batavia

Gregory Phillips, Brian Bordinaro -- two city firefighters accused of running an illegal bookmaking operation -- are still on the public payroll, according to City Manager Jason Molino.

Under New York's civil service law, employees accused of wrongdoing can't just be fired. There is a legal process for disciplinary action.

The city is working with the Sheriff's Office in obtaining evidence that might be used in a disciplinary process, Molino said, but no formal action has been taken yet.

The law requires that once a government agency suspends an employee without pay, the employee is allowed a disciplinary hearing -- where evidence is presented to support any disciplinary action -- and the employee can mount a defense within 30 days.

"We're still in the process of investigating things," Molino said.

Phillips and Bordinaro were arrested along with another public employee, Lance Engel, in February, and charged with criminal possession of gambling records.  Phillips was also charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, for allegedly possessing a small quantity of cocaine.

Yesterday, the three men were arraigned on new charges, accusing them essentially of racketeering under New York's "enterprise corruption" statute, and of promoting gambling. 

Enterprise corruption is a Class B felony with a maximum possible prison term of eight-and-a-third to 25 years.

The three men are accused of running a criminal enterprise that generated at least $1 million in bets and more than $70,000 in profits.

The District Attorney's Office presented the suspects' defense attorneys with a six-inch high stack of paper that is reportedly the evidence gathered against the three men so far.

Sgt. Steve Mullen, lead investigator on the case, said the investigation is ongoing. The Sheriff's Office is still waiting for data from the computers and mobile phones seized when officers with search warrants raided the homes of the three men in February. The lockers at the fire hall of Phillips and Bordinaro were also searched.

The evidence gathered thus far covers only a portion of the time the trio is believed to have been allegedly involved in bookmaking.

Mullen said yesterday that some of the people who allegedly placed bets through the operation were in debt to the three suspects for thousands of dollars.

Investigators have indicated -- though are still trying to determine for certain -- that Phillips and Bordinaro were allegedly receiving betting-related text messages and phone calls while on duty.

Here's a slice of this evening's sunset taken off Stegman Road, Batavia.

A motor-vehicle accident with injuries has been reported at Route 33 and Wortendyke Road.

It may be a rollover accident.

Power lines may be down.

UPDATE 4:08 p.m.: Dispatchers are receiving conflicting reports on injuries. Trooper on scene reports the pole is tilted but wires are not down.

UPDATE 4:16 p.m.: Minor injuries. East Pembroke Fire Department is on scene.

A motorcycle and car accident is reported on West Saile Drive in the Town of Batavia, which has its fire department responding along with Mercy medics and law enforcement.

UPDATE 2:03 p.m.: Town of Batavia is back in service. The motorcyclist/patient is inside Stan's Harley Davidson, located at 4425 W. Saile Drive.

UPDATE 2:07 p.m.: Must have been a sign-off. Mercy medics are back in service.

UPDATE 2:10 p.m.: The motorcyclist has a minor road rash.

Joshua L. Webster, 25, of 7882 York Road, Pavilion, is charged with burglary, 3rd, grand larceny and criminal mischief, 4th. Webster is accused of burglarizing a residence April 12 on Clinton Street Road, Bergen. Webster allegedly stole more than $1,000 in property. Bail on this case was set at $10,000 cash or $15,000 bond. Webster was previously arrested over the weekend and accused of fleeing from an accident on West Main Street, Batavia, and escaping through Batavia Downs.

Robert Charles Polcyn, 70, of Renouf Drive, Rochester, is charged with possession of untaxed cigarettes and failure to keep right. Polcyn was stopped at 3:57 p.m. on Byron-Elba Road, Byron, for an alleged traffic violation by Deputy Timothy Wescott. Polcyn was allegedly found in possession of 4,400 untaxed cigarettes.

Trisha Rose Santora, 29, of Seneca Avenue, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Santora is accused of violating an order of protection.

Thomas L. Hill Jr., is indicted on four counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd. Hill is accused of possessing cocaine with the intent to sell it Oct. 8 while at 335 Bank St., Batavia, and again on Jan. 7 at 174 Ross St.,  Batavia.

Albert A. Ackerman is indicted on a charge of felony DWI. Ackerman is accused of driving drunk Nov. 6 on Route 5 in the Town of Le Roy. Ackerman is accused of a prior DWI in 2009 in Florida.

