Latest

Jan 27

2025

Trump sets the table for lawlessness

Published by

I expected Trump’s first week in office to be terrible. It was worse than terrible, in so many ways.  I want to focus on Trump’s use of pardons. It wasn’t just those given to the January 6 insurrectionists.  Consider: Trump also pardoned Ross Ulbricht, who was serving a life sentence for running a website used to sell drugs in what the FBI called “the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the internet.” Trump called the prosecutors who put Ulbricht in jail “scum.” The president also gave pardons to two white Washington, D.C., cops responsible for the death of a[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jan 23

2025

Subsidized ‘Falls restaurateur accused of wage theft

Published by

A Niagara Falls business owner who is seeking a second round of tax breaks for his growing portfolio of fast food restaurants cheats workers out of wages and tips, nine current and former employees have told Investigative Post.  Muhammad Shoaib, who owns 10 fast food restaurants — including the Moe’s Southwest Grill, A&W Restaurant and Papa Johns Pizza in Niagara Falls — frequently fails to pay hourly employees overtime and managers the weekly minimum salary set in state law, six current and former employees said. Six employees also alleged that Shoaib has withheld thousands of dollars in credit card tips[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jan 22

2025

Vetting wannabe mayors from an East Side perspective

Published by

Last week a group of East Side leaders met with declared candidates for Buffalo mayor to quiz them on issues ranging from city finances to investment in the city’s predominantly Black neighborhoods. The Urban Think Tank comprises prominent Black religious leaders, such as Bishops Darius Pridgen and Michael Badger, as well as business people, lawyers, elected officials and community activists.  City voters will choose Buffalo’s first new mayor since 2006 in this year’s primary and general elections. Samuel Radford III, an Urban Think Tank member, told Investigative Post the group wanted to see where the list of candidates — the[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jan 21

2025

The money behind Buffalo’s mayoral candidates

Published by

The top two contenders for Buffalo mayor are both starting this election cycle with about a half million dollars in their campaign accounts. But their donor bases and the pace of their fundraising are far different. Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon has been on a tear, raising more money since he took office in October than he raised in 12 years as a member of the Common Council, with much of his money coming from the real estate developers and city contractors who bankrolled his predecessor, Byron Brown. State Sen. Sean Ryan, meanwhile, has tapped longtime supporters — especially lawyers and[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jan 20

2025

Welcome to 1933

Published by

Donald Trump is sworn in as president today. Welcome to 1933. That’s the year Adolf Hitler came to power. I’m not saying Trump will be another Hitler, but there are eerie parallels to their respective routes to power that should not be ignored. Trump’s more contemporary prototype is Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, termed “the ultimate twenty-first-century dictator.”    An op-ed in last week’s New York Times described Orbán’s playbook: In a second term, Mr. Trump’s actions may be even more dangerous because he is now following the playbook created by Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, who after losing and then[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jan 17

2025

Judge tosses lead lawsuit against Buffalo

Published by

Community groups last February rally in front of City Hall for more funding for lead inspections. Photo by I’Jaz Ja’ciel A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that contended the City of Buffalo is failing to enforce a law that mandates inspection of rental units for the presence of lead paint. Partnership for the Public Good and three other community organizations filed the lawsuit last July against the city and the Department of Permits and Inspections. It claimed a failure to fully implement the rental inspections law contributed to substandard living conditions for city residents and increased risks for lead poisoning[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jan 16

2025

Scanlon’s police/fire dilemma

Published by

Scanlon as a South District Council member before he became acting mayor in October. Editor’s note: This is the final segment of a three-part series on Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon. Previous stories included a political profile and his approach to dealing with the city’s fiscal problems. Today’s report focuses on on his tight relations with the police and fire departments, whose costs he needs to rein in if the city is to balance its books.  Buffalo’s police and fire departments account for half the city’s workforce and nearly three-quarters of payroll expenses. Reining in their costs — by reducing overtime,[...]

Posted 2 months ago

Jan 15

2025

Buffalo demolishes the ‘House from Hell’

Published by

An excavator sits at the former site of 149 Arkansas St. following its demolition. Photo by I’Jaz Ja’ciel The troubled house at 149 Arkansas St. that plagued an West Side neighborhood for years has finally been torn down. The property, a symbol of failures on the parts of police, city court and government officials, was razed by excavators Tuesday morning, following a demolition order that then Housing Court Judge Patrick Carney issued last August. This was the third demolition order that Carney issued for the vacant house, which has been a nuisance and safety concern to neighbors since November 2022,[...]

Posted 2 months ago
Investigative Post