsky's brother concluded, without being told, that Zarsky had insider information from the Collins family, and sold his shares, avoiding a loss of $4,200.

The indictment also recounts a text message conversation Zarsky had with his brother (image at the top of this story), discussing two other traders who were allegedly advised to sell but didn’t.

Another Zarsky contact allegedly sold his shares and avoided losses of $6,700. 

During one conversation with an Innate stock owner, Stephen Zarsky reportedly told the person that Cameron Collins intended to purchase a house so he would have an excuse for the timing of his Innate trades if they ever came to light. That person Zarsky spoke with allegedly avoided $6,700 in loses.

Chris Collins is accused in Count Eleven of the indictment of lying to an FBI agent on April 25. He is accused of telling the agent that he did not pass along to Cameron Collins the confidential information before its public release that the drug trial had failed.

Cameron Collins was also interviewed by an FBI agent on April 25. He is accused of lying about his conversation with his father and lying about his knowledge of Stephen Zarsky’s Innate holdings.

Stephen Zarsky is accused of lying to a special agent of the FBI on April 25 by stating that he sold his Innate stocks solely because of his concern that Innate was too risky of an investment; that the investment had been recommended by a friend in Connecticut; that he didn’t know whether Cameron Collins had sold any shares, and that he did not know the drug trial results or discuss them with Cameron Collins prior to the public announcement.

Alabama fire is responding to a rollover accident with unknown injuries at 1748 Lewiston Road.

Paul David Hussey, 63, of Highway 13, South Hurricane Mills, Tenn., is charged with four counts of attempted assault with a dangerous instrument, 1st, four counts of reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and driving while ability impaired by drugs. Hussey is accused of attempting to run over patrons of the Northgate Free Methodist Church, 8160 Bank Street Road, Batavia, at 6:59 p.m. Wednesday. He was allegedly found in possession of methamphetamine. He was jailed on $25,000 bail, $50,000 bond.

Joseph T. Sieg, 23, of French Road, Depew, is charged with menacing, 2nd, DWI, aggravated unlicensed operation, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, and driving without inspection. Sieg allegedly threatened four people by displaying a knife during a disturbance on Telephone Road, Pavilion, at 9:28 p.m. Wednesday.

Press release:

Darien Lake Theme Park Resort — New York’s Coaster Capital — will hold open interviews and auditions from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays beginning Aug. 11 through Oct. 6 to fill numerous job openings including ride operators and positions for Fright Fest.

Fright Fest, the biggest Halloween event in North America, extends the park’s season through Oct. 28th with Friday, Saturday and Sunday operation. Additional ride operators as well as makeup artists, wardrobe assistants, technicians, ushers, and of course, ghouls and scare-actors are needed.

“We are seeking friendly, ambitious applicants who want to help us create memorable experiences for our guests,” said Park President Chris Thorpe. “Our extended season gives us a great opportunity to welcome hundreds of new employees into the Darien Lake family.”

Special Perks and Benefits

• Free Admission to the Park – An employee ID is equal to a 2018 Darien Lake season pass. Come as often as you like, free of charge!

• Free Park Tickets for Friends & Family - Where else can you work and earn free tickets to Darien Lake? Share the fun with your friends and family all season long.

• Opportunities to Advance - Our team members are on a fast track to success. With so many great opportunities, both new and returning employees can take on new challenges and develop their leadership skills.

• Great Resume Building Experience - Darien Lake offers great experience for future business leaders. Understand your labor force, how to manage inventory and interact with guests, all under the sun and in a place that’s all about fun.

Interested applicants may apply in person during any open interview period, apply online at www.DarienLake.com/jobs or call the Darien Lake Job Line at 585-599-5108.

A highway department employee driving a county vehicle allegedly ran a stop sign on Macomber Road, Alabama, where it crosses Judge Road, at 11:31 a.m. Tuesday, causing a collision with a semi-truck.

Andrew Craig Smith, 41, of Batavia, was cited for alleged his alleged failure to stop.

