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Canadian police officer gets prison time for smuggling steroids

April 22, 2013, 10:41 am
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A constable with the Niagara Regional Police was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to a year in prison for smuggling steroids across the border.

Geoffrey Purdie, a 13-year veteran of the department, was arrested last April by a Border Enforcement Security Task Force of U.S. Homeland Security in Buffalo and eventually pleaded guilty to exporting anabolic steroids from Buffalo into Canada.

“I’ve hurt and betrayed a lot of people," Purdie told Arcara. “I did great work as a police officer but when it came time to say no, I didn’t say no. It was a moral failing on my part."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten asked the judge to sentence Purdie to prison and said the government’s prosecution was motivated in part by the fact that he was a police officer.

Federal agents seized a large quantity of steroids when Purdie was arrested and claimed he often used his badge as a means of identification while crossing the border.

Herbert L. Greenman, Purdie’s lawyer, said his client has “left the police department in disgrace” and has paid a deep price for his criminal activity.

Purdie’s arrest led to a Niagara Regional Police investigation into allegations of steroid use and drug smuggling by rank-and-file members of the department. Police officials said the investigation would not be completed until after Purdie’s case is resolved.



email: pfairbanks@buffnews.com
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Local man pleads guilty to child porn charge

April 22, 2013, 11:24 am
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A Buffalo man accused of trying to entice a minor into sexual activity pleaded guilty Monday before Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny to a single charge of attempting to receive child pornography.

Robert P. Dombrowski, 51, was arrested in March of last year after arriving at a Cheektowaga restaurant to meet someone he had been chatting with online since February.

Prosecutors said Dombrowski believed the online person was a minor, but it actually was an undercover FBI agent.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward H. White said Dombrowski faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.
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Fire shuts down Route 60 in Chautauqua County

April 22, 2013, 12:44 pm
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A fire inside a trucking company in the Town of Pomfret early Monday afternoon forced authorities to close a section of Route 60 in both directions, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department reported.

Firefighters from several volunteers departments responded to a 1:53 p.m. alarm for a truck fire inside Hills Trucking, at 9667 Route 60. The Town of Pomfret is in north-central Chautauqua County, in the Dunkirk-Fredonia area.
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Warrant arrest leads to drug charge

April 22, 2013, 1:24 pm
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NEWFANE – A Ridge Road man, arrested at his home on an unspecified warrant, faced additional charges when Niagara County sheriff’s deputies said they found him carrying prescription drugs that were outside of approved containers.

Steven A. Rathke, 54, was charged just before 9 p.m. Sunday with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance after deputies searching him for weapons found him carrying a prescription pill in a brass container in his pocket and three additional pills in his pocket.

Rathke said he was unaware of the pill in the brass container and told deputies he had a prescription for the other pills, but stuck them in his pocket as he headed to a nearby pond.
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Lockport man charged with drunken driving after he runs out of gas

April 22, 2013, 1:29 pm
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WILSON – Niagara County Sheriff’s deputies charged a Lockport man with aggravated drunken driving after he was found to have a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit.

Patrick J. Mack, 58, of Willow Street was charged just before 6 p.m. Saturday in the 2400 block of Beebe Road after deputies were dispatched to investigate a report of a disabled vehicle.

They found Mack next to his pickup and he told the deputies he had run out of gas. He also admitted he had been drinking alcohol earlier in the day, according to deputies.

Deputies said Mack appeared intoxicated and found that he had a blood alcohol level of 0.23 percent.
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Drunken driver sent to state prison

April 22, 2013, 2:35 pm
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LOCKPORT – James L. Mormino, who according to Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas, has been arrested 12 times for alcohol-related driving offenses, was sentenced Monday to one to three years in state prison.

Mormino, 57, of James Drive, Lewiston, was sentenced on his Jan. 4 guilty plea to felony driving while intoxicated, stemming from a July 10 arrest in Niagara Falls.

It’s his second felony conviction but his first trip to state prison. “You’re dangerous, not only to yourself but to everyone,” Farkas told Mormino.
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Getaway driver in pizza delivery robbery gets seven years in prison

April 22, 2013, 5:19 pm
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A Buffalo man who acted as the getaway driver when he and two others robbed a pizza delivery driver of $205 was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison.

