May 9
2024
Tom Bauerle’s family feud
- Share on
WBEN talk radio host Tom Bauerle’s siblings claim in a lawsuit that the right-wing pundit cheated them out of their share of their late mother’s nearly $1 million estate.
The lawsuit, filed May 3, alleges that Bauerle moved in with his mother, Dorothy, during the last two months of her life. Dorothy Bauerle died March 6.
During that period, his siblings claim, Bauerle convinced their mother — “through duress, undue influence, fraud, and exploitation of [her] infirmity” — to make himself her principal beneficiary. They claim that prior to their brother’s “fraudulent and wrongful conduct,” their mother intended the three siblings to share her estate equally.
First, according to the lawsuit, Bauerle convinced his mother to sign the family house in the Town of Tonawanda over to him. Prior to that change, the house had been in the names of Bauerle and the two siblings who are suing him — his brother, Richard Bauerle, and his sister, Barbara Mattucci.
Bauerle then convinced his mother to give him sole power of attorney, a designation he had previously shared with his brother, Richard.
Donate to support our nonprofit newsroom
The talk show host then “proceeded to drain his mother’s bank accounts,” the siblings allege, making withdrawals and transfers totaling more than $793,000.
Bauerle’s siblings, who are represented by attorney Terry Connors, argue in court papers that their mother “did not have the requisite mental capacity” to make changes to her estate plans in her final months.
According to the complaint, the radio host made his intentions clear to Richard and Barbara via text messages he sent during their mother’s decline.
Some examples cited in the lawsuit:
“I’m just trying to figure out how to . . . Bump you 2 off”
“if I have power of attorney this ends very soon”
“I wouldn’t count on seeing a penny of that money”
All told, the two siblings are seeking restitution and punitive damages “in excess of $904,321.53, plus interest,” as well as court costs and attorneys’ fees.
Bauerle did not respond to email and phone messages seeking his side of the story. Connors, attorney for Bauerle’s siblings, declined comment.
Bauerle has hosted an afternoon talk show on WBEN since 2002, when he moved from WGR. The station ranked first among Western New York radio broadcasters as recently as five years ago, according to Nielsen ratings, but had declined to eighth place as of December 2023.