Danielle Hendrickson is indicted on a charge of criminal possession of a forged instrument, 2nd. Hendrickson is accused of possessing, with the intent to defraud, a forged check in the amount of $50 drawn on the account of a local couple.

Shawn J. Scheg is indicted on a felony count of DWI and felony driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. Scheg is accused of driving drunk Jan. 8 while on West Sweden Road, Bergen. Scheg is accused of having a prior DWI conviction in the Town of Batavia in May 2002.

Fair warning: Don't pass a legally stopped school bus in the City of Batavia on Wednesday.

Of course, you should NEVER pass a school bus that is stopped to drop off or pick up schoolchildren, but on Wednesday, such negligence might make you more vulnerable to a ticket and hefty fine.

As part of a Governor's Traffic Safety Committee grant, Batavia PD will deploy marked and unmarked patrols in select areas looking for cars that decline, refuse or forget to stop for a school bus as required by law.

Officers on Wednesday will also be conducting speed enforcement in school zones.

Joshua L. Webster, 25, of 7882 York Road, Pavilion, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and failure to yield right of way; Jessica L. Engelhardt, 21, of 7882 York Road, Pavilion, is charged with falsely reporting an incident and offering a false instrument for filing, 2nd. Webster was allegedly involved in an accident at 4:15 p.m., April 9, on West Main Street near Tops Market. Webster allegedly fled the scene on foot. Webster was reportedly identified by readers of The Batavian after his picture at Batavia Downs was posted on the website. Engelhardt, who is reportedly married to Webster, is accused of falsely reporting the vehicle stolen in an effort to cover up her husband's involvement in the accident.

Eric M. Duda, 50, of 111 Liberty St., Batavia, and Summer Ogden, 36, of 123 Washington Ave., Batavia, are both charged with criminal contempt. Duda and Ogden are both accused of violating orders of protection that prohibit them from being in each other's company. They were allegedly found together during a residence check by the Probation Department. Both were jailed on $5,000 bail.

Evan Ryan Anderson, 30, of Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, driving with ability impaired by drugs and No/inadequate headlamps. Anderson was stopped at 11:50 p.m., Friday, on Route 5 in Pembroke by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Luke Anthony Bacon, 19, of East Avenue, Akron, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, unlawful possession of marijuana, speeding (82 in a 55 mph zone), and failure to keep right. Bacon was stopped at 12:18 a.m., Sunday, on Akron Road, Pembroke, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Mark Russell O'Gee, 58, of South Street Road, Le Roy, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. O'Gee is accused of violating an order of protection by entering a residence he was barred from entering.

Christopher Michael Ames, 40, of Maple Avenue, Oakfield, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and unlawful possession of marijuana. Ames was reportedly observed at 8:56 p.m., Friday, in a vehicle park behind an unoccupied building on Lewiston Road, Alabama, that is for sale. Upon further investigation by Deputy Chad Minuto, Ames was allegedly found to be in an intoxicated condition.

Kimberly A. Showler, 46, of 4 North Spruce St., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Showler is accused of shoplifting from a store on East Main Street, Batavia.

Lesley Marie Brice, 33, of Miller Avenue, Buffalo, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Brice is accused of pushing and shoving another person during a verbal argument that allegedly turned physical at 6:24 p.m., Friday, at a location on Main Street, Pembroke. Also arrested in connection with the incident was Angel Victoria Ramos, 19, of Main Road, Pembroke, who is charged with harassment, 2nd. Ramos is accused of hitting another person during an argument.

A "very small" grass fire is reported at 13 Woodland Drive in the Town of Batavia, which has its fire department on scene.

A tractor fire is reported at 9322 Dorman Road in the Town of Batavia, which has its fire department responding. It is not near any structures.

UPDATE 4:50 p.m.: The fire is out. All units returning to service.

UPDATE: Joe Valone, owner of Pheasants on the Flats, was mowing his property this afternoon when he looked down and saw flames popping out from his engine compartment. He tried to extinguish the fire himself, but couldn't. By the time firefighters arrived, the entire compartment was engulfed in flames. The tractor is a 1957 Ford that Valone had restored about two years ago.

For the 40th straight year, business and community leaders gathered to honor a group of hard working and visionary people who help enrich life in Genesee County.

