Categories for DailyPost

Feb 20

2025

ICE abuse of detainees in Batavia facility

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Recent federal audits of the ICE detention facility in Batavia have documented instances of inhumane treatment of detainees by guards. The audits, conducted in 2023 and last year, found instances of excessive use of force, the shackling of detainees held in solitary confinement for the little time they were allowed out of their cells, and the use of physician assistants to perform dental work on detainees. Former detainees and their representatives paint an even darker picture of conditions inside the facility. Guards beating up detainees is not uncommon, they said. Solitary confinement is a frequent punishment, sometimes in lengthy durations[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Feb 19

2025

ICE says it will leave schools alone

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ICE officials have told local school superintendents they have no plans to raid schools in search of undocumented students. Still, Buffalo school administrators said that, while they feel somewhat reassured by the intentions laid out by local ICE officials, they are still taking extra precautions to protect students’ rights and safety. “There are still people that could act on their own to intimidate and make students and families feel uncomfortable. So although it’s some reassurance, I think we still need to remain vigilant,” said Board of Education Member Lawrence Scott. Buffalo Public Schools since December have proclaimed their commitment to[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Feb 18

2025

In legal hot water again

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Erie County is suing a member of a now largely inactive local right-wing militant organization for “deceptive and illegal business practices.” The lawsuit, filed last week by the Erie County Attorney, accuses Wayne Michalak and his company, WNY Backyard Enclosures, of bilking property owners out of “thousands of dollars in advance payment from consumers for home improvement services which he did not provide and/or complete.” The county attorney wants the courts to ban Michalak and his company “permanently” from the home improvement business or, as an alternative, require him to post a $100,000 performance bond before entering into any future[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Feb 17

2025

Making the case for IDA reform

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There’s a case to be made for consolidating and reforming Western New York’s myriad of industrial development agencies into a single operation. There’s six alone in Erie County, another three in Niagara. Add the outlying counties and there’s no fewer than 16 of them. There’s too many of them. They compete against each other. They can’t resist the built-in conflict of interest in which they earn a commission if they approve a deal and get zilch if they don’t. Let’s face it, if they were effective, our regional economy would be in better shape. Greg LeRoy of Good Jobs First, who, for my[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Feb 13

2025

“Detective Hy was repeatedly discourteous and unprofessional”

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The state attorney general over the past four years has investigated 10 Buffalo police officers repeatedly accused of misconduct. The investigations found “no pattern” of misconduct by six of those officers, and in two other cases the inquiries were dropped because the officers left the force.  Twice, however, the attorney general’s investigators threw penalty flags. The latest cop to be scrutinized: Detective Richard Hy, who has been a notorious figure for much of his 13-year career. “Detective Hy was repeatedly discourteous and unprofessional during encounters with civilians and escalated the encounters, including by using physical force,” Tyler Nims, head of[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Feb 12

2025

More subsidies for restaurateur accused of wage theft

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The  Niagara County Industrial Development Agency on Wednesday unanimously approved nearly $247,000 in tax breaks to a fast food operator being investigated on allegations of wage theft and other labor law violations. The IDA board did not discuss the allegations before granting the subsidy to Muhammad Shoaib, whose other fast food operations previously have received subsidies totaling close to a half million dollars. The latest round of assistance for Shoaib’s businesses comes as the state labor department probes allegations of wage theft made by several of his former employees. At least two have submitted complaints to the labor department that[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Feb 11

2025

Preservationist fined for housing code violations

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A cottage at 1029 West Ave.  formerly owned by Bernice Radle. Photo by I’Jaz Ja’ciel Bernice Radle, 38, is a preservationist who finds herself in the awkward position of being fined $13,500 by Housing Court. The reason: She failed to correct code violations on a West Side property she intended, but failed to renovate. Radle, executive director at Preservation Buffalo-Niagara, doesn’t dispute the code violations, but she does question the fines. She said the city’s inspections department, court, or both, have failed to maintain updated records related to the property and for some time sent her notifications to an old[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Feb 10

2025

Censorship, and other problems, at The Buffalo News

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Delivery problems – and apparently the lack of a spine – continue to plague The Buffalo News. Since the weather turned cold and snowy, home delivery has been hit and miss. I still subscribe and there’s probably been a half-dozen days since Christmastime where I haven’t received a paper. One time, it was a multiple-day stretch. Last week, technical troubles forced The News to shrink the size of its print edition.  “A serious technical outage is creating production issues for all Lee newspapers,” Editor Margaret Kenny wrote in Thursday’s paper. “Our IT staff is working around the clock to fully[...]

Posted 2 months ago
Investigative Post