Dangerous Pedophiles Swamp Streets in Falls - Niagara Falls ...

THE TRUTH IS ALWAYS FAIR 

FREE JUN 18 - JUN 26 , 2013 VOL. 14, NO. 24 FREE 

Dangerous Pedophiles Swamp Streets in Falls

2 

Mike Hudson 

In Niagara Falls, sex offender 

Tuesdays is a sad duty performed each 

week by Det. Patty McCune and her 

colleagues, who are responsible for 

keeping tabs on the city's large pervert 

population. 

“Tuesday is sex offender Tuesday. 

Level 3 offenders –who are the highest 

risk -- have to come in every 90 days 

for face to face check-in,” McCune 

said. “They make appointments, they 

have to update their photos. Level 1 

and Level 2 offenders have to come in 

at least once a year, face to face, and 

we update their photos.” 

The high number of sex offenders 

living in the city results in extra work 

for the police and greater costs for the 

beleaguered taxpayers of Niagara 

Falls. 

“It’s absolutely an extra burden for 

the department,” she said. 

As of last week, there were 119 

registered sex offenders residing in the 

city, down some from the 154 who 

lived here in March when this newspaper 

launched a campaign to drive them 

Sex Offender Tuesdays Give NFPD 

A Handle on City’s Sickest Residents 

out of the neighborhood surrounding 

Niagara Street Elementary School and, 

in particular, the flophouse known as 

the Midtown Hotel, just down the 

street from the school. 

Still, even the 119 figure represents 

one offender for every 431 city residents 

in this city of under 50,000, the 

highest ratio of any similarly-sized 

municipality in the state. 

Unfortunately, many of the perverts, 

rapists, child molesters and other 

scumbags who once congregated 

around the school simply scuttled like 

cockroaches to other locations around 

the city. The NFPD keeps close tabs on 

such moves, McCune said. 

“Once a year we do Operation 

Guardian Angel where we actually go 

out and knock on the doors of Level 2 

and Level 3’s,” she said. “The U.S. 

Marshals help us, and we only had a 

few that were not in locations, which 

was very good. And I’ll be getting warrants 

for their arrest.” 

Under the state correction law, a 

sex offender not notifying local police 

of a change of address is guilty of a 

felony, as is not coming in to update 

their pictures. 

Those who have kept tabs on the 

city’s deviate population over the years 

have noted that many sex offenders 

living in Niagara Falls have come from 

out of town and even from out of state. 

“You have to notify the state 

you’re coming into that you are a registered 

sex offender in the state you’re 

coming from,” McCune said. “It’s their 

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER 

FOUNDING EDITOR 

Mike Hudson 

MANAGING EDITOR 

Dr. Chitra Selvaraj 

MARKETING DIR. 

Michelle Reeb 

“The Truth is Always Fair” 

PUBLISHER & EDITOR IN CHIEF 

Frank Parlato 

CIRCULATION 

Lou Avino 

P.O. Box 3083, Niagara Falls, N.Y. 14304 

Phone: (716) 284-5595 

E-mail: info@niagarafallsreporter.com 

Website: www.niagarafallsreporter.com 

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER JUN 18 - JUN 26, 2013 

SENIOR EDITOR 

Tony Farina 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Cynthia Bianco 

Glenn Choolokian 

Lori Lane 

Moose, Jr. 

Craig Tretiak 

All contents copyright © 2013 Niagara Falls Reporter Inc. 

"We have to deal with our home 

grown problems. We shouldn't be 

‘used’ to deal with other municipalities’ 

problems. We are responsible 

for the monitoring of a disproportionate 

number of registered sex 

offenders and it places a burden on 

the police department." - Bryan 

DalPorto 

responsibility to notify the state. 

There’s a hearing before a judge.” 

But that’s cold comfort for the 

local police agencies that have to deal 

with these, according to police chief 

Bryan DalPorto. 

“When they come here or are 

placed here for whatever reason, it becomes 

our problem,” he said. “Once 

they’re off parole or probation, they 

can live wherever they want.” 

What is it about Niagara Falls that 

seems to draw sexual predators here 

like moths to a flame? According to 

State Sen. George Maziarz, the problem 

can be summed up in one word – 

housing. 

“The core problem in Niagara 

Falls is the pathetic state of the housing 

stock, which drives down property values 

and rents throughout the city,” 

Maziarz said. “I’ll be meeting with the 

state Parole Board later this month, but 

they have their own budgetary concerns 

and the simple fact is that they 

can put these offenders here at the lowest 

possible cost.” 

Maziarz has had a long-standing 

interest in the warehousing of sex offenders 

and other dangerous criminals 

in places like Niagara Falls. Several 

years ago, he tried to introduce legislation 

that would house Level 3 sex offenders 

in unused state prisons, but the 

bill was never taken up by the Assembly. 

“You’ve got a mayor who doesn’t 

care about this problem in all,” 

Maziarz said, citing Niagara Falls 

Mayor Paul Dyster’s famous comment 

that sex offenders “had to live somewhere.” 

“You’ve got a city inspections department 

with a dozen employees and 

landlords begging for any kind of tenants 

they can get,” he added. 

Last month, Maziarz got a Senate

ill passed that would allow Niagara 

County to adopt a stern local law limiting 

residency options for registered 

sex offenders to outside a 1,500-foot 

circle around schools, parks, athletic 

fields, and buildings and land connected 

to daycare centers. 

And last week, the Niagara Falls 

Reporter learned that Maziarz has fasttracked 

a bill in the Senate that would 

greatly limit the locations where sex 

offenders can live, particularly in cities 

like Niagara Falls. The bill is authored 

in the Assembly by an occasional political 

nemesis of the senator, Robin 

Schimminger. 

Under the terms of the state's 2007 

civil confinement law, dangerous sexual 

predators who have what is called 

an incurable "mental abnormality" that 

causes their deviant behavior, are permitted 

to re-enter society rather than 

spend the rest of their lives in mental 

institutions. 

The legislation was proposed by 

then-governor Eliot Spitzer and backed 

enthusiastically by Democrats in the 

legislature, including former Assemblywoman 

Francine Del Monte, who 

co-sponsored the bill along with her 

leader, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Sil- 


Niagara Falls PD burdened by disproportionate sex offender duties 

ver. 

The controversial law has already 

resulted in a number of cases in which 

sexual predators have struck again, the 

"confinement" to which they are subjected 

being no barrier to their uncontrolled 

desire to have sex with children. 

This complicates federal laws designed 

to monitor sex offenders sent to live in 

the general population. 

In 1996, the Federal government 

enacted what is now known as 

Megan’s Law. This required states to 

maintain a searchable database to keep 

the public and law enforcement up-todate 

on sex offenders within the community. 

The law was passed in 

memory of Megan Kanka, who was 

lured into her neighbor’s home with 

the promise of a puppy. 

Megan was sexually assaulted and 

murdered by a two-time convicted sex 

offender who was previously convicted 

of attacking a five-year-old and 

an attempted sexual assault on a sevenyear-old. 

In Niagara County, the database is 

maintained by the county Sheriff’s Department, 

which has taken a very 

proactive stand on keeping track of the 

burgeoning sex offender population in 

Niagara Falls and throughout the 

county. 

In addition to maintaining the database 

that will pinpoint offenders living 

within one mile of any address in the 

county, the department offers instant 

email updates when a registered offender 

changes address. 

“Offenders move frequently, so instead 

of having to check the maps on a 

weekly basis, the best way to stay informed 

is to take advantage of our free 

email alert system,” Sheriff James 

Voutour said. 

The department’s website address 

is www.niagarasheriff.com. 

For a sex offender today? 

3

4 

Mike Hudson 

Some of them drew sentences as 

long as 25 years, and the crimes they 

committed were the unspeakable plots 

we know from horror movies. 

But chances are you've seen them, 

and maybe even through them though 

they undoubtedly do their best to conceal 

their dark pasts. 

Thanks to legislation sponsored in 

Albany by former Assemblywoman 

Francine Del Monte and an attitude of 

complete apathy on the part of Mayor 

Paul Dyster, Niagara Falls has long 

been overrun with perverts, deviates, 

child molesters and rapists of every 

stripe. 

You may see them in the checkout 

line of a local grocery or lurking outside 

of an elementary school. Or when 

you’re having a picnic at Hyde Park or 

taking the family over to Goat Island 

for a view of the falls. 

As far as we’re concerned, they 

should be confined to mental institutions 

or under armed guard for the rest 

of their lives in one of the prisons recently 

closed by the state. Let them 

live under bridges like trolls for all we 

care. 

But at last count, 119 dangerous 

sex offenders were living among us. 

These are among the worst of the 

worst. 

John Tyran, 54, is a sexually violent 

offender who was sentenced to 

12.5 to 25 years in prison following his 

1995 kidnapping and rape of two 

women, ages 24 and 32. 

Records show he used a cutting instrument 

to force one of the women to 

accompany him to a trailer in Cattaraugus 

County, where she was raped and 


The Monsters That Walk Among Us: 

John Tyran Thomas Ryan 

sodomized. 

Now he’s living around children 

and families in unit 1-B at 530 Fifth St. 

According to police, Tyran enjoys 

forced sexual intercourse, sodomy and 

kidnapping in addition to eating fast 

food. The roly- poly rapist weighs in at 

a blubbery 266 pounds! 

David C. Gossard, 67, of 1424 

99th St. is another overweight, violent 

kidnapper and rapist and, like Tyran, 

has no business living among civilized 

human beings. He has a job with the 

Veterans Administration in Buffalo. 

Police say that, back in October of 

1993, Gossard choked and beat a 45year-old 

woman before engaging in 

forced sexual intercourse and forced 

deviate sexual intercourse with her. He 

was sentenced to 14 to 20 years in state 

prison but walks among us today. We 

wonder how many of his 99th Street 

neighbors or colleagues at the Veterans 

Administration know of Gossard’s perverted 

past. 

Back in 2009, it was James McK- 

inney, 56, who got the Niagara Falls 

Reporter really started on the local sexual 

deviant beat. McKinney had been 

convicted of raping four little North 

Tonawanda girls, ages 10 through 13 

in 2002 and using them in child 

pornography. He was freed after serving 

a seven-year term. He was originally 

supposed to stay at his mother’s 

home in North Tonawanda but was 

moved to the Midtown Inn on Niagara 

Street after state parole officers said 

they were afraid to visit him at his 

mom’s. 

Shortly after a Reporter expose, 

McKinney was banished back to North 

Tonawanda, where he lived in a motel, 

but now he’s back in Niagara Falls, 

comfortably ensconced in a private 

residence at 9865 Porter Road. 

He should be in a cage at the zoo. 

Vincent Morello, 71, is another 

sicko who lives here, calling 417 13th 

St. home. 

His victim was an 11-year-old girl 

whom he was convicted of sodomizing 

Scott Mt. Pleasant 

Vincent Morello 

on three occasions, sexually abusing 

once and raping once. 

He was sentenced to consecutive 

terms of 28 years and 18 years follow-

Richard Morello 

ing his 1980 conviction, which should 

have kept him in prison until 2026, but 

the state prison system is so overrun 

with non-violent drug offenders that 

authorities cut him loose. 

Records show he drives a blue, 

1997 Ford truck bearing New York license 

plate EPK3977 and a Yamaha 

motorcycle. 

Jason Lorich, 39, lives at 614 

Tronolone Place and was sentenced in 

2001 to 10 years in prison on six 

counts of sexually abusing two girls, 

ages 8 and 9. He ruined their lives but 

lives the good life today, working at a 

swimming pool company in 

Tonawanda. 

Sometimes a change of scenery 

can do a man good. We doubt this is 

the case with Curtis Cheeley, who 

drew an 8 to 25 year sentence following 

his conviction of the knifepoint 

rape of a woman in Rochester in 1984. 

Cheeley’s now living at 913 Grove 

Ave. in Niagara Falls. 

Winning the prize for overweight 


The Worst of Our Sexual Predators 

sexual predators is Scott Mt. Pleasant, 

49, who tips the scales at a whopping 

309 pounds! 

Records show that Mt. Pleasant 

was less than pleasant in December of 

1992 when he violently sexually assaulted 

a woman prior to his arrest by 

state police. 

Mt. Pleasant makes him home 

these days at 618 19th St., and makes 

ends meet with a job at an auto junkyard. 

We don’t know if Richard J. 