The chamber of commerce awards ceremony was held at the Clarion Hotel again this year and more than 300 people attended.

Stories about the 2011 winners:

• Geneseean of the Year thrives on helping people become all they can be
• Baskin Livestock blossomed from a good idea, labor and luck
• Adept Equipment Services -- the 'go-to-guys' for all things mechanical
• Graham Corp. puts high premium on small community and its workers
• Arctic Refrigeration Co. of Batavia heating things up
• Palm Island Indoor Water Park making a big splash

If you're unable to view the slide show, click here. 

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

A vehicle fire is reported on the eastbound Thruway between mile marker 375 and 378. Town of Batavia Fire Department and Le Roy medics are responding.

UPDATE 7:26 p.m.: It's a white Ford Escort. UPDATE 7:35 p.m.: Le Roy medics are back in service. There were flames coming from the vehicle, now there's just some smoke, and they're watering it down to cool it off.

If the Pok-A-Dot isn't already world famous, it soon will be.

A crew from the international version of the Travel Channel stopped by the legendary diner Friday to film a segment for part of an episode on Upstate New York.

"Most people in the world, when they think of New York, they think, ‘oh, the city,’ but there’s actually a lot more to it than that," said the show's presenter, Julian Hanton (the bloke in the sunglasses in all the pictures -- and we can say bloke, because the crew is from the U.K., though Hanton is originally from New Zealand).

The Pok-A-Dot was suggested by the tourism agency and the crew. Hanton said they wanted to get places in the more rural communities, though they have visited Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Rochester.

The seven-part show will visit seven states, giving international viewers a wider perspective of the United States, according to Hanton, but he doesn't expect the shows to air in the U.S. (although, they might).

Top Photo: The crew with Joanne Cox, Jennifer Hodgins, Nicci Johnson and Lisa Hodgins. Below, Jim Disalvo with Hanton and WHAM13's Sean Carroll interviewing Hanton.

A Batavia man was taken by Mercy Flight to Erie County Medical Center today where he is in stable condition following an accident at 1:24 p.m. on R. Stephen Hawley Drive.

Joseph C. Wenzel Jr., 54, of Thorpe Street, Batavia, told investigators that as he was heading east, he swerved to avoid a small animal, possibly a possum, in the roadway.

An investigation by Deputy Jonathan Szumigala indicates that Wenzel's 1990 Chevy Van went off the south shoulder and then Wenzel over corrected causing him to lose control of the vehicle.

The van struck a fire hydrant and overturned, pinning Wenzel inside.

Town of Batavia volunteers responded and cut the windshield out of the van so Mercy medics could gain access to the patient. Firefighters then cut the roof off the van to extricate Wenzel.

Wenzel may have suffered a head injury, but he was also taken by Mercy Flight to a trauma center as a precaution in case of internal injuries.

Szumigala indicated on his report that possible traffic citations are pending.

The Haskell Company, general contractor on Project Wave, and PepsiCo both pledged today to hire, whenever possible, local subcontractors, and say they've been following that practice from the beginning.

In fact, both companies say they have a non-binding agreement with the Genesee County Economic Development Center to hire local workers.

Union representatives from Rochester held a press conference today outside the building site at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park and insisted that Haskell is not awarding enough contracts to builders from Western New York.

Dave Young, president of the Rochester Building and Construction Trades Council, as well as business manager of IBEW Local 86, told reporters to just walk through the parking lot (if allowed) and check license plates on the trucks pulled up behind the construction trailers.

"Pepsi has hired an out-of-state general contractor who is bringing up employees from Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia," Young said. "They're bringing them from everywhere but right in here New York State."

Young made his remarks flanked by union members -- Young said he represents 15,000 workers, 15 percent of whom are out of work -- and in front of a backdrop of earth movers grading the construction site.

The earth movers are owned and operated by Zoladz Construction, based in Alden.

Young (pictured) said the one solid piece of evidence his group has is a video he and some colleagues produced yesterday during their walk-through of the construction site parking lot.

When pressed to name out-of-state contractors who have been awarded contracts, Young named one, an electrical contractor out of Kentucky, but said he couldn't remember the names of the others.

He said the bid process for construction work such as this lacks transparency, which makes it hard to know for sure who is being hired for what jobs.