Smith reportedly told Deputy Kevin McCarthy, who prepared the accident report, that he was looking at a map while traveling southbound in a 2012 Ford pickup and so failed to stop at the intersection.

Timothy A. Felschow, 59, of Watertown, was eastbound driving a 2006 Mack Truck with a trailer hitched on the back.

Felschow was transported to ECMC for evaluation by Mercy EMS with a complaint of chest pain.

Smith was transported by Mercy EMS to Strong with facial cuts.

With barely a mention of the insider-trader charges he is facing, Rep. Chris Collins held what was billed as a press conference at the Embassy Suites in Buffalo on Wednesday evening and vowed to fight vigorously to clear his name.

He called the charges -- detailed at length earlier Wednesday in a 22-page Securities and Exchange Commission civil complaint -- "meritless" but offered no details on why he believes he has been unfairly charged.

With his wife, Mary Sue, standing placidly by his side, Collins held forth for nearly seven minutes on: his successes in business; his record as Erie County executive; his belief in the company at the heart of the insider trading allegations -- Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd.; and his hope of finding a treatment for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.

"I believe I acted properly and within the law at all times with regard to my affiliation with Innate throughout my tenure in Congress," Collins said. "I have followed all rules and all ethical guidelines when it comes to my personal investments including those with Innate. 

"I look forward," he added later, "to being fully vindicated and exonerated, ending any and all questions relating to my affiliation with Innate." 

After vowing that his name will be on the ballot for the NY-27 election in November, Collins walked off stage and refused to acknowledge reporters' questions.

The man prosecuting Collins, Geoffrey Berman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, a Trump appointee, was far more detailed in a press conference in New York City earlier in the day. Berman and other federal law enforcement officials talked for nearly 30 minutes about the scheme they allege Collins enabled by his failure to keep confidential information he was legally and ethically bound to not share with anyone, not even his son.

According to Berman, however, as soon as Collins received the devastating news that a clinical trial for a promising MS drug developed by Innate had failed, Collins -- while attending a Friday afternoon Congressional picnic at the White House -- repeatedly attempted to call his son, Cameron Collins, a major shareholder of Innate stock. When he finally reached him -- while Collins was still pacing on the lawn of the White House -- father and son spoke by phone for six minutes.

That unleashed, Berman said, a frenzied four days of insider trading as the "tip tree" allegedly headed by Collins, got to work passing on info and dumping stock as soon as each member of the tip tree found out about the failed trial. Cameron managed to unload more than $570,900 in Innate stock that would become nearly worthless once the results of the trial were finally released the night of June 26, a Monday, by Innate.

"Congressman Collins couldn't keep his crime a secret forever," Berman said. "The FBI asked to interview him. And instead of telling the truth, he lied. And so did Cameron Collins and so did Stephen Zarksy. By lying to the FBI, they compounded their insider-trading crime with the crime of criminal cover-up."

The tip tree allegedly involved Cameron's girlfriend, a CPA, her father, her mother, along with other friends and family members.

Cameron Collins' girlfriend, Lauren Zarsky, and her mother, Dorothy Zarsky, have already settled with the SEC, admitting to their role in the insider-trading scheme and promising to pay back their "ill-gotten gains." Lauren Zarsky will also be prohibited from working as a CPA before the commission for five years.

"Accountants who engage in illegal insider trading should not serve in the role of gatekeeper in our securities markets," said Stephanie Avakian, co-director of the SEC.

The investigation into the alleged tipping tree began, according to Steven Peikin, head of the enforcement division of the SEC, after regulators noticed the unusual trading pattern of Cameron Collins.

According to the civil complaint, Cameron Collins, who at one time owned 5.2 million shares of Innate stock, initiated dozens of trades in increments small enough to avoid depressing the stock price but at high enough volumes that he could quickly unload all of the Innate stock he held in a U.S. brokerage. 

"When members of the market abuse unit, a specialized group within the division of enforcement, uncovered suspicious trading by Cameron Collins they did not stop there," Peikin said. "As you heard, they identified well-timed trades by people close to him including his girlfriend, her mother, her father and her father's relative and a friend."