Leland Jirdon, 35, of Montclair Street, had pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery but sought to minimize his role in the robbery, telling Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio that he “basically just drove the car.”

“I’m sorry for what happened,” Jirdon said.

“This is clearly a violent and vicious crime,” DiTullio said, adding that such crimes hurt the community’s quality of life.

“If you rob innocent people who are working, you are going to go to jail and go for a long time,” DiTullio said.

The pizza delivery driver was robbed April 20, 2012, after he completed a delivery on Davidson Avenue in the Kensington-Bailey neighborhood. The driver, who was knocked to the ground, was not injured.

Jirdon admitted robbing the delivery person, along with Ishamele Adams, 22, of Eggert Road, who previously pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Another suspect also recently pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery, said Assistant District Attorney Patrick B. Shanahan, who prosecuted Jirdon.

Jirdon, who had a previous violent felony conviction, had faced seven to 15 years in prison. He was not offered a plea bargain.

Police officers spotted the getaway vehicle, a Jeep Cherokee with a broken taillight, and arrested Jirdon about 10 minutes after the robbery.



email: plakamp@buffnews.com
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Serial graffiti vandal to do 1,000 hours of clean-up

April 22, 2013, 5:40 pm
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A serial graffiti vandal described as “a total loser” was spared prison Monday and instead placed on probation and ordered to spend 1,000 hours cleaning up his and others’ graffiti.

Erie County Court Judge Sheila A. DiTullio said she could not understand what motivated 26-year-old Richard Whitefield of Grand Island to deface properties in Buffalo with his “bcuz” tag.

“You had the audacity to deface and paint and dirty up our city,” DiTullio told him. “Now, you will clean up your mess and your graffiti under the watchful eye of city officials, the probation department and this court. I would guess, Mr. Whitefield, that cleaning up your mess will be a lot harder than creating it. It’s a lot harder to take off paint than slap it on.”

She also ordered Whitefield, a part-time warehouse employee for a paint store, to reimburse the city the $1,005 it spent cleaning up his graffiti, and she imposed almost as much in court fees and surcharges.

Community leaders who have tracked Whitefield’s graffiti over the years have described him as one of the city’s most active but least artistically talented vandals.

Whitefield pleaded guilty in February to two felony counts of third-degree criminal mischief and two misdemeanor counts of making graffiti. He admitted defacing a retaining wall near the Peace Bridge in September and a pedestrian bridge over the Scajaquada Expressway in October. Whitefield also initialed and dated the photographs of some 50 other properties that he acknowledged defacing.

After his plea, Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III called him a “total loser.”

But defense lawyer Michael T. Dwan rejected that characterization.

“I have heard since the last time we were in court many people say Mr. Whitefield is a stupid guy, pathetic and all these words. The truth of the matter is he’s a very smart kid, one of the smartest people I have ever represented,” Dwan said. “And that’s why this matter is so sad.

“In my opinion. he never intended to hurt anyone,” Dwan said. “I don’t even think he’s capable of hurting anyone, judge. These were property crimes. In his mind, he did not understand there were victims here.”

But Whitefield now understands how he harmed the community, Dwan said.

Whitefield’s circumstances are not what makes this case so sad, Assistant District Attorney Patrick B. Shanahan replied in court.

“What’s sad is we have hundreds of property owners who had their properties damaged and who will never get a cent from Mr. Whitefield,” Shanahan said.

The prosecutor asked for a sentence that took into account graffiti that was far-reaching and pervasive.

At his sentencing Monday, he apologized but offered no insight into why he vandalized the properties.

“I would like to apologize to my family for what I put them through,” he said. “I would like to apologize to anyone I hurt.”

DiTullio said she was at a loss to respond to his claim of rebellion.

“The City of Buffalo is not your canvas,” DiTullio told him. “This is vandalism and destruction of other people’s property, period. There are real consequences that go along with that.

“At 26 years of age, with a high school education, some college, you sneak around in the middle of the night and spray paint on structures like the Peace Bridge and a walkway silly words like ‘bcuz.’ I do not understand where you’re coming from. I wish I did, because you grew up in a very loving family, with wonderful parents and a very nice home. It’s hard to explain.”