Morello is related to the previously 

mentioned Vincent Morello, but their 

crimes are shockingly similar and they 

live a few blocks away from each other 

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Curtis Cheeley 

Jason Lorich 

in the same East Side neighborhood. 

It could be a coincidence, couldn’t 

it? 

Morello, 43, was convicted of the 

sexual abuse of an eight-year-old girl, 

using her in a sexual performance and 

possessing a video of that sexual performance 

on his computer when cops 

busted down the door back in 1999. 

James McKinney 

David Gossard 

He now lives at 530 5th St. in Niagara 


Thomas W. Ryan, 69, resembles an 

evil looking leprechaun and has a nice 

apartment at 7314 Buffalo Ave. But in 

1985 he was arrested by police in 

North Tonawanda for raping and 

sodomizing two girls, ages 7 and 11. 

He drew a sentence 7 to 20 years 

for his crimes, although his victims 

were given a life sentence after having 

their childhoods stolen away. 

5

6 

North Tonawanda Assemblyman 

Robin Schimminger is uniquely positioned 

to keep sex offenders away 

from places frequented by local children. 

That’s because he proposed a 

law making it illegal for sex offenders 

to live within 1,350 feet of schools, 

playgrounds and other facilities utilized 

by children. 

The bill, introduced in the Assembly 

back in January, is currently held 

in its Committee on Correction for review. 

Currently, there is no law that prohibits 

registered sex offenders from 

living next door to a school or playground 

unless they are on parole or 

probation. 

A registered sex offender on parole 

or probation, currently must live 1,000 

feet or more from a school, daycare or 

playground. But once off of parole, or 

probation, despite being on the sex offender 

registry, they can live anywhere. 

Schimminger's bill would change 

the whole dynamic of where sex of- 


Schimminger Holds Fate of Local Sex Offenders - 

and Children - in His Hands 

Craig Tretiak 

Robin Schimminger George Maziarz 

fenders could live by adding 350 feet 

and by making the law apply not just 

to parolees and probationers but all 

convicted sex offenders. 

A map provided to the Reporter by 

Acting Code Enforcement Officer and 

Democratic County Legislator Dennis 

Virtuoso shows that, if Schimminger's 

bill were to pass, almost every area in 

Niagara Falls would be illegal for registered 

sex offenders to live. That is because 

there are many schools, day 

cares and parks spread across almost 

every neighborhood. 

A study made by the Reporter indicated 

that out of the 119 registered 

sex offenders living in the city today, 

85 would have to relocate if the Schimminger 

bill becomes law. 

Most of the sex offenders would 

have to move out to more rural and 

suburban towns where there is more 

distance between properties. 

This is ironic since these areas are 

traditionally Republican areas. 

Passage of the Schimminger bill 

would in effect begin the relocation of 

registered sex offenders from Democratic-laden 

cities to Republican towns 

and hamlets. 

This would cleanse cities like Buffalo, 

Rochester, New York City and 

Niagara Falls of most of their sex offenders 

and see a flight of these to the 

suburbs and rural areas. 

Youngstown, Wheatfield, Royalton, 

Lockport, Newfane and other 

places would have a majority of their 

towns legally available for sex offenders. 

Less than five percent of Niagara 

Falls would qualify for sex offenders if 

Schimminger's bill were to pass. 

Meantime, local Republican political 

leaders are pointing at the Assembly 

Democrat—who has held his seat 

in the Assembly for 36 years—and demanding 

to know why he has failed to 

pass the bill he authored despite being 

a senior member of his house of the 

State Legislature. 

Adding fuel to their fire is the fact 

that Sen. George D. Maziarz, the Newfane 

Republican who grew up in 

Schimminger’s North Tonawanda Assembly 

district, managed to win over-


Bill passed in Senate, stalled in Assembly 

Niagara County Legislator Paul B. Wojtaszek, Mayor Robert G. Ortt, and 

City Attorney Shawn P. Nickerson called on North Tonawanda Assemblyman 

Robin Schimminger to bring A.3419 to the floor for a vote, and pass the 

same, following the passage of its companion bill, S.5680, in the Senate 

Tuesday. 

whelming passage of Schimminger’s 

bill in the state Senate by a vote of 59- 

3. 

Democratic county lawmakers 

urged Maziarz to support Schimminger's 

bill at a June 2 emergency 

meeting that sought Assembly sponsorship 

and passage of Maziarz’s bill. 

Maziarz agreed, introducing a bill 

identical to Schimminger’s and it won 

passage within days. 

After Maziarz got the Schim- 

minger bill passed in the Senate, the 

Republican mayor of North 

Tonawanda, Robert G. Ortt, held a 

press conference last week to chide 

Schimminger into fast action. 

In Niagara Falls there is one sex 

offender for every 431 residents, according 

to Census Bureau statistics. In 

North Tonawanda, where Republican 

leaders have been vocal about keeping 

sex offenders away from children, the 

ratio is one sex offender for every 

5,185 residents. Children in the Falls 

are 13 times as likely to encounter sex 

offenders in their daily routine. 

“Mayor [Paul A.] Dyster needs to 

reach out to his fellow Democrat, 

Robin Schimminger, and tell him how 

important it is to pass this bill,” 

Maziarz said. “His city depends on it. 

So does Councilwoman [Kristen] 

Grandinetti. They need to call on 

Robin Schimminger to stand up to sex 

offenders and to the leadership of the 

Assembly. They’ve got three days to 

do it." 

Although it was a partisan comment, 

it is not without merit: The Republican 

County legislator from North 

Tonawanda, Paul Wojtaszek said, “If 

Robin Schimminger cannot get his 

own bill passed, it shows me that his 

sponsorship of this legislation was 

nothing more than a hollow act designed 

to placate the public.” 

Sex offender legislation of course 

is the easiest and safest legislation to 

sponsor for no one is against it. 

One wonders why Schimminger 

would sponsor a bill like this and find 

that the Senate could pass his bill faster 

than he could. 

Schimminger said in a written 

statement that the Republican attack 

was less about the bill and more about 

political maneuvering at a time he was 

not readily available to respond. 

“It’s unfortunate that Legislator 

Wojtaszek and Mayor Ortt chose 

today, a day that they should know I 

am in Albany, to hold a press conference 

on this matter and with just a 

handful of days left in session,” he 

said. “I will however continue to work 

to get this legislation passed in the Assembly.” 

It's actually a terrible argument. 

Sort of like saying I'm in Albany, 

where I should be passing this bill, and 

I'm mad you're calling me out for not 

passing it when I'm not there to defend 

myself, even though if I was there to 

defend myself I'd be doing even less to 

pass it. 

7

8 

In our May 21 issue, we reported 

on a personnel matter that came to 

light at a Town Board work session the 

week before on May 16th. 

It was about two summer recreational 

workers, one who was reappointed, 

the other who was not. 

The board had gotten a report from 

the town's recreation director, Susan 

Kotlarz, about some 28 people approved 

for summer jobs at the town 

park. 

One of these, Jeffrey A. Mitchell, 

was replaced by another town employee, 

Colleen Fending, despite Fending's 

failure to obtain the 

recommendation of Kotlarz. 

The Town Board decided to override 

Kotlarz’s decision to hire Mitchell. 

Supervisor Steve Richards said at the 

time the decision was made on the "advice 

of attorneys." 

The next day, Kotlarz resigned. 

Now another attorney has entered 

the mix who believes the town got bad 

advice. On Friday, June 14, local attorney 

Johnny Destino filed a notice of 

claim against the city on behalf of 


Destino Sues Town of Niagara, Names Richards 

Lawyer Johnny Destino brings suit 

against Town of Niagara. 

Mitchell. 

Destino said he will file suit 

against the town and several elected officials 

in their individual and official 

capacities. The notice of claim lists 13 

causes of action including several alleging 

civil conspiracy. 

Town officials have refused to discuss 

personnel matters but sources indicate 

Fending accused Mitchell of 

Easy Rider: Town Supervisor Steve 

Richards denies claims and is 

ready to fight. 

sexual harassment. 

According to the notice of claim 

prepared by Destino, “Town officials 

acted upon and/or promoted false allegations 

against Claimant made by an- 

other Town employee which they 

knew, or had reason to know, were 

false and/or fabricated.” 

“From what I have been able to 

learn so far, it appears that Ms. Fending 

and several town officials conspired 

to injure my client. I won’t 

comment beyond that until the suit is 

filed,” said Destino. 

When contacted by the Reporter, 

Fending, who had worked for the town 

for six years, said she originally received 

a letter from Kotlarz telling her 

she was terminated this year. 

"When I found out I did not receive 

my job back, I questioned it," 

Fending said, "and I was receiving answers 

that were false and had no substance 

to them. That’s when I went to 

Steve (Richards). I kind of showed 

(Richards) reasons why I deserved my 

job back and he agreed. I personally 

went out of my way to approach Steve 

about it." 

Asked if she was suing the town 

for sexual harassment, she answered, 

"No. My intentions were not to make


Claims and Counterclaims Over Two Seasonal Workers 

anybody look bad. I just wanted my 

job back." 

Why were you returned to work, 

while Mitchell was not? 

"I'd rather not comment on that. 

My big issue was I was not given my 

job back for reasons that were unfair 

and unjust," Fending said. 

While Destino wouldn’t comment 

on specifics, it appears Councilman 

Danny Sklarski’s comment to the Reporter 

after the May 16 meeting piqued 

Destino's interest. 

Sklarski said Fending was an "exemplary 

employee." 

Destino says this was in contradiction 

to Kotlarz’s assessment of her and 

suggests Sklarski was involved in 

making the change to the appointments’ 

list. 

At the time of his not being rehired, 

Mitchell told the Reporter that 

he had no plans to sue the town. 

Richards also denied meeting 

Fending in private. 

"I've never even met the person 

(Fending) who complained against 

Mitchell before she made the complaint”, 

Richards said. "I also excused 

myself instantly from the case once the 

victim told me the name of Jeffrey 

Mitchell, being fully aware of the 

Mitchell family's witch hunt against 

me." 

A pair of attorneys from Hodgson 

Russ – Michael Risman and Elizabeth 

Clarkson, representing the town - met 

with Fending and subsequently recommended 

she be rehired. 

According to Fending, shortly after 

she made her complaint, two FBI 

agents questioned her as to whether 

Richards put her up to making up this 

story about Mitchell.Fending said she 

told the agents that she would never 

make up a story about someone sexually 

harassing her, adding she never 

met Richards before she came in to 

make a complaint about losing her job. 

Destino's notice of claim charges 

the town with violation of Constitutional 

due process rights to property 

and liberty protected under the Fifth 

and Fourteenth Amendments, wrongful 

discharge, defamation, abuse of authority, 

breach of fiduciary duty, 

misrepresentation, intentional infliction 

of emotional distress, negligent infliction 

of emotional distress, 

negligence, conspiracy to violate Con- 

stitutional due process, conspiracy to 

commit wrongful discharge, conspiracy 

to commit defamation and conspiracy 

to commit intentional infliction of 

emotional distress. 

Richards says Mitchell is lying to 

his attorney and everyone else. 

"I look forward to seeing Jeffrey 

Mitchell under oath in NYS Supreme 

Court and then we will find out who 

has conspired against who since October 

of 2011," said Richards. 

Sklarski also said he believes the 

town was right. 

"They started this, we end it,” 

Sklarski said. “I say, go to trial." 

The Reporter had contacted 

Mitchell back in May. 

He said, "I'm not going to talk 

about anything. Nothing untoward 

happened (to Fending). I was advised 

by my attorney that I should not talk 

about any of this... I am looking at a 

copy of your paper and it says 'The 

Truth is Always Fair'…. I wish you 

would be fair and not print my name 

and ruin my reputation. I did not do 

anything wrong." 

A call to Susan Kotlarz was not returned. 

Attorney Risman explained that 

the town "investigated the matter, as is 

legally required, based on federal and 

state law for any kind of employee 

complaint, including sexual harassment. 

We can't ignore it. We did what 

we were legally obligated to do.” 

Risman said the claim by Mitchell 

is a "totally meritless and frivolous 

lawsuit. These are part-time employees 

who are 'at-will' employees. They 

serve at the pleasure of the Town 

Board. The board just didn't reappoint 

a seasonal employee. There are laws 

about conspiracy but there is no such 

thing as a conspiracy to commit 

defamation. There was no intentional 

infliction of emotional distress. We 

have no fiduciary duty to Mitchell. He 

has no constitutional right to an 'atwill' 

job. There is not an ounce of merit 

to this litigation. 