According to Peikin, numerous investigators with the SEC, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office worked on the case tirelessly for months, compiling a growing body of evidence that led them to Chris Collins, his son, the Zarsky family and their friends.

"(They) developed a thorough and compelling evidentiary record," Peikin said. "That record, which is summarized in the complaints, consists of e-mails and text messages, cell phone records, trading data, communications, including recorded calls with brokerage firms, IP log-on information and other (information). It reflects frantic efforts by tippers to convey inside information and traders to sell their shares before the company's negative news announcement."

Attorneys for Chris Collins tried to make the case Wednesday that Collins is not guilty of insider trading because he did not sell any of his own stock in the company. During his time on the dais at Embassy Suites on Wednesday evening, talking in front of about 30 reporters, Collins echoed the sentiment.

"When it became clear that the drug I and others believed in fell short of our hopes and expectations, I held on to my shares rather than sell them as a result," Collins said.

It's not part of the allegation against Collins that he engaged insider trading by selling stock, however. The allegation is that he initiated a tip tree that caused others to sell based on information he was duty-bound to keep confidential.

"Congressman Collins had an obligation and a legal duty to keep that information secret until that information was released by the company to the public," Berman said. "But he didn't keep it secret. Instead, as alleged, he decided to commit a crime. He placed his family and friends above the public good. Congressman Collins was a major investor in Innate and so was his son, Cameron. The congressman knew he couldn't sell his own shares for personal and technical reasons, including that he was already under investigation regarding Innate by the Congressional Ethics Office."

At the time Chris Collins was informed by the Innate CEO via an email that the clinical trials had failed, all of the stock held by Collins was tied up in an Australian brokerage. In May of 2017, Collins attempted to transfer his stock holdings to a U.S. brokerage, according to the civil complaint, but a mistake in the form delayed the transfer. Cameron Collins completed his own transfer between countries in early June. Once Innate knew it would be making a material announcement about the company, under Australian securities rules, trading of the stock was suspended. That rule didn't apply to the stock held by Cameron Collins once it was transferred to a U.S. brokerage or the other alleged members of the tip tree, so they were able to offer their stocks for sale as a penny stock on the over-the-counter Pink market under the ticker symbol INNMF.

The SEC takes a dim view of insider trading because trust is an important component of an open securities market. When traders buy or sell stock in a company based on information not available to the general public, it violates that trust.

"Insider trading is not just illegal," Peikin said. "It is also corrosive. It threatens investor confidence in the fairness and integrity of our markets. For our capital markets to retain their place as the envy of the world, the SEC and its law enforcement colleagues must be vigilant in policing against this misconduct."

Joshua Dent, president of Dent Wealth Management in Batavia, said that is exactly the attitude he expects from the SEC and it's critical to how he and his colleagues do their jobs. They need to know the securities they recommend to investors are being traded honestly and fairly.

"Stocks are traded on information and it's critical for that information to be accurate," Dent said. "Companies can get in trouble for falsifying that information to investors. At the same time, access to that information must be open to all investors or it gives some individuals an unfair advantage. Anything that causes investors to mistrust the fairness of the market is dangerous and threatens the integrity of the entire stock market."

While anybody who bought Innate stock at the time Cameron and others were selling may have lost money on the trade, it's impossible to say that they lost money because the alleged insiders were selling. The buyers were all willing buyers, Dent explained. They probably would have been looking to purchase stock in Innate even if the alleged insiders hadn't been trading. If they bought at the share price available -- about 45 cents at the time -- they would have lost their shirts by June 27 regardless of who was selling the stock. They traded on the information available to the general public and likely would have made those trades even without the alleged insiders trading. 

"There's no recourse for them because they could have bought the stock from anybody and they were willing to buy at that price," Dent said. "It's not necessarily about the victims as much as the unfairness that the Collins's were able to avoid losses and threaten the credibility of the market. The victims are basically all investors because if some people are able to receive and act on insider information and others cannot, then, as I said, it threatens the credibility of the stock market. The credibility of the stock market is based on the ability of investors to trust a fair exchange."

