JPD Captain talks about jump in Counterfeit $20 and $100 bills in the city...
Jamestown police are warning local residents of possible $20 and $100 counterfeit bills. City Police Captain Bob Samuelson says they have received several reports of both in recent days. Samuelson says counterfeits are often an issue... but, adds these have been more prevailant. He says one issue is with $100 bills that have "motion picture use" only... which have been around for a while... but, have cropped up a few times locally. Sameulson says the other problem started with a $100 bill taken by a restaraunt that had chinese markings on it. He says the concern is when people use them to defraud people intentionally... and, adds they want to get them "out of circulation as much as we can." Media One News is aware of at least one case of several phony 20s showing up at a south side business within the past couple of weeks. Samuelson says police are asking local business to look closely at the $20 and $100 bills you take in... and, to use a dri-mark pen to verify that it's a real $20 or $100. He says if you find you have one... turn it into a local law enforcement agency.... or call the JPD anonymous Tips-line at 483-TIPS... that's 483-8477. You can also contact the JPD on their 4-1-1 app.
Two Jamestown men, repeat offenders, sentenced on drug and other charges...
A Jamestown man convicted on drug and domestic violence-related charges could spend as much as six-years in state prision after being sentenced on three different charges. Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson says 39 year-old Cesar Soto received the sentences in County Court this week. Swanson says Soto received 6 years determinate for third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. He says Soto also received 2 to 4 years indeterminiate each for first-degree reckless endangerment... and, second-degree attempted strangulation. Swanson says all sentences run concurrently. He adds that another Jamestown man... 31 year-old Rocco Beardsley... was also sentenced. Swanson says Beardsley received 4-years determinate... plus 2 years post-release supervision after being convicted of second-degree attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance. He also received two-years determinate and, two-years of post-release supervision for third-degree unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine. He also received 5 years and two-years post-release supervision for third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Again... Swanson says all sentences run concurrently.
City man pleds guilty in federal court to Child Porn charges...
A Jamestown man has pleaded guilty to a charge of distributing child pornography in U-S District Court in Buffalo. Acting U-S Attorney James Kennedy, Junior announced late Thursday that 45 year-old Christopher Whitford entered the plea before Judge Elizabeth Wolford. Kennedy says the charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years, and a $250,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Baumgarten, who is prosecuting the case... says Whitford shared the content with an undercover law enforcement officer last May 1 through a file sharing program. Baumgartern adds that federal agents then raided Whitford's home on West 13th Street... and, they seized several pieces of electronic media... and, forensic analysis revealed images and videos constituting child pornography were stored on those items. Baumgarten says the images and videos that the defendant previously shared with the undercover officer were among those images. She says Whitford had about 2-thousand-400 images... and, one-thousand-188 videos constituting child pornography. He's to be sentenced June 13.
State Graduation Rate up to just over 79...
New York state's high school graduation rate continued its slow climb in 2016... when 79.4 percent of students earned a diploma after four years. The graduation rate released Friday by the state Department of Education is 1.3 percent higher than the 78.1 percent for the class of 2015. State officials say black and Hispanic students and students in the bigger cities were among those making gains. New York City's rate was just under 70 percent, up 2.4 percent from the previous year. Syracuse posted a 6.4-percent increase, to 61 percent, while the other so-called Big Five school districts of Buffalo, Rochester and Yonkers had graduation rates of 61.7 percent, 47.5 percent and 77.5 percent, respectively. New York state has 2.6 million students in public schools. State data shows that more than half are considered economically disadvantaged.
Jamestown's sales tax revenue falls short of projections...
A slight drop in sales tax revenue for the fourth-quarter of 2016 has led Jamestown city leaders to closely watch 2017 revenues as they plug a gap in spending. That from Mayor Sam Teresi... who says they had a decent quarter... but, it was not as good as in 2015, when the city exceeded sale tax revenues. For the year, he says they wound up 1.5-percent short of projections. Teresi says the problem is volatility in those projections. He says he and his finance team are very careful when they forecast sales tax revenues because of that volatility. He says they aren't changing projected figures of just under $6-million for 2017... but, will keep a close eye on the situation. Teresi says they've been fairly successful in recent years in finishing within an "acceptable" variance of where they projected they would be. He made his comments for this weekend's Community Spotlight program on the five Media One Group stations. City Comptroller Joe Bellitto reported on the final sales tax figures at this past week's City Council work session.