"The town decided not to reappoint 

Mitchell. We did not attempt to ruin his 

reputation. The town thought it was 

prudent to reappoint her. We tried to do 

it discreetly and not hurt him. We were 

not trying to hurt him. He is the one 

bringing attention to it.” 

9

10 

Unmentioned in all the ballyhoo 

surrounding Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 

visit to Niagara Falls last week to announce 

an agreement ending the stalemate 

between the state and the Seneca 

Nation of Indians was the fact that the 

agreement extended the life of the 

compact for an additional 10 years. 

In practical terms, this means that 

neither the people of Niagara Falls nor 

their elected representatives will have 

an opportunity to comment on whether 

having the casino here is a good thing 

or not until 2023, rather than 2016, 

when the gaming compact was set to 

expire. 

For years locals have discussed the 

negative aspects of the compact. Why 

does the city receive only 25 percent of 

the 25 percent of the slot machine revenue 

paid by the Senecas to Albany, for 

example? 

After all, the city bears 100 percent 

of the cost for police and fire protection, 

water and sewer lines, road repairs, 

snow plowing and other services 

necessary for the casino to stay in operation. 

Why should Albany get 75 

percent of the money and leave Niagara 

Falls with a measly 25 percent? 

And why are the Senecas only pay- 


Casino Compact Extended to 2023, City Residents, Officials Again Left Out 

Mike Hudson 

Happy Days: For Seneca multi-millionaire President Barry Snyder (center). 

He saved $200 million and got a ten-year extension on a compact which allows 

his Nation to enjoy a superb economic superiority over Americans in 

Niagara Falls. It is not clear what the other two men who gave away our 

rights, Mayor Paul Dyster (left) and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (right) have to 

celebrate other than the fact they are gracious losers and happy with bestowing 

superior legal rights to people they do not govern, over the people 

they do. 

ing 25 percent of just the slot machine 

revenue in the first place? Shouldn’t 

they also be paying a cut of the green 

games, hotel room income, restaurant 

revenue, cigarette, jewelry, and clothing 

sales? 

Has having the casino downtown 

helped or hurt local business? Has it 

improved the quality of life for city 

residents? 

How much of the money being 

kicked back to the city is actually lost 

at the casino by Niagara Falls residents 

who might otherwise be spending it at 

locally-owned taxpaying businesses? 

Do the Social Security and welfare 

checks received by a majority of our 

citizens constitute the bulk of the 

casino cash funneled through Albany 

and received at City Hall each year? 

What are the social costs of plopping 

down a gambling Mecca in the 

middle of an economically devastated 

city where the average income is but 

$18,000 a year? 

And how many casino employees 

actually live in the city? When the 

casino first opened, Seneca leaders 

talked about providing housing for 

their workers in the rundown neighborhoods 

adjacent to the former convention 

center. Why haven’t these plans 

materialized? 

These are some of the nuts and 

bolts questions but there are philosophical 

ones as well. 

Where is the fairness? Is a decree 

by the state of New York that favors 

awarding civil and economic rights to 

members of one race or ethnicity at the 

expense of all other races and ethnicities 

sound policy or tyrannical dictatorship? 

Why should an Italian, Irish, Chinese, 

Pakistani or African-American 

restaurant owner in Niagara Falls be 

subject to some of the highest taxes 

anywhere in the United States while 

their Native American counterparts at 

the casino pay no taxes at all? 

And why should the victim of a 

slip and fall accident inside the casino 

be forced to seek legal redress in the 

Seneca Peacemaker Court while the 

Senecas are permitted to go after deadbeat 

gamblers and others at the Niagara 

County Courthouse in Lockport? 

Many here have been waiting for 

the compact to expire for the opportunity 

to ask these questions and more. 

But those issues were decided – for the 

next decade at least – by two sets of 

lawyers in Albany, one representing 

the state and the other the Senecas. 

And they decided everything’s 

hunky dory just the way it is. 

Who cares what they think in Niagara 

Falls anyway? 

Niagara Falls: A Victim of Circumstances: 

Here in this artistic representation, the Governor (left) and Seneca President 

Barry Snyder (right) explain to their helpful stooge friend Niagara Falls 

Mayor Paul Dyster (center), that there will be no discussion whatsoever 

about the 10-year extension of the Seneca compact and its impact on the city 

of Niagara Falls for the last ten years. It will simply be renewed and extended 

for a decade with no questions asked and no elected official from the 

area allowed to debate it.

Mike Hudson 

Sources in Albany and Niagara 

Falls City Hall this week confirmed 

that all but about $13 million of the 

$89 million the city is to receive under 

an agreement reached between the 

state and the Seneca Nation of Indians 

has already been spent. 

And most of the remainder will go 

toward basic operating expenses contained 

in the regular 2013 city budget. 

Last month, state Comptroller Tom 

DiNapoli – a Democrat who was supported 

both by Mayor Paul Dyster and 

Councilwoman Kristen Grandinetti -issued 

a scathing report on the financial 

condition of the city, stating that 

even with the casino revenue the city 

has been spending about $7 million 

more each year than it takes in. 

In private conversation, DiNapoli 

described Niagara Falls as a “fiscal 

train wreck.” 

The line of institutions and creditors 

who will demand a chunk of the 

settlement money has already formed, 

and will include the lenders on the 

massively overbuilt and over-budgeted 

Casino Cash No Windfall for City 

As Most of It Already Spent 

city courthouse, John Percy’s Niagara 

Tourism and Convention Corp., the 

city school district, Niagara Falls Memorial 

Medical Center and the Niagara 

Frontier Transportation Authority for 

use at Niagara Falls International Airport. 

Prior to last week’s announcement, 

the city has received $69 million in 

casino revenue, with the first check arriving 

in 2004. The lion’s share of the 

money – more than $50 million – arrived 

and has been spent since Dyster 

was elected mayor in 2007. 

Years of expensive concerts at the 

Hard Rock Café, a half-million-dollar 

Holiday Market that few attended and 

a multi-million dollar Underground 

Railroad Exhibit that isn’t half finished 

were a few of the “big ideas” Dyster 

chose to throw money at. 

But the bulk of the casino cash revenue 

went toward simply paying the 

bills for a municipal government spinning 

out of control. 

Youthful Community Development 

Director Seth Piccirillo, for example, 

employs 22 people in the 

departments he oversees, the salaries 

for all of whom are paid with casino 

money. 

In contrast, Niagara Falls, Ont., 

does its economic development with a 

staff of four, and anyone can see which 

of the two operations is more successful 

in creating jobs, attractions and excitement 

in their communities. 

Sen. George Maziarz said that the 

casino revenue has done the people of 

Niagara Falls much good, however. 

“Joe Ruffolo over at the hospital 

did an amazing thing with the reconstruction 

of the behavioral health center 

there, and the airport is on track to 

serve 200,000 passengers this year,” 

Maziarz told the Niagara Falls Reporter. 

“Then you’ve got Cynthia 

Bianco at the school district, who uses 

all the money they get for capital improvements.” 

The problem comes with the 

money given directly to the city, 

Maziarz said. 

“You tell me: what does the city of 

Niagara Falls have to show for the 

casino revenue it has received?” he 

asked. “The mayor was asked why the 

grass in the parks is so overgrown and 

he said it was because they hadn’t gotten 

the casino money!” 

11 

“Good things have been done with 

that money, just not with the part the 

city has received,” he added. 

While Dyster has characterized 

last week’s settlement as a historically 

great breakthrough for the city, it is 

doubtful that $13 million will do much 

to stem the city’s population loss, halt 

the spread of blight in the neighborhoods 

or result in the creation of a single 

permanent private sector job. 

And it certainly won’t reduce what 

are among the highest property taxes 

paid anywhere in the United States. 

“The earth is enjoyed by 

heroes”—this is the unfailing 

truth.

12 


Dyster Played Smart Hand, Is Big Winner in Gaming Settlement 


For a long time, it looked like 

Mayor Paul Dyster of Niagara Falls 

was whistling in the wind when he remained 

hopeful that a solution to the 

gaming war between the state and the 

Seneca Nation would come in time to 

save his city from financial collapse as 

a result of lost revenue the city was 

banking on during the more than threeyear 

long dispute. 

Niagara Falls, which was estimated 

to be behind more than $60 million 

in casino revenue sharing 

payments since 2009, was by far the 

biggest loser of the three host cities in 

the region as a result of the stalemate 

followed by Salamanca and Buffalo, 

and there had been little public sign 

that a deal to settle the dispute was in 

the cards despite earlier agreements 

with two other tribes. 

Struggling to maintain services 

and pay its bills, Niagara Falls had its 

credit rating downgraded by Wall 

Street and the state comptroller warned 

in an audit just two weeks ago that the 

city was in danger of running out of 

cash later this year, mostly as a result 

of the lost casino money, but also criticizing 

the city for including the nonexistent 

casino revenue in its budgets 

and for spending down its fund balance 

in the face of the dispute. 

Dyster held firm against the negative 

tide, maintaining against the seemingly 

long odds that somehow an 

agreement was within reach and telling 

this reporter last month that he felt the 

window of opportunity for a settlement 

was at hand despite the heated rhetoric 

that was going back and forth publicly 

between the governor and the Senecas 

as the end of the legislative session 

drew near, the deadline Gov. Andrew 

Cuomo had set on negotiating a deal. 

It now appears that with the agreement 

that was announced last week 

that will deliver $408 million in past 

casino revenue sharing to the state-- including 

$140 million to the local host 

casino cities with $89 million of that 

going to Niagara Falls-- that Dyster 

had it right and played the hand he was 

dealt perfectly. 

The mayor’s patient public posture 

and his unwavering support of Cuomo 

now has delivered him a major political 

victory against his critics who felt 

that he wasn’t doing enough to protect 

the city’s interests in the bitter and 

long-running dispute. 

“Gov. Cuomo gave me great access 

[to the negotiations] as he got personally 

involved,” Dyster told this 

reporter in an interview, “and I became 

more and more certain [that an agree- 

ment would get done]. And he had 

promised me during our talks that no 

matter what, he would take care of the 

city. I told him I never doubted him for 

a minute.” 

Dyster said he feels “vindicated” 

by the outcome that he made the right 

political judgment in backing Cuomo 

and now the city is in a position to 

move forward, building on the strong 

relationships he believes are in place 

with the state and the Senecas. 

“It’s a huge victory,” Dyster said, 

“and we’re getting our just due. We 

still face very large challenges like 

most upstate cities with lots of vacant 

buildings and population loss, but 

we’ve also done a lot despite the recession.” 

Dyster said he was in regular communication 

with members of the governor’s 

inner circle during the 

negotiations, mentioning Howard 

Glaser, the state’s director of operations 

and a key Cuomo adviser, and 

Robert Williams, director of the state 

gaming commission. 

The mayor said he had learned a 

lot about Indian sovereignty during his 

undergraduate days at UB in the mid- 

70’s from Oren Lyons who was teaching 

at the university during that time. 

Lyons is a Native American Faithkeeper 

of the Turtle Clan of the Seneca 

Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy 

and a recognized advocate of indigenous 

rights. 

“I had been interested in Indian 

history and culture,” said Dyster, saying 

he understood the need for the two 

leaders---Gov. Cuomo and Seneca 

President Barry Snyder—to meet faceto-face 

in order break the deadlock. 

“I made the point in my discussions 

with members of the governor’s 

team of the symbolic importance of the 

leaders meeting face to face, to personalize 

the talks,” said Dyster. “I remember 

as a young man watching former 

Niagara Falls Mayor E. Dent Lackey 

(1963-75) give deference to the Tuscarora 

Indian chiefs during public 

events,” adding he learned how important 

the respect factor is in dealing with 

a sovereign nation and its leaders. 

Cuomo and Snyder did meet face 

to face in New York last month and 

that gave the two leaders a chance to 

size each other up and look for possible 

ways to break the stalemate face to 

face. It worked, as we now know. 

Dyster said despite Cuomo’s tough 

talk and threats of putting a non-Indian 

casino in the Western New York exclusivity 

zone unless an agreement could 

be reached, it was just a part of the 

process that is sometimes necessary to 

leverage the support of your own 

troops. In his mind, Dyster believed 

Mayor Paul Dyster, Seneca President Barry “Baby You’re A Rich Man” 

Snyder and Gov. Andrew Cuomo strike a deal that allows Niagara Falls to 

get what it was originally promised. 

the window of opportunity was at hand 

and both the state and the Senecas recognized 

that concessions would have 

to come from both sides. And they did, 

in the final agreement. 