Chris Collins, Cameron Collins, and Stephen Zarsky each face 13 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements. If convicted, they each could be looking at five years in prison.

As a result of his arrest in Manhatten this morning, Collins is already facing consequences in the House of Representatives. Speaker Paul Ryan removed Collins from the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

“While his guilt or innocence is a question for the courts to settle, the allegations against Rep. Collins demand a prompt and thorough investigation by the House Ethics Committee," Ryan said. "Insider trading is a clear violation of the public trust. Until this matter is settled, Rep. Collins will no longer be serving on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.”

During today's press conference in New York City, Co-director of the SEC Avakian addressed those tempted by insider trading.

"Here's a better inside tip for those who think they can play by a different set of rules: Access to this kind of information carries with it significant responsibility, especially for those in society who hold a position of trust, to act honorably and in accordance with the law, and do not lie to special agents of the FBI," she said.

Video: Chris Collins "press conference" in Buffalo on Wednesday evening:

CBS News carried the press conference about the charges against Collins live. In the video below, the press conference starts at about the 6:45 mark.

CBS News also obtained exclusive video taken at the White House on June 22 during the Congressional picnic. It shows Collins on the phone at 7:17. The email informing board members of the failed clinical trials went out at 6:55 p.m. Collins allegedly tried multiple times to get in touch with Cameron Collins and when finally did, they allegedly spoke to each other for about six minutes.

CORRECTION: Earlier we referred to the document used in this story as a "criminal complaint." The document in the possession of The Batavian at the time this story was written was actually from the SEC and is a civil complaint. There is also a federal indictment that The Batavian had not yet obtained when this story was written.

A bicyclist has been struck by a vehicle on West Main Street by the Post Office in Batavia.

No word on injuries.

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

Press release:

Larry Piegza, Reform Party candidate for the NY-27 Congressional District, had this to say about today's news that his opponent Chris Collins was arrested. 

"Over the past year, I've been sounding the alarm that Chris Collins has broken the law. Rather than risk getting a Democrat elected, I knew we needed to get another conservative, Pro-2nd Amendment, pro-business entrepreneur on the ballot. Collins's arrest today confirms what I knew all along about Chris Collins.

"The great news is, the voters in NY 27 still have a conservative option on the ballot this November. If elected, I plan to protect gun rights and balance the budget. I will put our farms and small businesses first. I will caucus with Republicans – traditional fiscal conservatives.”

An entrepreneur who has lived in Western New York his entire life, Piegza is the owner of Gap Technologies Inc., a company that develops software for colleges and universities. Gap is also developing a new product, eDemocracy.us, a virtual town hall platform for congressional representatives.

Over the last 15 years, Piegza has raised his business from the ground up with no debt and steady growth.

"Many people are asking if I still plan on donating my congressional salary to charity if I get elected, and my answer is still 'Yes!' I'm not running for office for the money. I am running because I want to work hard for the community I've lived in for my entire life. Everyone knows we need to drain the swamp – not just as a catchy campaign slogan – but we really need to do it. And we aren't going to be able to do it if we don't get qualified candidates in office."

In the past, the Reform Party has always endorsed Chris Collins. They broke from that this year when allegations against the congressman were revealed.

"The Reform Party has long believed in reforming the political and electoral process, eliminating corruption and special interest control of governmental policies, and returning more power to the people, " said Charlie Flynn, head of the Reform selection committee.

"The Reform Party advocates for term limits for congressman and judges, instant run off voting, and mechanisms for a more direct democracy. The partisan fighting in Congress this year has disgusted many people. People want a balanced budget, not a circus show."

Piegza also endorsed by Unite America, a group that advocates for a three party system.

For information on Piegza giving up his congressional salary, please see:

https://edemocracy.us/disclosures
 
Campaign Website:
http://FixItLarry.org
 
The Reform Party Website:
https://www.nyreformparty.com/
 
Unite America's Website:
https://www.uniteamerica.org

 

An accident with injuries is reported at 8692 Lake Street Road, Le Roy.

Le Roy Fire and Le Roy Ambulance responding.