Buffalo residents expect their structures to be free from graffiti, the judge said.

“It’s not much to ask,” she said.



email: plakamp@buffnews.com
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Woman, son charged with felony assault

April 24, 2013, 5:05 am
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A Seventh Street woman and her son were arrested on felony assault charges about an hour after they allegedly attacked a Hempstead Avenue man with a bottle during a party on Grace Street at about 10 p.m. Sunday.

Jacqueline Townsel, 51, and LaQuinn D. Townsel, 21, were charged with second-degree assault.

Their alleged victim was treated in an unidentified hospital for minor injuries.
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Alleged cocaine dealer pleads guilty to charges

April 24, 2013, 5:06 am
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An alleged cocaine dealer accused of receiving inside information about police investigations pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to drugs and weapons charges.

John C. Smith, 53, of Buffalo, admitted taking part in several drug deals as part of a plea agreement that could send him to prison for more than 20 years.

Smith was part of a drug ring that included Ricky M. Allen Sr., former interim chairman of the Buffalo Joint Commission to Examine Police Reorganization, and Dale Lockwood, brother of Deputy Police Commissioner Byron C. Lockwood, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Duskiewicz.

Smith, who police claim was president of the local Afro Dogs motorcycle club, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm.

Police also claim Smith received information about pending drug investigations from Allen.
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Guilty plea entered in child porn online sting

April 24, 2013, 5:09 am
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A Buffalo man accused of trying to entice a minor into sexual activity pleaded guilty Monday before Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny to a single charge of attempting to receive child pornography.

Robert P. Dombrowski, 51, was arrested in March 2012 after arriving at a Cheektowaga restaurant to meet someone he had been chatting with online since February.

Prosecutors said Dombrowski believed the online person was a minor, but it actually was an undercover FBI agent.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward H. White said Dombrowski faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.

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Man fatally shot on Parkdale

April 24, 2013, 7:05 am
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A 34-year-old man was fatally shot just after 11 p.m. Tuesday on the 300 block of Parkdale Avenue, authorities reported today.

Investigators said the victim, whose name has not been released, had been at a gathering in a house on Parkdale.

He was taken to Erie County Medical Center where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

Homicide detectives are investigating the killing.

email: lmichel@buffnews.com
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5 to 10 years in prison for man who shot up Lockport house

April 24, 2013, 1:29 pm
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LOCKPORT – Kenneth W. Houghton Jr., a Lockport man who riddled a Genesee Street home with a shotgun blast Christmas night and later injured a police officer, was sentenced to five to 10 years in state prison Wednesday by Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas.

Houghton, 31, of Walnut Street, had pleaded guilty to reduced charges of first-degree reckless endangerment and attempted second-degree assault.

He fired a 12-gauge shotgun at 107 Genesee St. in what police said was probably a drug-related incident. No one was hurt, but in the early morning hours of Dec. 26, Lockport Detective Kevin Schrader suffered a broken thumb during a struggle as he arrested Houghton.
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Falls man takes plea in assaults on women

April 24, 2013, 1:33 pm
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LOCKPORT – A Niagara Falls man who had been charged with assaulting three women – two of his girlfriends and one of their mothers – settled the case by pleading guilty to two felonies Wednesday.

Marquan D. Florence, 23, of LaSalle Avenue, admitted to first-degree criminal contempt and second-degree strangulation. He faces up to 11 years in prison when he is sentenced June 26 by Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas.

Florence had been indicted on 22 counts accusing him of violating restraining orders by roughing up the women on 12 dates between March 18, 2012, and Sept. 22.
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Second man pleads guilty in Falls mugging

April 24, 2013, 1:42 pm
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LOCKPORT – Carl R. Adams of Niagara Falls accepted a plea offer Wednesday in Niagara County Court, wrapping up the case of the July 15 mugging of a man from whom $60 was stolen near a gas station on 19th Street in the Falls.

Adams, 43, of Niagara Street, pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree robbery and was promised a 3 1/2-year prison sentence. County Judge Matthew J. Murphy III will make it official Aug. 2.