Yesterday, Steve Hyde told The Batavian that 50 percent of the contracts for the project have been awarded and 80 percent of those have gone to Western New York contractors.

Dave Balz, a VP with Haskell, said he didn't have the information in front of him to be able to confirm Hyde's numbers, but said Haskell is firmly committed to hiring local labor on all of its projects.

"In my experience, every community is concerned about the local work force and the local workers," Balz said. "We respect that concern. Local contractors with a good safety record are always welcome to bid on our projects."

Haskell signed a non-binding agreement with GCEDC to hire qualified subcontractors from the local area (which covers Genesee County as well as the surrounding counties), Balz said.

According to Scott Gilmore, a spokesman for Pepsi, the company signed a "local labor pledge" with GCEDC.

"Our pledge is to use a fair and competitive selection process for the construction of the new manufacturing facility, with a view to using as many New York State and local subcontractors and suppliers as reasonable," Gilmore said in a statement.

"As with any pledge of this nature, it is not legally binding, but it is a reflection of the goals and standards we seek to maintain as we proceed with development of the state-of-the-art dairy and yogurt production facility in Batavia, New York."

Gilmore also wrote, "We are committed to providing a measurable, positive impact to the Upstate local community and surrounding areas through the use of available, competitive local labor as we construct a state-of-the-art dairy and yogurt production facility in Batavia, New York."

Among Young's request is that GCEDC create a local labor requirement in its contacts with businesses, saying that the Monroe County IDA has such a requirement in its contracts.

The Batavian spoke briefly with a spokeswoman for COMIDA who said at first the claim was true, but when asked if such agreements were binding, she said she would need to double check. We've not yet heard back from her.

As for the video presented by the union, Balz said he would let it speak for itself, adding, "We are still early in a very long-term project to build a state-of-the-art yogurt plant. As things proceed on site, we intend and will take action on our pledge to do our very best to include local participation."

Previously: Union officials making waves over alleged out-of-state hiring practices of Wave Holding

A rollover car accident is reported on R. Stephen Hawley Drive near Batavia Stafford Town Line Road. The car rolled over several times, according to a witness at the scene. There is entrapment. Mercy Flight out of Buffalo is airborne. Town of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy Medics are responding. It is not blocking traffic.

UPDATE 1:36 p.m.: The vehicle is a full-size Chevy van. It's on its side. They are going to take out the windshield to rescue the patient. The van is leaking fuel. Mercy Flight has a 10-minute ETA, and the landing zone will be just east of the campus on a grassy hill.

UPDATE 1:45 p.m.: The patient is a male, approximately 50 years old. He lost consciousness but is now conscious. He's complaining of back and arm pain. He will be transported to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

UPDATE 1:47 p.m.: The patient has been extricated.

UPDATE 1:50 p.m.: Mercy Flight has landed.

UPDATE 1:54 p.m.: A flatbed tow truck is requested. The van came to rest 30 feet off the roadway on the driver's side.

UPDATE 2:01 p.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne but the destination has been changed to Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo.

UPDATE 2:06 p.m.: Town of Batavia fire is back in service.

UPDATE: We'll have more pictures from the scene with our follow-up story, pending release of accident report from the Sheriff's Office.

A 24-year-old Batavia resident is accused of intentionally ramming a police car and then running from officers during an incident in the city overnight.

David L. Andrews, of 19 Holland Ave., Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 2nd, reckless endangerment, 2nd, resisting arrest, unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, 3rd, and 19 vehicle and traffic violations.

Andrews was reportedly wanted on an arrest warrant out of city court.

He is being held in the Genesee County Jail without bail.

The incident started at 12:28 a.m. when Officer Chris Camp attempted to initiate a traffic stop on Court Street.

Allegedly, Andrews did not stop his vehicle and Camp initiated a short pursuit down West Main Street.

At some point, Andrews allegedly hit a police vehicle and then fled on foot. The pursuit area included Holland Avenue, Montclair Avenue, Lacrosse Avenue, North Lyon Street and Allen Street.

Assisting Batavia PD were Sheriff's deputies and state troopers.

Assisting from Batavia PD were officers James DeFreze, Jason Ivison and Lt. G.Q. Steele.