“Everybody has given something 

up,” said Dyster, “and the governor realized 

it was important for him to say 

the state had done some things it 

shouldn’t have done and he did just 

that. 

Cuomo publicly stated after the 

agreement was announced that “the 

Senecas had a legitimate dispute. The 

president of the Senecas fights very 

hard for the people he represents. I 

fight very hard for the people I represent.”

Under the memorandum of understanding, 

which still must be formally 

approved by the Seneca Tribal Council, 

Niagara Falls, Buffalo and the 

Salamanca region will receive a total 

of $140 million, $89 million for Niagara 

Falls, $15.5 million for Buffalo, 

and $34.5 million for the Salamanca 

area. 

The Senecas get to keep $209 million 

of the $617 million casino revenue 

sharing pot that had been placed in escrow 

pending a settlement of the 

Seneca claims that the exclusivity zone 

had been violated with the state’s three 

race track “racinos” which, under the 

new agreement, can no longer be referred 

to as casinos. 

The Senecas will also resume paying 

25 percent of casino slot machine 

revenues to the state, about $135 million 

a year. 

Cuomo had earlier negotiated 

agreements with two other tribes on 

gambling issues, the Mohawks and 

Oneidas, giving them exclusive gaming 

rights in their regions. 

Cuomo’s bill to expand gambling 

in the state now includes a provision 

added over the weekend that would 

offer high-end video slot machines in 

New York City and upstate in case the 

casino referendum fails. Cuomo has 

been pushing to expand gaming with 

possibly as many as four Vegas-type 

casinos upstate. The expansion needs 

a second approval by the legislative to 

be placed on the ballot this year. 

As for Niagara Falls, Dyster said 

Cuomo told him he would try to expedite 

the delivery of the past due revenue 

sharing funds within a few 

weeks. 

“We are good right now,” said 

Dyster. “We had been able to push 

back the cash flow issue until the fall, 

so now we will be current.” The city 

will use about $22 million of the 

casino money to repay the general 


Dyster Played Smart Hand, Is Big Winner in Gaming Settlement 

fund, and entities like the NFTA, the 

NTCC, the Medical Center, the school 

district and the Underground Railroad 

museum are rightfully entitled to their 

share of the revenue sharing pot. 

For Salamanca, casino money is 

badly needed, as the city has had to 

borrow $7.5 million from the state to 

stay above water. Buffalo did not 

budget for the casino funds this coming 

year but instead will use $29 million 

over the next three years to cover 

expenses in the general fund that otherwise 

might have been paid with 

money in the city’s fund balance. So 

it is very important to Buffalo going 

forward, reducing the strain on its reserves. 

It was a very difficult time for all 

the parties in the gaming dispute and 

there’s no question that getting a negotiated 

agreement even while the arbitration 

process was going on was the 

best possible option, as Dyster had said 

many times. 

For the mayor of Niagara Falls, 

who has been battling with nervous 

city lawmakers for some time over the 

ongoing crisis, it was a victory that validated 

his confidence in the governor’s 

ability to get an agreement and protect 

the city if his efforts failed. Dyster deserves 

credit for not rocking the boat 

during the long and difficult process 

and helping to promote the settlement 

with his behind-the-scenes work with 

the Cuomo camp. 

Another big winner is, of course, 

Andrew Cuomo, who has managed to 

negotiate a deal that while not popular 

with everyone, including some inside 

the Seneca camp, is clearly a positive 

for the local region as it restores confidence 

that despite the no-tax advantage 

enjoyed by the Senecas, the local communities 

will receive their slot machine 

revenue under the 2002 gaming 

compact that now extends to 2023. 

As for the Senecas, President Sny- 

der confirmed in his post-news conference 

comments that his meeting faceto-face 

with Cuomo was indeed very 

important. “This is nation-to-state,” he 

said of the protocol of how an Indian 

leader is to be treated. 

“In the end, nobody got 100 percent 

of what they wanted, but it was 

very good for both sides,” Snyder told 

the Buffalo News. 

In Niagara Falls, longtime council 

member Bob Anderson cautioned that 

there is still much work to be done, 

even with the arrival of the casino 

money. 

“We still face many long-term 

challenges,” Anderson said, and members 

of the council will be on guard to 

make sure the casino funds are used in 

the best interests of the taxpayers 

going forward. 

Council Chairman Glenn 

Choolokian said lawmakers will continue 

to employ a conservative approach 

when it comes to spending tax 

dollars in hopes of preventing a repeat 

of the casino crisis. 

13 

These happy albeit shadowy people 

are locals helping to pay for the 

city share of the casino cash. They 

play in the dark and lose their 

money for a worthy cause. To help 

make Seneca rich. 

The Dyster administration and 

City Controller Maria Brown now 

have the monumental task of reconciling 

all the city accounts and determining 

how the money from the settlement 

will be disbursed to get the city back 

on solid ground.

14 

Mike Hudson 

There was a time, prior to the 

opening of the Seneca Niagara Casino 

in 2002, when you could make an 

evening of it, in the 300 block of Niagara 

Street and that adjacent stretch 

of Third Street bounded by Niagara 

and Main. 

You might stop off for an afterwork 

cocktail at Mickey Rimmen’s Arterial 

Lounge, where they stood three 

deep at the bar, and then stand in line 

on the sidewalk with many others outside 

Flo Acotto’s Press Box restaurant 

for the sumptuous fish fry. 

After that, you could wander over 

to Steve Fournier’s upscale Café Etc. 

to catch a set by some jazz trio from 

Manhattan or drop by the Shark Club 

for a dose of heavy metal. 

The night might end at an intimate 

table upstairs at Dan Vecchies’ extravagant 

Shadow Martini Bar. 

At each stop and on the sidewalks 

all along the way you’d see people you 

knew, colleagues, politicians, pretty 

women and sporting men. People complained 

then but, looking back on it 

now, it was a grand time to be in Niagara 


That all came to a screeching halt 

on New Year’s Eve, 2002, when the 

Senecas opened their casino doors at 

what had formerly been the Niagara 

Falls Convention Center, a place where 

you once went to see Hillary Clinton 

give a speech or watch Baby Joe Mesi 

knock the stuffing out of former contenders 

like Smokin’ Bert Cooper, or 

the Cuban Giant, Jorge Luis Gonzalez. 

When the morning of Jan. 1, 2003 

dawned, it was as if a colossal vacuum 

cleaner had been turned on, sucking 

the life out of the surrounding neighborhood. 

Not having to pay taxes 

meant that the Senecas could hand out 

free drinks even to the lowliest nickel 

slots player. 


Casino Sucked Life Out of Formerly 

Happening Entertainment Quarter 

And six months later, when Albany 

put New York City Mayor Michael 

Bloomberg’s draconian anti-smoking 

legislation into effect statewide, the destruction 

was complete. The casino, its 

downtown Niagara Falls location technically 

being another country, was not 

forced to comply with the ban. 

One by one, the local restaurants 

and nightspots closed their doors. Ironically, 

while the bars and restaurants 

across the street in the Seneca compound 

paid no taxes, the Press Box – 

one of the first to go – was shuttered 

by the state because Flo could no 

longer afford to pay her sales taxes. 

The state auction of the restaurant’s 

contents was a sickening thing to 

watch. 

Things got so bad at the Arterial 

that Mickey rented the space out to 

some nice people who thought they 

could turn the louche dive into a family 

restaurant. Their experience was not a 

happy one. 

Seeing what was happening, the 

state and the city began throwing 

money at the problem by creating an 

“entertainment district” out of what 

had been an entertainment district to 

begin with.

If Casino was so good, where is the spinoff? 

The project eliminated most onstreet 

parking along Third Street by 

widening the sidewalks; construction 

took forever and Café Etc. and the 

Shadow fell in quick succession due to 

the resulting lack of traffic. 

As the accompanying photographs 

show, the formerly fun neighborhood 

from Niagara to Third Street to Main 

is now a mix of shuttered storefronts 

and rapidly decaying buildings. 

And it’s a damn shame. 

Casino opened in 2003 with great 

fanfare and the promise that the 

spinoff development would revitalize 

the town. 

Not just the Seneca's property 

would see revitalization obviously, 

but that the whole town would get 

the spinoff. 

But it didn’t happen as the photos 

of properties, literally on the border 

of the Seneca property, show. 

One would think that those nearest 

the Seneca property would be first 

to be revitalized. Showing what ten 

years of Seneca "spin off" has 

done. These properties are on Niagara 

and Third St. and are adjacent 

to the casino. 

Across the street is another country. 

On one side is America the 

broke and across the street is 

Seneca the rich. The tax free inequality 

makes all the difference. 

15 

For news tips, ad information 

or other communications, feel 

free to call 716-284-5595

16 

Council Chairman has Sensible Approach to Casino Cash 

Glenn Choolokian 

Niagara Falls Councilman 

The casino settlement money, our 

money, has arrived and that’s a very 

good thing. 

After four years of waiting for the 

disagreement between New York State 

and the Seneca Nation to be settled, the 

portion of casino slot revenue owed to 

Niagara Falls will now be coming in 

the amount of $89 million. 

The casino funds are here but so 

are the lingering, long-range fiscal 

problems of our city. It’s going to take 

hard work and cooperation between 

the council and mayor along with ef- 

fective planning to get our financial 

house back in order. 

As the casino revenue crisis played 

out, Niagara Falls suffered through two 

successive bond rating drops, we narrowly 

avoided a tax increase and a reduction 

in city services, we nearly 

accepted a costly New York Power Authority 

cash settlement out of desperation, 

and we were criticized (rightly so) 

by the state comptroller for our spending 

habits and money management 

methods. 

The casino revenue disagreement 

made for tough times for our city. So, 

for the settlement we are thankful, but 

I see no reason for hats and horns and 

claims of a big win. At the end of the 

day this was our city finally getting 

what it was owed and what had been 

held back as the state grew increasingly 

concerned over the pending arbitration 

outcome. 

Throughout the entire process, Niagara 

Falls had to ride along on the 

bucking bronco of state government as 

everything played out beyond our control. 

We should be used to this by now 

since the casino compact was put in 

place by the state without our input. 

The casino revenue disbursement per- 

centages were established by the state 

without our input. Our 52 downtown 

acres were taken from us without our 

input. And this final agreement was 

worked out by the state without our 

input. 

But having said that - and recognizing 

the reality of the city government 

to state government relationship 

- we have to get down to the business 

of managing the $89 million settlement. 

So what’s next? 

The city has to immediately address 

all outstanding debt and commitments 

including making the general 

fund whole again. What eventually remains 

in the hands of city government 

after all commitments are met is where 

the real challenge begins. 

It’s at this point where we must get 

down to the serious business of doing 

things differently. Because if we go 

down the same road of bad spending 

habits that brought us here, we’re sure 

to end up back in fiscal crisis again 

sooner or later. 

This $89 million is going to attract 

all sorts of proposals, consultants, 

plans and ideas from across the region 

and nation the way ants are attracted to 

a picnic. The only two questions we 

need to keep in mind as we administer 

the casino funds are: Is this particular 

project/proposal/expenditure needed 

and is it good - ultimately good in the 

long term - for Niagara Falls. 

There’s nothing we can do to 

change the past and the milk that was 

spilled isn’t going back in the bottle. 

So we have to learn from the bitter lessons 

we’ve been taught over the past 

several years as our casino cash was 

stalled. We have to grasp the difference 

between a “spending plan” and a 

“money management plan.” Anyone 

can spend dollars (just look at the lottery 

winners that are broke shortly 

after hitting the jackpot) but it requires 

planning and hard work to maintain an 

effective money management regimen. 

This casino revenue settlement is 

good news but it’s also a perfect opportunity 

for city government to show our 

critics that we are ready to move forward 

with a united front and in a single-minded 

attitude for the greater 

good and ultimate benefit of the Niagara 

Falls community. 

The council and mayor must now 

join in a spirit of cooperation and negotiation 

to develop a casino revenue 

management plan that is transparent 

and delivered to the residents with responsibility 

and accountability.

