Bauerle story voted tops in 2024

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Readers have voted Geoff Kelly’s story on the legal battle involving the family of talk radio host Tom Bauerle as Investigative Post’s top story of 2014.

The story, published on May 9, detailed claims by the siblings of the WBEN talk show host that he schemed to defraud them of their share of their late mother’s estate.

Kelly wrote:

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.

Eight months later, the lawsuit continues to grind forward.

The radio host in court papers denied his siblings’ allegations entirely. He also added some counter-claims of his own, accusing his brother and sister of slander and libel that “have caused significant injury and damages to the Defendant,” his lawyers wrote.

His siblings’ attorney responded to the counterclaims by arguing proof of their brother’s wrongdoing would surface in the course of a trial.

When and whether there is a trial — or an out-of-court settlement, or a dismissal — is anyone’s guess.  There have been no court filings since July, when Bauerle’s attorney asked permission to depose the lawyers who helped the host and his mother change her will and sign her house over to him before she died. 

The parties are scheduled to appear in court Jan. 30. The case is being heard by state Supreme Court Justice Emilio Colaiacovo.

The Bauerle story won a quarter of the votes cast in online balloting that concluded Thursday. Other top vote-getters included Departing OTB chief splurged on travel by J. Dale Shoemaker and Mortgage lending lags to Black applicants in Buffalo by I’Jaz Ja’ciel.

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The Bauerle story also ranked among Investigative Post’s most-read stories of 2024. 

Here’s the list, in rank order:

• Analysis of the vote for Harris/Trump 
• Radioactive material found in the basement of a Lewiston home 
• A Buffalo cop repeatedly pepper sprayed a woman. He was fired.
• Kamala Harris won New York, but by a smaller margin than Biden
• Buffalo police officer has history of arrests, remains on force
• Who Rules Buffalo? A new report on the city’s elite has answers
• Buffalo gives Broadway Market contract to problematic ex-cop 
• Tom Bauerle’s family feud
• An update on the status of Kim Pegula, Buffalo Bills co-owner
• Who will be Buffalo’s next mayor? Potential candidates line up 

Strong readership of the stories contributed to a 62 percent increase in page views to Investigative Post’s website last year. Subscribers to our email newsletter grew by 40 percent in 2024.

This was the second consecutive year Kelly’s reporting was selected as Investigative Post’s top story. His story on the Buffalo fire department clerk paid nearly $600,000 over seven years while on suspension was the winner for 2023. The year before, voters selected I’Jaz Ja’ciel’s report on Buffalo’s sky-high eviction rate as the top story.

Investigative Post staff