Robert Anthony Holley, 41, of Overlook Drive, Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and harassment, 2nd. Holley is accused of grabbing his son, throwing him to the ground and kicking him during an argument. Holley is also accused of throwing his wife to the ground when she reportedly tried to stop him. Holley was jailed on $500 bail.

Uriah Ian Charles Smoke, 27, of Bloomingdale Road, Basom, is charged with reckless endangerment, 2nd, and criminal mischief, 4th. Smoke is accused of failing to appear in the Town of Alabama Court following his release from the Erie County Correctional Facility and was arrested on a warrant.

David Christopher Dodd, 23, of County Road 132, Ovid, is charged with two counts of aggravated DWI (child passengers under 16), operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs and failure to stop at a stop sign. Dodd was arrested following a report at 9:05 p.m., Wednesday, that a vehicle was operating erratically on Park Road. Dodd was stopped by Deputy James Diehl.

Besides her meeting with the Alabama Fire Department this afternoon, Rep. Kathy Hochul made five stops in Genesee County today.

One of her visits included a tour of Batavia with City Manager Jason Molino and other city officials. The tour ended with a visit to Batavia's landmark sewage treatment plant.

Hochul told city officials she was very impressed with the progress Batavia is making, from the Masse Gateway Project to downtown redevelopment.

"It's a city that's moving forward," she said.

Other stops by Hochul included making a donation of books from the Library of Congress to the Byron-Bergen Public Library, a tour of the trans-load warehouse on Mill Street and a talk with seniors at 400 Towers.

Below, a completely gratuitous picture of one of the treatment ponds, covered by clouds.

Two giant multinational companies received millions in taxpayer subsidies to launch "Project Wave" in Batavia on the promise of creating local jobs and stimulating the local economy, but so far, according to Dave Young, it's not happening.

Steve Hyde, CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center, disputed Young's claims saying that Wave Holding has made a committment to hire a majority of local construction workers and that as of last week, 50 percent of the contracts had been awarded with 80 percent going to local firms.

Young is a union man -- president of the Rochester Building and Construction Trades Council, as well as business manager of IBEW Local 86 -- and he will hold a press conference at 10 a.m., Friday, at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park to try to draw attention to the number of out-of-state workers being employed by Wave Holding, LLC.

"There are a lot of construction workers in our area who are out of work," Young said. "This isn't a union or non-union issue. It's a community issue."

Young and Anna Dumont, executive director, Rochester Building and Construction Trades Council, released a pair of videos Dumont said were shot this morning at the job site of Project Wave showing numerous out-of-state license plates on what they say are the cars of construction workers employed by building contractor Haskell and its subcontractors.

We received no reply to an email this afternoon to PepsiCo asking for comment on the situation.

Pepsi along with Germany-based Theo Muller Group formed Wave Holding to introduce a new Greek-style yogurt product to the United States and are spending more than $206 million to build a 363,000-square-foot facility.

The plant will initially employ nearly 200 people and could eventually employ as many as 600 people.

Wave Holding received more than $11 million in tax abatements for the project and the GCEDC has been able to channel millions more into building the ag park and ensuring the park has sufficient infrastructure to support operations there.

Young suggested GCEDC should adopt rules similar to those he claims are already in place in Monroe County -- if you get tax breaks for your project, you need to hire local workers.

"That's true of all IDA subsidized projects in Monroe County," Young said. "Some go union and some go non-union, but either way people in our community get to go to work every day. They earn paychecks that support their families. This is truly a community issue."

Hyde, who answered a couple of questions even though he's out of town on vacation, said the GCEDC supports local labor.

"We have done everything we can to encourage local labor and are a huge fan and advocate of local labor," Hyde said. "We have done so with Wave many times."

Young claimed the unemployment rate among construction workers in Western New York is about double the rate of the rest of the work force.

The problem with out-of-state workers (and Young thinks some of the workers at the site aren't even U.S. residents) is that they send their wages back home rather than spend the money here.

Studies, he said, put the multiplier effect of locally based construction work at three to seven times the worker's wages.

"They're paying taxes, going to local stores, getting things fixed locally, sending their kids to local schools and colleges," Young said.

Young said he hopes public attention on the matter will get Haskell to hire more local workers.

Meanwhile, throughout the construction of the Alpina yogurt plant, the parking lot -- including today -- has been consistently filled with vehicles with New York license plates.