18 

At the risk of beating a dead horse 

but in the interest of noting what needs 

to be noted, Niagara Falls Mayor Paul 

Dyster spent much of the weekend on 

Facebook, justifying his WBEN radio 

walk-off, asking people to vote for him 

in an online popularity contest and 

posting articles celebrating the oneyear 

anniversary of the Wallenda walk. 

The hypocrisy of that last bit is 

staggering, since Dyster opposed the 

Wallenda walk every inch of the way. 

He has also posted audio of his 

past remarks regarding his threat to 

shut off fire protection for the casino 

and attempting to parse what he said 

while at the same time claiming he did 

not say it. 

It’s starting to look like some of the 

more tuned in people are now realizing 

that the state once again screwed city 

residents by putting them through four 

years of high drama, giving the 

Senecas in effect a seven-year compact 

extension (2016-23) at current percentages 

with zero local input and promising 

them gaming exclusivity. 

Not to mention that Gov. Andrew 

Cuomo essentially admitted he had no 

leg to stand on with regard to denying 


Dyster Fiddles on Facebook as State, Senecas Burn City 

Lori Lane 

his racino claim. 

In light of all of the above, Dyster, 

state Sen. George Maziarz and state 

Assemblyman John Ceretto – along 

with all of their respective followers - 

- act like the city got something out of 

the deal when what Niagara Falls actually 

ended up with is the money they 

were owed all along from the 2002 

casino compact, a compact that was 

forced upon the city in the first place. 

Dyster was a city councilman then, 

and every bit in the dark about the 

specifics of what had just happened to 

his city as he was last week when the 

new agreement was announced. 

And Dyster spent the weekend on 

Facebook, where he has 3,002 

“friends,” a comparatively small number 

for a guy who clearly sees himself 

on the national stage, linking himself 

to Wallenda and casting his role in selling 

out the city to the governor and the 

Senecas as solid sterling. 

Meantime Assemblyman John 

Ceretto (RCI-Lewiston) joined the 

fools’ overture, alongside Dyster, Gov. 

Cuomo and Senator George Maziarz, 

to proclaim the agreement between the 

state of New York and the Seneca Nation 

was a great day for the city, instead 

of a reckless one. 

Ceretto's press release said, “This 

agreement between the state and the 

Seneca Nation is great news for Western 

New York and Niagara Falls. My 

top concern was that Niagara Falls receive 

the money that it is rightfully 

owed. Niagara Falls desperately needs 

this infusion of money to improve its 

economy and create jobs. This agreement 

accomplishes that goal, and I am 

happy to endorse it. The people of 

Western New York expect their leaders 

to get things done, and today, we have 

delivered results.” 

But he forgot one thing: The compact 

was extended by seven years until 

2023 without so much as a peep from 

Ceretto, Maziarz or Dyster. 

What were they thinking? 

All roads lead to Seneca. 

While the city is broken down and 

ailing, one group of people based 

on ethnicity or race are growing 

wealthy. 

ARTISTIC REPRESENTATION 

While Mayor Paul Dyster (depicted 

in center) claims to be a former 

arms negotiator, a claim this paper 

has challenged, somehow he could 

not negotiate a better deal for Niagara 

Falls. Good thing we had 

Ronald Reagan in those days and 

not Andrew Cuomo. 

NOT A REAL PHOTO

Mike Hudson 

Generally used to a fawning local 

media that regards him almost as a 

deity, Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster 

thought all would be peaches and 

cream for him last week as he took a 

victory lap following announcement of 

the state’s settlement with the Seneca 

Nation of Indians. 

The city will receive $89 million in 

past due casino revenue, a portion of 

the money that was withheld by the 

Senecas because of a dispute with the 

state. 

“This is one of the happiest days of 

my life and, I’m sure, for the city of 

Niagara Falls,” Dyster gushed at a 

local newspaper reporter. 

But when he tried to extend his 

back patting tour beyond the physical 

boundaries of Niagara Falls, Dyster ran 

into a bit of opposition and criticism. 

And when that opposition and criticism 

threatened to rain on his parade, 

the mayor turned tail and ran like a little 

girl. 

Dyster appeared on John Zach’s 

Friday morning WEBN radio talk 


Dyster Claims He Was “Ambushed” 

By Kane at Radio Studio 

John Kane stands up for his people 

show alongside Native American activist 

and broadcaster John Kane to 

discuss the settlement. (Full disclosure 

– I’ve appeared on Kane’s “Let’s Talk 

Native” radio show on wwkb1520 a 

couple of times and we got along fine.) 

After Dyster got through talking 

about how great the deal was for 

everyone concerned, Kane commented 

on some of the harsh rhetoric used by 

politicians during the negotiating 

process. 

“There were some pretty venomous 

conversations played out in 

public, both by the governor and by the 

mayor here,” Kane said. “There should 

be an apology both from the governor 

and, frankly I think that Paul Dyster 

owes the Seneca people an apology.” 

Dyster quickly became agitated 

and reacted angrily. 

“If this keeps up I’m leaving. OK? 

This isn’t why I came here this morning. 

You know, you must be the one 

guy in Western New York who’s not 

happy with what’s happened here. 

Right? This is… It’s outrageous. 

Blessed are the peacemakers.” 

Kane did his best to keep the dialogue 

going. 

“You don’t think it’s outrageous 

you were threatening to pull fire support 

from the Senecas?” Kane asked. 

“I never said that,” Dyster spat, 

tearing off his headphones and storming 

out of the studio. 

Zach, who has been a radio broadcaster 

in Buffalo for more than a half 

century, was clearly stunned. He 

quickly broke to a commercial and 

went to try and reason with Dyster in 

the hallway. 

But the mayor would have none of 

19 

it, skedaddling back to the safety of Niagara 

Falls, his loving wife Becky, and 

trusty sidekick, City Administrator 

Donna Owens. 

Dyster did, in fact, say that fire 

protection for the Seneca Niagara 

Casino might be endangered should 

casino revenues continue to be withheld 

from the city in a 2012 interview, 

but when questioned he explained that 

he was simply talking about “worst 

case scenarios.” 

Later, Dyster seemed to compare 

himself to Niagara Falls pioneer John 

Stedman, telling sympathetic media 

outlets he’d been “ambushed” by 

Kane, who is a member of the Mohawk 

Nation and lives on the Seneca 

Cattaraugus reservation. 

Stedman was of course ambushed 

by a mixed band of Seneca and Mohawk 

warriors on Sept. 14, 1763, in 

what later became known as the 

Devil’s Hole Massacre. Like Dyster, 

Stedman ran from the scene of the 

fight, leaving the 25 men under his 

command that day to die at the hands 

of the superior Native American force.

20 

Lori Lane 

Cute! 

According to one of our top-ranking 

Seneca sources, the Seneca masters 

of Niagara Falls apparently have a private 

word to describe their American 

employees. One they use only among 

themselves. 

They call them "pilgrims." 

As is well known, the "pilgrims" 

do not get the same benefits or employee 

rights as the Native Americans 

who work at the casino. 

And this is only right: Unlike us 

lowly Americans, led by Gov. Cuomo 

and Mayor Dyster, Seneca leaders 

favor their own. 

You can bet your bottom dollar 


Senecas Don't Call Us Pilgrims for Nothing 

that the Senecas would never give taxfree 

preferences to the children of the 

pilgrims over themselves. 

They take of their own people first. 

It is only in Niagara Falls that we 

would give a sovereign nation superior 

legal rights to our own people in our 

own city. 

Senecas pay no taxes and have the 

right to operate gambling facilities and 

we pilgrims will go to jail if we do the 

same thing in the same city. 

Racism at its worst, but it’s all 

legal. 

That's because - and there is no 

other way to say it - we pilgrims are 

pretty stupid. 

For wisdom is better 

than rubies; and all 

the things that may 

be desired are not to 

be compared to it. 

Proverbs 8:11 

Yet Another Milestone for ‘SAL’ – Dr. 

Feldman Completes 100th Robotic 

Surgery at Niagara Falls Memorial 

Dr. Donna Azam Feldman has become 

the first surgeon to complete 100 

robotic-assisted surgical procedures at 

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center. 

The milestone procedure was performed 

Tuesday using Memorial’s da 

Vinci® Si Surgical System. 

“I’m as excited about robotic assisted 

surgery now as I was when I did 

my first procedure here,” said Dr. Feldman, 

an obstetrician/gynecologist with 

Women’s Medicine of Niagara and the 

head of Memorial’s Division of Robotic 

Surgery. “Our patients continue 

to benefit from smaller incisions, minimal 

scarring, reduced pain and then 

quicker post-operative recoveries.” 

In service at Memorial since 

March 2012, the da Vinci system was 

dubbed “SAL,” which stands for Save 

A Life, following a naming contest entered 

by hundreds of area school children. 

SAL is utilized by more than a 

dozen gynecologists, gynecological 

oncologists, urologists, bariatric surgeons, 

colorectal surgeons and general 

surgeons to perform minimally invasive 

robotic surgery at Memorial. 

For more information, call Memorial’s 

Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery 

Hotline at (716) 278-4492 or visit 

www.nfmmc.org/Services/daVinci.

Frank Parlato 

The best question of the week was 

posed by one of our advertisers and 

more astute readers, Enzo Luciani, of 

Pine Avenue Hardware. 

He asked, "Do you think Cuomo is 

an Indian giver?" 

Let us try to answer that question, 

amusing as it sounds at first blush. 

While Enzo meant it for its double 

entendre and perhaps especially how 

Cuomo gave away everything to the 

Indians, it is not so amusing. 

Mainly, because the joke's on us. 

An Indian giver is an old expression 

- tinged with racism - and used to 

describe a person who gives a gift and 

later wants it back, or wants something 

equivalent in return. 

Originally it probably referred to 

an exchange of gifts and may have 

originated from a cultural misunderstanding 

that arose when Europeans 

first encountered Native Americans in 

North America in the 15th century. 

Europeans perhaps thought they 

were receiving gifts from Native 

Americans, while the Native Americans 

believed they were bartering: this 

resulted in the Europeans finding Native 

American behavior ungenerous 


Crazy Racism at Work in Seneca Deal 

and insulting. 

At the end of the day, we find Gov. 

Andrew Cuomo to be a true Indian 

giver. He gave our entire store away to 

the Indians and it cost him nothing at 

all. 

He got the gifts from an unquestioning, 

uncritical press and the city of 

Niagara Falls will pay for it in the long 

run. 

Unhappily, our city, unlike much 

of the rest of the state, will remain in a 

legally binding netherworld of racial 

inequality: Those born of Seneca blood 

can live here tax free and have the right 

to operate gaming businesses in what 

is historically the city of Niagara Falls. 

Those born of every other race cannot 

operate gaming or open and operate 

businesses tax free. 

It is a stunning racial inequality 

that rivals, at least by law, some of the 

worst racial inequalities this country 

has known since the abolition of slavery. 

In a word: Why should someone 

who happens to be born a Seneca have 

superior legal rights in Niagara Falls to 

someone who is born an American? 

Why? 

Because Gov. Cuomo and before 

him Gov. George Pataki said so. 

To claim that it is a foreign country 

and then allow, no, even encourage, 

Americans to go there and gamble; to 

say that gambling is illegal for Americans 

for moral reasons, then encourage 

Senecas to operate gaming facilities 

for mainly American customers and to 

give away 52 acres of what use to be 

Niagara Falls, New York, USA and call 

it now a foreign country so that gambling 

can occur on it is, if not racism 

of the worst kind, then governance of 

the worst kind. 

Americans should have the same 

legal rights as the Senecas and if our 

government cannot do for us what it 

can do for the Senecas then we should 

throw every one of the rascals out during 

this next election. 

The Niagara Falls Reporter is calling 

for the ousting of every elected official 

who does not oppose the racial 

and legal inequality that exists here in 

Niagara Falls (with its artificial lines 

Enzo Luciani does not mince 

words. After decades of paying 

taxes here, why should Senecas 

have more rights than him? 

21 

of an Albany-created foreign country). 

We demand for the people of Niagara 

Falls the exact same legal rights 

as the Senecas.

22 

Dyster’s Tree Counting Consultants Squander $265,000 on Nothing Much 

Mike Hudson 

Arithmomania is the name psychiatrists 

give to a form of obsessive compulsive 

disorder that forces sufferers to 

count their actions or objects in their 

surroundings. Sufferers from this crippling 

disorder have a strong need to 

count objects in their surroundings, 

such as tiles on the floor or ceiling, the 

number of lines on the highway, or 

even the number of times one breathes 

or blinks. 