Last week, Raco N. Black, 45, of Whitney Avenue, pleaded guilty to the same charge and is to be sentenced June 18.
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Man who wanted to go to jail should be out in about a week

April 24, 2013, 1:50 pm
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An ex-convict suffering from leukemia and once eager to return to jail in order to get treatment was sentenced to 100 days in federal prison Wednesday but should be out in about a week.

Frank J. Morrocco’s sentence by U.S. District Judge John T. Curtin followed his guilty plea to violating his probation. His sentence includes time already served as part of his probation violation.

Morrocco, 56, was released from prison in late 2011 after spending 20 years there for cocaine trafficking.

He claims he intentionally got himself arrested last November because he could not afford health insurance. Morrocco also said a return to federal prison would provide him with the kind of medical care he could not afford as a free man.
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Failing to use seat belt puts man in jail

April 24, 2013, 2:01 pm
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A 20-year-old Buffalo man remained in the Erie County Holding Center Wednesday evening, hours after his Buffalo City Court arraignment, all because his failure to use a seat belt attracted the attention Tuesday night of two state troopers assigned to the Buffalo Strike Force.

Desean D. Hicks, no address disclosed, was arrested by Troopers Brian Redman and Ryan Hadsall after his vehicle was pulled over on Sycamore Street late in the night.

As Hicks allegedly tossed a small quantity of marijuana out his car window before pulling over, the troopers did a computer check and found he was wanted on a Buffalo City Court bench warrant in a weapons case. In addition to taking Hicks into custody on the warrant, the troopers also lodged charges of unlawful possession of marijuana, obstructing governmental administration, tampering with evidence and failure to wear a seat belt. He was remanded to the holding center following his arraignment Wednesday morning in Buffalo City Court.
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Lockport man imprisoned for having 2 ounces of cocaine

April 24, 2013, 2:04 pm
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LOCKPORT – Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas sent Gary Kelly of Lockport, who was caught with more than two ounces of cocaine in his home, to prison for 3 1/2 years Wednesday.

Kelly, 42, of John Street, had pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Police who raided his home March 6, 2012, seized 2.05 ounces of the drug and $1,731 in cash, which Kelly forfeited.

In another drug case Wednesday, Farkas placed Jason A. Kozlowski, 37, of Payne Avenue, North Tonawanda, on three months’ interim probation, pending a final sentencing decision. Kozlowski pleaded guilty to attempted fifth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance after selling Suboxone in North Tonawanda June 12.
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Probation for first of five to plead in forged check scheme

April 24, 2013, 2:08 pm
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LOCKPORT – Shana L. Wallace, 21, of Hawley Street, Lockport, was placed on three years’ probation Wednesday by State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr. for her part in a forged check and credit card scheme.

Wallace had admitted to two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument for her role in the scam led by Tasheen N. Dillard, 33, of Cedar Avenue, Niagara Falls. The operation, reportedly begun with personal information obtained by stealing a check from a Town of Niagara man’s mailbox, netted the perpetrators between $40,000 and $50,000 last year.

Dillard printed phony checks and made bogus credit cards, prosecutors alleged. She and three others – Demetrius M. Davis, 33, of Niagara Falls; Akeyta M. Fambo, 29, of Buffalo; and Krystal M. Pesoncko, 22, of Johnson City – pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
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Defendant charged with shaking and seriously injuring his child

April 24, 2013, 2:28 pm
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NIAGARA FALLS – An infant girl suffered five broken ribs and a head injury when she was allegedly shaken by her father late last month at a home on Ninth Street. “He assaulted his own baby,” said Niagara Falls Police Capt. William M. Thomson.

Jeremy R. Hayes, 24, was arrested by detectives Tuesday for his role in the March 28 assault and arraigned in City Court on felony charges of first-degree assault and reckless assault. He was remanded to Niagara County Jail on $100,000 bail. A hearing is set for today.Thursday.

Thomson said the baby was treated at Women and Children’s Hospital in Buffalo and has since been discharged and is recovering.

The infant girl was removed from her home by social workers from Niagara County Child and Protective Services and has been placed in the care of another family member.
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