The brain-based anxiety disorder 

causes considerable suffering and impairment, 

and can be the cause of long- 

The photos above show John Daly 

Boulevard. The median, with its 

trees and "flowers," is an overgrown 

mess. In fact, we have never seen it 

this bad before. As the tourist season 

is in full bloom, a major entranceway 

into the city/tourism corridor is 

in inexcusable condition. 

No money? Not even a little bit for 

this work? This goes to the heart of 

how Mayor Dyster has managed the 

term unemployment, unless of course 

the sufferer happens to work for 

Bergman Associates Inc., the consulting 

firm hired by Mayor Paul Dyster at 

a cost of $265,000 to count the number 

of trees, swing sets, monkey bars, trash 

cans and other things that may or may 

not include birds, bees, flowers, cracks 

in the sidewalks and carelessly discarded 

cigarette butts in the city’s 28 

parks and open areas. 

The arithmomaniacs at Bergman 

Associates have been counting things 

around the city for a year now and, perhaps, 

when they’re done counting trees 

they can start on the number of empty 

city, wasted money, spent on the 

wrong projects, hired consultants 

etc. while letting basic maintenance 

like this go by the boards. 

All of this within the shadow of the 

casino. 

He just spent $57,000 as the city's 

share of a parks study but somehow 

cannot spend a few thousand to 

clean up the mess at the very gateway 

to the city. 

and discarded crack cocaine containers 

that can be found in shocking quantity 

along the sidewalks in the East Side 

neighborhood. 

That would keep them busy for 

years, and now that Dyster finally has 

his casino cash, it’ll be burning a hole 

in his pocket. 

Why a city as financially bereft as 

Niagara Falls would choose to spend 

more than a quarter of a million dollars 

APARTMENT FOR RENT 

LaSalle Silverlake Apartments. 

2 bedroom. $625 + electric. 

Open house Saturdays - 8235 

Buffalo Ave: 11-3pm. call 716- 

877-3142 

counting the trees in its parks system 

when it obviously cannot afford to 

keep the trees properly trimmed or 

even mow its many lawns, is a curiosity 

at the very least. 

Much of the study was paid for by 

Greenway money, but $57,000 of the 

study which is expected to be about 

two inches thick - just paper - not a tree 

or a piece of park equipment-- comes 

from the taxpayers of Niagara Falls. 

Gee, for $265,000 we could have not only inventoried the trees and monkey 

bars but cut the grass and cleaned out the weeds. 

WONDER OF THE WORLD? Perhaps. 

But what we wonder is why the 

city can’t hand one of its many hundreds 

of employees a weed whacker 

and send them to the corner of Rain- 

bow and John B. Daley boulevards 

and let them have at this overgrown 

mess. A private homeowner would 

be fined for having such a disgusting 

display in their front yard.

At 10 a.m. on June 25, District officials 

will be joined by contractors, 

representatives of the skilled trades, 

and most importantly, students, as we 

break ground on our Inventing Tomorrow 

capital projects. The $67 million 

plan will officially get under way at 

Henry J. Kalfas Magnet Elementary 

School, which is going to receive a full 

service kitchen, enhanced media center 

and library, security improvements, 


Work has Begun in Earnest for NF Schools 

Cynthia Bianco 

Supt. of Niagara Falls 

School District 

new classrooms, and, like all District 

schools, a Science, Technology, Engineering, 

and Math (STEM) lab. Ours 

is the first District in the State to embark 

on District-wide STEM labs, 

which are widely seen as key to 

preparing students for the college experiences 

and jobs of the future, global 

economy. 

STEM labs will provide for handson, 

collaborative, and independent 

learning in a wireless environment. 

As we kick off construction, here 

is what the Kalfas community can expect: 

Between June 24 and August 12, 

demolition, set up of temporary classrooms, 

and site utility work will take 

place. Starting July 25, the courtyard 

will be updated and full service kitchen 

will be built and construction of the 

new classroom wing will begin. This 

portion will conclude June 2014. 

Next summer, parking lots will be 

enhanced and some sidewalks will be 

replaced, and the site will be restored 

and landscaping replaced. In June 

2014 the pool, cafeteria and office 

wing renovations will be undertaken 

and will be completed by August 2014. 

The Stem lab and Media Center will be 

added beginning in August 2014. 

All projects at Kalfas School are 

expected to be completed by December 

2014. 

Much of the community is also excited 

about the installation of synthetic 

turf on athletic fields and the construction 

of a field house. Here is what we 

anticipate for that timeline. 

Work is scheduled to begin on the 

Stadium, Baseball Fields and Field 

House this month; we anticipate completion 

of this work by April 2014, 

with work on the soccer and lacrosse 

fields expected to follow the same 

timeline one year later. The tennis 

courts and Nicoletti Field will be ad- 

23 

dressed starting in July 2014 and completed 

by that July. Softball fields will 

be addressed in June 2014 and concluded 

in August. 

Meanwhile, GJ Mann and Maple 

Avenue elementary schools will be the 

first to receive the STEM labs, and 

work will begin on those this summer.(?) 

As summer begins, we again want 

to thank the community for its support 

of these projects which will provide 

wireless environments, prepare our 

students for digital State assessments, 

increase security, and most importantly 

promote Learning For All ... Whatever 

It Takes.

24 

Details buried in one of two competing 

resolutions regarding the future 

of the embattled Niagara Tourism and 

Convention Corp. could finally peel 

back the thick cloak of secrecy surrounding 

the taxpayer-funded tourism 

agency. 

Those details could also provide 

significant pushback against what one 

Republican lawmaker called NTCC 

CEO John Percy’s “air of arrogance.” 

While a good deal of local media 

coverage has focused on the dueling 

resolutions and the radically different 

contract lengths proposed—a resolution 

from minority Democrats calls for 

a 10-year contract extension with the 

NTCC while majority Republicans are 

only offering 12 months—there is language 

deep inside the Republican resolution 

that would force the tourism 

promotion agency to divulge a host of 

financial issues, including its revenue 

sources and where the money’s going. 

“We thought it would be prudent to 

get answers to questions everyone is 

asking,” said Legislator David Godfrey 

of Wilson. “The County Legislature, 

the mayor of the City of 

Lockport, and the Common Council in 

the city of Niagara Falls have sought 

this information for years, and essentially 

been rebuffed. It’s time the 

games stopped.” 

That echoes sentiments first advanced 

by Majority Leader Rick Updegrove. 

The Lockport Republican 

said, "There is insufficient interaction 

with host communities by NTCC leadership, 

a lack of communication or updates 

from NTCC, a lack of 

quantifiable and verifiable results, and 

excessive personnel costs.” 

Updegrove’s complaint left a 

snippy Percy complaining in several 

Western New York media outlets of 

being “blindsided.” 

Godfrey provided a copy of the 

resolution authored by Updegrove, 


NTCC's One-Year Extension Demands Transparency 

Craig Tretiak 

Legislature Chairman Bill Ross, and 

North Tonawanda Republican lawmaker 

Paul Wojtaszek, that offers the 

NTCC a one-year contract extension at 

the same time it demands “all requested 

financial records or contracts 

[be provided] to Niagara County or 

any stakeholder of the NTCC immediately 

to allow for appropriate review 

and evaluation of the contract extension.” 

The demand for records includes 

all records moving forward, as well as 

those dating back to the February, 2003 

agreement that essentially created the 

NTCC. 

“The majority caucus resolution 

also spells out exactly what financial 

records we expect to see, so there is no 

effort at obscuring things further,” 

Godfrey said. 

The resolution contains a laundry 

list of items including all income received 

by the NTCC from the sale of 

promotional materials and the agency’s 

lucrative hotel booking fees, as well as 

financial outlays including payments 

to vendors, contractual payments, and 

a host of employee compensation and 

reimbursement numbers. 

Godfrey, who huddled over the 

weekend with fellow members of the 

Republican caucus ahead of tonight’s 

meeting of the legislature, said his Republican 

colleagues were united in 

their concerns about the NTCC’s ongoing 

lack of transparency, and would 

demand answers. He also scoffed at 

the notion that the recent settlement 

between the state and the Senecas 

would leave Percy able to deflect 

stakeholder demands for information. 

“The county still has the final authority 

to designate an agency the 

tourism promotion agency of record,” 

Godfrey said. “Whether the NTCC is 

cooperative will have a lot to do with 

whether they have that designation— 

and access to any bed tax money.” 

Godfrey said he met with Percy recently 

and gained nothing from the 

face-to-face session. 

“I wanted to have a frank conversation 

with Mr. Percy about the NTCC. 

Percy wanted to stay on message, and 

didn’t want to offer anything other than 

platitudes and pre-rehearsed talking 

points,” Godfrey said. “It didn’t sit 

well with me, this whole air of arrogance 

he projected when I asked for 

answers to simple questions.” 

Godfrey noted that one-on-one 

meetings with Percy were unheard of 

by majority caucus lawmakers until the 

NTCC contract came up for renewal. 

“Now, he’s doing a PR push. But 

that’s all it was. John Percy didn’t 

react affirmatively to any concerns I 

raised, either about the NTCC being 

forthcoming, or about our Lakeshore 

tourism needs,” said Godfrey, whose 

Wilson and Cambria district includes a 

heavily-trafficked boating and fishing 

harbor. “It’s like rural parts of the 

county don’t even register for him. 

He’s been playing favorites with the 

urban areas winning out over the rural 

ones, and that makes no sense when 

you’re supposed to be promoting countywide 

tourism.” 

The Republican resolution isn’t the 

only one on tonight’s agenda. 

A radically different resolution by 

Minority Leader Dennis Virtuoso, an 

ally of pro-Percy Niagara Falls Mayor 

Paul A. Dyster, credits the NTCC with 

bringing more than a half-billion dollars 

in spending to Niagara County annually 

and credits the agency with 

generating “economic prosperity” in 

the region. Virtuoso’s resolution would 

extend the NTCC’s now-expired 10year 

contract until the year 2023. 

“That’s not too likely to happen,” 

Godfrey said of Virtuoso’s resolution. 

“We have too many unanswered ques- 

Dirty little secret: John Percy likes 

to boast how hotel occupancy is up 

in Niagara Falls, New York and 

says his agency did it. But is the 

real reason occupancy is up is because 

of 911? The Ministry of 

Tourism in Ontario issued a report 

that said tourism from the United 

States to Niagara Falls, Ontario is 

down 50 percent from pre-911 levels. 

There are hundreds of thousands 

who want to come to Canada and 

stay overnight but cannot get 

across or refuse to be dealt with in 

the harsh, new, rude, much stricter 

treatment that one gets when trying 

to cross into Canada. 

At one time it was easy for first 

time tourists to go back and forth 

over the border and see both sides 

of the falls. Canada's new "safety 

trumps all, even if it make us bankrupt," 

policy has caused a lot of 

new (captive) business in the 

United States. 

Many stay here at hotels. 

tions, and until they’re answered, I 

don’t see my colleagues signing on for 

10 more years of mystery and obfuscation 

from this agency." 

“The secrecy has to end,” Godfrey 

said.

North Tonawanda resident 

Michael NeMoyer wants to change the 

way the Niagara County Legislature 

operates. He’s a Democrat running in 

the7th District, which includes portions 

of the City of North Tonawanda 

and the Town of Wheatfield. 

That seat is currently held by 

Wheatfield Republican Kathryn 

Lance. 

“The people need better representation 

that focuses on job creation and 

retention and economic development,” 

NeMoyer said. “From what I’ve seen, 

the one-party rule in the legislature has 

left a spiral of economic decline, continued 

high taxes and an exodus of 

young people from Niagara County. 

The time to change that direction is 

now.” 

NeMoyer wants an overhaul of the 

County Industrial Development 

Agency to better enhance job creation 

instead of simply reducing much 

needed revenue for local governments 

and school districts for projects that 

offer little economic bounce and longterm 

growth. 

The candidate works for Pendum 

LLC as a field technician servicing 

banking machines. It is a highly specialized 

field, demanding great compe- 


Candidate for County Legislature Says It Is Time for Change 

tence and integrity. “My work requires 

a lot of trust and I’m proud to have 

earned that in my career,” NeMoyer 

notes. “I want to give the people in the 

7th District representation that they 

can trust." 

NeMoyer’s work has enabled him 

to travel around the country. “When I 

see thriving communities elsewhere, 

without the resources and assets we 

have in Niagara County, it makes me 

wonder why we can’t do better here 

and why the county government is 

content with the status quo.” 

Niagara County Democratic Chairman, 

Nick Forster calls NeMoyer’s 

candidacy refreshing. “Mike’s is the 

kind of voice we need in the legislature,” 

Forster says. “He’s young, bright 

and innovative. We need more people 

in county government that embrace 

change and are not willing to accept 

the guaranteed mediocrity we have 

now.” 

NeMoyer is a graduate of Bishop 

Timon High School. He is an avid 

camper and sailor. He and his wife 

Amylynn are expecting their first child 

in August. “I see public service as a 

way to make life better for our children," 

NeMoyer says. “Working families 

across Niagara County are not 

Michael NeMoyer 

getting a fair deal from county government 

and I want to be part of changing 

that.” 

Democrat NeMoyer faces long 

odds against Republican Lance. The 

freshman lawmaker holds a distinct geographic 

advantage: while NeMoyer 

hails from North Tonawanda, roughly 

four-fifths of the 7thDistrict sits in the 

town of Wheatfield, which has long 

been dominated by the Republican 

Party. Lance, who resides in the southern 

portion of the fast-growing town, 

25 

has deep family ties to the Wheatfield 

GOP. 

The photogenic Lance has had a 

fairly meteoric rise in the County Legislature’s 

majority caucus, surging 

from freshman backbencher to committee 

chair in just one year. Lance, 

who was tapped to succeed Majority 

Leader Rick Updegrove as chairman of 

the powerful Economic Development 

Committee, wasted no time forging 

ties to the local business community. 

She has made aggressive efforts on 

behalf of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve 

Station, as well as forcing through a 

legislative resolution turning over the 

county’s remaining Seneca casino 

funds to the Niagara USA Chamber of 

Commerce, which is using the funds to 

develop a promotion effort for local retailers 

dubbed “Shop Niagara.” 

Democratic critics say she is 

merely a pawn in the Republican machine 

of State Sen. George Maziarz 

and point to the fact that her husband, 

Roger, was given a plum $70,000 patronage 

job at the Niagara Falls Water 

Board this year, despite serious objections 

by several of the non-Maziarz 

factions on the board, and despite the 

fact that Roger does not even live in 

the district served by the Water Board.

Well it happened. 

After a series of articles appearing 

in the Niagara Falls Reporter uncovered 

the fact that Lockport developer 

and big time Republican campaign 

contributor David Ulrich was getting 

no-bid, sweetheart leases, the Republican-controlled 

Niagara County legislature 

has promised to take up a 

measure putting county voting machine 

storage rental out to bid. 

This was first proposed by Minority 

Leader Dennis Virtuoso of Niagara 


The vow by Republicans also 

comes months after an award of second 

no-bid contract for records storage 

to Ulrich which brought heavy criticism 

of majority lawmakers by this 

newspaper. 

It also follows in the wake of Virtuoso’s 

efforts to have a storage contract 

for the voting machines—also 

housed at an Ulrich-owned facility in 

Newfane—put out to bid. That effort 

was blunted by an auto-renewal clause 

in the county’s current contract with 

Ulrich. 

Under the existing deal, the county 

must provide Ulrich with 120 days’ notice 

to vacate its voting booth storage 

lease, or it automatically renews. Virtuoso 

had sought to put the contract out 

to bid, but his motion failed after majority 

Republicans asserted that doing 

so would be premature more than a 

year before the current lease is set to 

expire. 

Virtuoso also suggested that the 

county should begin charging local 

school districts rent for storage of voting 

machines used in school board 

elections and budget votes. 

The whole episode prompted a po- 


litically charged press release from Niagara 

County Democratic Chairman 

Nick Forster, who said the county government’s 

lease for storage space for 

voting machines is a “waste of taxpayers’ 

money and symbolic of how the 

Republican dominated legislature conducts 

business.” 

Despite its partisan nature, 

Forster's press release had more than 

its share of good points. 

The voting machines are currently 

stored in a building owned by Ulrich. 

The county pays more than $86,000 a 

year for space in a 60-year old building 

Ulrich purchased for a mere $75,000. 

“It’s a sweetheart deal for a Republican 

sugar daddy,” Forster said. “We live in 

the second highest taxed county in the 

nation and the Republicans are more 

interested in taking care of their 

cronies and campaign contributors 

than saving money for already overburdened 

taxpayers.” 

North Tonawanda lawmaker Paul 

Wojtaszek deflected Forster’s criticism 

of his caucus. 

“No one in the majority is against 

putting this out to bid,” Wojtaszek said. 

“In fact, we agree with [Virtuoso] that 

we should in this case. The issue is 

timing and alternatives.” 

Wojtaszek said County Manager 

Jeffrey M. Glatz is examining lesscostly 

alternatives that would utilize 

newly-vacated county-owned storage 

space, and that may be a better deal for 

county taxpayers. 

It would cost them nothing in rent 

and preempt the need for the Virtuososponsored 

demand for a competitive 

search process. 

Of course, it is ironic since the 

newly vacated records storage facility 

on Davison Road is only becoming vacant 

because the Republicans awarded 

another sweetheart lease to Ulrich in 

the same Newfane facility to move the 

county records out of Davison Road to 

the Ulrich-owned facility at more than 

$130,000 per year. 

Meantime, because of the renewal 

clause in the lease, Ulrich will get another 

$86,000 on top of the more than 

$130,000 he will get each year for storage 

of records on the property he paid 

$75,000 for. 

"I'm that glad that the voting booth 

storage lease is going out to bid or 

placed on county property," said Jason 

Zona, who, along with Virtuoso, spearheaded 

the charge in the county legislature 

to make sure campaign 

contributors do not get no-bid deals. 

"There is no reason this couldn't have 

been done sooner." 

“There is nothing that can be done 

this year," argued Wojtaszek. "However, 

we want the county manager to 

do his job and explore alternatives. Absent 

any success on that front, however, 

we have no objection to passing 

a resolution in the new year that would 

require us to submit a Request for Proposals.” 

Forster also criticized Republican 

unwillingness to take up Virtuoso’s 

resolution sooner. 

“This is so typical of how oneparty 

rule works in the legislature and 

why change is long overdue,” Forster 

says. “The Democrats come up with a 

plan to save money and the Republicans 

won’t even give the proposal a 

fair hearing. Then when the Democrats 

call for an RFP, the Republicans suddenly 

figure out that they don't need 

Ulrich's building at all. This is not 

Nick Forster carries his big stick 

‘gavel.’ 

27 

about good governance at all, it is 

about getting caught with their fingers 

in the cookie jar. Had it not been reported 

in the Niagara Falls Reporter, 

this would have gone on with Ulrich 

getting hundreds of thousands more in 

no-bid deals. This November the people 

of Niagara County can change that 

way of doing business.” 

Kislack Will Run for Wheatfield Council, Says Current Board ‘Self-Serving’ 

Michael Kislack has announced 

his candidacy for councilman in the 

Forster Blasts Legislature on No-Bid 

Lease Deal for GOP Contributor 

Town of Wheatfield. Born and raised 

in Wheatfield, Kislack, 44, said he is 

running to "restore responsiveness to 

Town Hall and put an end to the constant 

loss of services and the ever spiraling 

tax increases that have plagued 

Wheatfield families, and has been the 

hallmark of the past 4 years under this 

Town Board." 

Kislack is district manager of LKQ 

Corporation, a 24 year member of St. 

Johnsburg Volunteer Fire Company, 

past president of the Niagara County 

Volunteer Firemen's Association, past 

trustee of the WNY Volunteer Firemen's 

Association and past president of 

the Wheatfield Business Association. 

Kislack is married to Lisa and they 

have 3 children and 1 grandchild. 

Kislack said: “It has become obvious 

in the past few years that this 

Town Board seems to be more interested 

in providing jobs for friends and 

family members, at our expense, and 

doing nothing to reduce or eliminate 

the new highway taxes, or return so 

many of the services that the people of 

Wheatfield deserve and require. 

"We need to reduce the ever-increasing 

water rates, return our Youth 

Center to our Wheatfield children, at 

minimal or no cost, after all, we already 

own it; We need to return animal 

control to our Wheatfield families, and 

stop politicizing and cutting library 

funding and other quality of life pro- 

grams that make Wheatfield what it 

was. 

"We already live in the highest 

taxed county, and pay the highest energy 

costs, wouldn't it be nice if we 

could work together to provide the 

needed services to our Wheatfield families, 

and reduce taxes whenever possible? 

“That’s what our elected officials 

should be doing, but instead, they have 

opted to give themselves and their own 

families and friend's all the jobs and 

the benefits, while we, the residents, 

get to pay the tab. I think we've had 

enough of that in Wheatfield these past 

4 years!"

Bobcat hunting and trapping opportunities 

are expanded and the snow 

geese harvest season is extended under 

two sets of regulations adopted by the 

New York State Department of Environmental 

Conservation (DEC), Commissioner 

Joe Martens has announced. 

“Under Governor Cuomo’s NY 

Open for Hunting and Fishing initiative, 

New York is working to increase 

hunting and trapping opportunities for 

sportsmen and sportswomen,” Commissioner 

Martens said. With these 

changes, DEC is implementing strategies 

of the recently adopted Bobcat 

Management Plan that will provide 

sustainable harvest opportunities while 

maintaining a stable or increasing bobcat 

population. In addition, I encourage 

the hunting community to take full advantage 

of the newly expanded snow 

geese season in the years ahead.” 

BOBCAT HUNTING AND 

TRAPPING SEASONS 

After careful consideration of the 

public comments received, DEC 

adopted rules affecting bobcat hunting 

and trapping in New York to implement 

certain aspects of the state’s Five- 

Year Bobcat Management Plan. 

The harvest of bobcats will be 

closely monitored by DEC biologists 

DEC Expands Bobcat Hunting and Trapping, 

Extends Snow Geese Harvest Period 

Bob cat in a trap. 

via activity logs maintained by hunters 

and trappers, a mandatory pelt sealing 

program, and hunter and trapper surveys. 

This will allow for adaptive 

management where regulations can be 

modified in the future to keep pace 

with the changing needs and status of 

New York’s bobcat populations. 

Southern/Western New York Harvest 

Expansion Area 

The season in the Harvest Expansion 

Area will open annually on October 

25th. The annual closing date will 

be the Friday before the opening of the 

regular Southern Zone deer season. 

SPECIAL SNOW GOOSE 

HARVEST PROGRAM 

State regulations to expand the 

special snow goose harvest program in 

Killing snow geese is fun for 

hunters. 

New York have been amended to allow 

hunters to take snow geese during a 

special harvest program from Jan. 16 

through April 15 in all of upstate New 

York. This is in addition to the regular 

snow goose hunting season, which is 

expected to run Oct.1 through Jan. 15 

annually. 

The expanded special season will 

increase hunter opportunity to harvest 

snow geese throughout the winter and 

early spring, when they are most abundant 

in New York. Snow geese are an 

arctic breeding goose species that recently 

reached record high population 

levels in North America - from approximately 

50,000 birds in the 1960s to 

more than one million birds in recent 

years. 

Wildlife agencies, ecologists and 

environmental organizations have expressed 

concern about the impacts that 

overabundant snow geese are having 

on arctic ecosystems, coastal wetlands 

and agricultural crops. In response to 

those concerns, federal hunting regulations 

were liberalized in 2008, and 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(USFWS) adopted a conservation 

order allowing states in the Atlantic 

Flyway to implement special snow 

goose harvest programs in addition to 

its regular hunting seasons. Based on 

guidance from USFWS, DEC decided 

to have one continuous season beginning 

this year. 

If the whole world stands 

against you sword in hand, 

would you still dare to do 

what you think is right?

The inimitable Sal Paonessa. 

Local broadcasting legend Sal 

Paonessa showed he remains relevant 

last week despite his advanced age 

(he's almost 51, I believe he told me recently) 

with an online Niagara Broadcast 

Network program that featured 

both state Sen. George Maziarz and 

Mayor Paul Dyster, interviewed in the 

wake of the settlement between the 

state and the Seneca Nation of Indians. 

Maziarz, unhappy that the settlement 

money would be handed over to 

city officials, is a frequent guest on the 

Paonessa show and appeared live. 

Dyster, who has not appeared on the 

program in more than three years, 


Paonessa Draws the Big Names on His Show 

deigned to be interviewed on tape 

prior to the actual broadcast. 

Paonessa’s co-host, Niagara Street 

Business Association President Jim 

Szwedo, was so highly critical of Dyster, 

who Szwedo charged had nothing 

to do with the settlement, that his 

tongue seemed to be dripping with 

venom. 

“He’s going to take credit for 

something he had nothing to do with,” 

Szwedo said prior to the playing of the 

Dyster tape. “As far as I’m concerned, 

the show’s over.” 

With the switchboard lit up from 

incoming calls by passionate Niagara 

Street residents, Dyster launched into 

his spiel about what a great day it was 

for Niagara Falls. 

“I’m walking on air,” Dyster said. 

The mayor then went into his usual 

diatribe of lavish praise for Gov. Andrew 

Cuomo. He then said that, by appearing 

to do nothing about the 

situation, he was actually employing a 

brilliant strategy. 

“For us to have gone crazy and set 

our hair on fire wouldn’t have helped 

us,” Dyster said. “It was difficult for 

me, but I kept saying the same thing 

over and over again.” 

When Paonessa asked him 

whether it was true that the city would 

be left with very little money after bills 

were paid and obligations met, Dyster 

did the shuck and jive and said it was 

very complicated. Aside from what is 

owed to the school district, the NTCC, 

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center 

and the Niagara Frontier Transportation 

Authority, a lot would go 

toward paying off debt service on the 

Main Street courthouse, he said. 

Whatever you think of them, 

George Maziarz and Paul Dyster are 

the two most important politicians on 

the Niagara Falls scene. And in the 

wake of the most significant news 

event to occur in the city since Nik 

Wallenda walked a high wire across 

the falls, both of them headed straight 

for the Sal Paonessa show. 

Meantime, should you happen to 

miss his internet show, you can still 

hear the velvet voice of Paonessa all 

summer long, on endless commercials, 

heard on the loud speakers at One Niagara 

in downtown Niagara Falls, advertising 

every single thing they have 

from Chinese Food to a Made in America 

Store. 

Inside or out, in fair weather or 

foul, people from around the world 

heading to or away from the falls are 

29 

treated to Paonessa's mellifluous and 

multifariously rasping, roaring and 

dulcet voice, every 10 minutes, 24 

hours per day, seven days a week, on 

the inside and outside mega-speakers, 

as he describes One Niagara as "the 

biggest attraction outside of the falls, 

itself." 

Yes, there is no doubt about it, 

Paonessa, wherever he goes, makes 

some of the loudest noises, outside of 

the roar of the falls, itself. 

Memorial Names Two to 

Behavioral Health Posts 

(L-R): Debra Boyne, Ron Jozwiak 

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical 

Center has appointed two new clinical 

managers in its inpatient behavioral 

health unit. The appointments were 

announced by Vice President & Chief 

Nursing Officer Joanne Krolewski, 

R.N., B.S.N. 

Ronald Jozwiak, R.N., B.A., has 

been appointed director of Inpatient 

Behavioral Health. A registered professional 

nurse with nearly 40 years of 

hands on experience in fast-paced hospital 

environments, Jozwiak is a graduate 

of Trocaire College and the State 

University at Buffalo. His background 

includes 16 years as a behavioral 

health nurse manager at Buffalo General 

Hospital, where he supervised four 

inpatient psychiatric units as well as 

You must have an iron will if 

you would cross the ocean. 

You must be strong enough to 

pierce mountains. 

--Swami Vivekananda 

the psychiatric emergency room. 

Jozwiak most recently served as 

program director for Acute Medical 

Rehabilitation at Mercy Hospital in 

Buffalo, where he was responsible for 

clinical outcomes, budgeting, strategic 

planning, program development and 

day-to-day operations. 

Debra Boyne, R.N., has been promoted 

to clinical coordinator for Inpatient 

Behavioral Health. Boyne, who 

holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing 

from Niagara University, has been a 

staff nurse in Memorial’s inpatient behavioral 

health service since 1984 and 

a staff nurse at the Buffalo Veterans 

Administration Medical Center since 

2008. 

She has wide-ranging experience, 

including supervisory experience, in all 

phases of inpatient behavioral health 

care and has worked extensively with 

military veterans. 

Memorial’s inpatient behavioral 

health service provides stabilization 

and multi-disciplinary treatment that 

includes medical care, social work, rehabilitation 

therapy and peer advocate 

support services along with referrals 

for outpatient care.

30 

Niagara Falls Democratic City 

Committee Chairman Alicia Laible 

presided over a contentious meeting 

last week at the Earl Brydges Library 

in which the party decided not to endorse 

any of its candidates for council, 

leaving six candidates to compete on a 

level playing field in the primary this 

fall. 

According to witnesses, about 30 

city Democratic committeemen gathered 

to hash out their differences and 

try to find consensus moving forward 

toward September’s election. 

The six Democratic candidates 

who are running for city council are incumbents 

Kristen Grandinetti, Charles 

Walker and Sam Fruscione, along with 

Andrew Touma, Robert Elder and 

Joseph Swartz. 

After the meeting was called to 

order by Laible, local businessman 

James Page made a motion to endorse 

the three incumbent council members. 

This sparked debate among the 

committeemen. Ida Massaro and Susan 

Macri wished to divide the motion to 

avoid having to support Councilman 

Fruscione, while supporting 

Grandinetti and Walker. 

Massaro read a prepared statement 

with a litany of grievances against Fruscione. 

"Ida Massaro read a three page letter 

she put together just criticizing Sam 

Fruscione. About 90 percent of it was 

straight out lies,” one committeeperson 

told the Niagara Falls Reporter. 

“Everybody was just in awe that she 

would start a meeting off like that. 

They were trying hard to get 

Grandinetti, Walker and Touma (endorsed)." 


Open Primary for Dem Council Leaves Party Split 

Sam Fruscione 

After her speech, Massaro continued 

to interrupt committeemen who 

voiced support for Fruscione. The 

meeting had to be called to order several 

times by the sergeant at arms reminding 

Massaro to not speak out of 

turn. 

Massaro said that Fruscione was 

not, in his failure to follow the Democrat 

leadership of Mayor Paul Dyster, 

being a true Democrat. 

A motion to support the three incumbents 

failed by a two-to-one margin. 

Several voices rose above the now 

warring factions. 

Election Commissioner Lora Allen 

said the committee's function should 

be to get Democrats elected. She told 

the committee they needed to put their 

personal issues aside and help the candidates 

most likely to win. 

Johnny Destino said it was inevitable 

that Fruscione, always the 

highest vote getter in every election, 

would win, so why not endorse him 

and ensure the election of Democrats? 

Ida Massaro 

Destino was chided by several 

Dyster supporters. 

Macri moved to endorse Walker, 

Grandinetti and Touma. 

Destino argued that it was a mistake 

to endorse Touma. In fact, he said, 

it would be doing Touma a disservice 

since he would be coupled with two 

well known Dyster go-alongs, 

Grandinetti and Walker. 

Since Touma's last name is the 

same as Dyster's campaign manager, 

Craig, it would appear that the committee 

was only interested in electing a 

rubber stamp council. 

Macri’s motion failed to garner 

five votes in support of endorsing 

Walker, Grandinetti and Touma. 

At the end of the meeting, it appeared 

that the mood of the divided 

Democrats was sour, as both camps - 

team Dyster and the independent Democrats 

- trudged out to collect signatures 

for their personally chosen 

candidates. 

Meantime, when Gov. Andrew 

Cuomo came to the Niagara Falls Conference 

and Events center last Thursday 

to announce the settlement of the 

Seneca impasse, Dyster was handed 

the opportunity to extend invitations 

for local Democrats. 

Dyster didn’t invite any local 

elected officials except his known supporters 

and staff members. He didn’t 

invite, for example, Niagara County 

Minority Leader and Acting Code Enforcement 

Director Dennis Virtuoso, 

yet he had other department heads in 

attendance. 

He invited Alicia Laible, who is 

chairman of the City Democratic Party, 

but not Nick Forster, who is the 

County Chairman. Grandinetti and 

Walker were invited but not the council 

majority of Fruscione, Glenn 

Choolokian and Robert Anderson. 

Former State Rep, Francine Delmonte 

was invited along with City 

Planner Tom DeSantis, City Administrator 

Donna Owens, and Human resources 

director Ruby Pulliam. 

But not county representative 

Jason Zona. 

In short, it was a Dyster crowd. 

Ironically, Dyster shunned endorsement 

of the then-Democratic establishment 

when he first ran for 

mayor in 2007, not showing up for an 

interview with the then-Democratic 

committee, which endorsed Lewis 

“Babe” Rotella as the party’s mayoral 

candidate. 

Dyster defeated Rotella in the primary 

that year, and went on to beat Republican 

Candra Thomason by the 

largest margin of any mayoral contest 

in memory. 

Durno Named Administrator 

at Schoellkopf Health Center 

John R. Durno, a health care administrator 

with more than 25 years of 

experience, has been appointed administrator 

of the Schoellkopf Health Center 

effective June 24. 

A graduate of the University at 

Buffalo, where he earned a Master of 

Science degree, John has served as administrator 

at several skilled nursing 

facilities including St. Luke Manor 

(Batavia), St. Clare Manor (Lockport), 

Father Baker Manor (Orchard Park) 

and Weinberg Campus (Getzville). 

While in those positions, Durno directed 

millions of dollars in facility 

renovations, instituted various aspects 

of resident centered care and facilitated 

multiple facility and service expansion 

projects while producing consistently 

favorable results in regulatory and accreditation 

surveys.

The Zombies, featuring 

Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent, 

bring their 60's classic hits 

to The Tralf, located at 622 

Main Street, in Buffalo, for a 

performance on Sunday, June 23 

at 8 p.m. 

The Zombies were known 

for their hit songs, "Time of the 

Season,” "She's Not There,” 

"Tell Her No,” and Argent's 

"Hold Your Head Up." 

Unlike many of the concerts 

at the Seneca Casino and elsewhere 

that feature the names but 

not the original performers of 

bands, the Zombies will appear 

with their original main members. 

They were an English rock 

band, formed in 1962 and led by 

Argent (piano, organ and vocals) 

and Blunstone (vocals). 

Their 1968 album, Odessey 

and Oracle, is ranked number 

100 on Rolling Stone magazine's 

list of the 500 Greatest Albums 

of All Time. 

The Zombies will appear with Et 

Tu Bruce. Tickets are available. Call or 

stop by Tralf Box Office or by calling716.852.2860. 

Tralf Box Office is 


The Zombies Live at Tralf Music 

Hall Sunday 

The Zombies in 2008. 

open 11 a. m. to 4 p. m. Monday-Friday. 

Tickets are also on sale at Ticket- 

Master.com, Wal-Mart or visit: 

www.tralfmusichall.com. 

Nik Gets Ready for Grand 

Canyon Walk 


Famed aerialist and showman Nik 

Wallenda, who focused the world’s attention 

on Niagara Falls last summer 

(June 15) with his walk across the 

mighty cataract on a tightrope before a 

television audience estimated at 13 

million, will again have the world 

watching come Sunday (June 23) when 

he will attempt to walk across the 

Grand Canyon. 

Wallenda, a charming and generous 

performer who won legions of admirers 

during his stay in Niagara Falls 

before his enormously successful and 

historic tightrope walk, will have an 

even bigger challenge on Sunday when 

he attempts to walk the quarter mile 

across the Grand Canyon on a steel 

cable without a harness. 

Against his wishes, Wallenda wore 

a harness when he walked across Niagara 

Falls at ABC’s insistence. But there 

will be no harness on Sunday when he 

steps out on the cable on live TV (Discovery 

Channel) at 8 p.m. 

Like Niagara Falls, the Grand 

Canyon walk is something that Wallenda 

has dreamed of doing for many 

years. He admitted during his training 

Nik at the Grand Canyon. 

31 

in his hometown of Sarasota that with 

a 1,500 foot drop below him, the 

Canyon walk will be “extremely mentally 

draining.” 

We here at the Reporter wish him 

a safe crossing on Sunday and thank 

him for the wonderful memories that 

he gave us with his historic daredevil 

walk across Niagara Falls and his 

charm and grace through it all. Good 

luck, Nik, and we hope to see you 

again soon in the place where you 

made one of your dreams come true 

and gave us something as well. Let’s 

hope you do it again on Sunday.

Dangerous Pedophiles Swamp Streets in Falls - Niagara Falls ...

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