A Jamestown man has been sentenced to 100 months in federal prison following his conviction on possession of child pornography....
U-S Attorney James Kennedy, Junior says 36 year-old Steven Fetterman received the 8 year-4 month term yesterday from U-S District Judge Lawrence Vilardo, as well as 30 years of supervised release. Prosecutors say that in November of 2015, Fetterman was found in possession of more than 1,700 videos and 13,838 images of child pornography. They say about 44 videos and 95 images involved pre-pubescent minors or minors under the age of 12, as well as depictions of violence. Previously, he was accused of engaging in the sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor. In 2000, the defendant forced one minor to engage in oral sex and between 2001 and 2003, the defendant attempted to fondle a second victim.
Two people have been arrested for allegedly operating a "large-scale" marijuana-grow operation following a drug raid on their home in the town of Busti....
Members of the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force and officers with the Lakewood-Busti Police Department conducted the raid at 161 Big Tree Road this past Monday night and, found 183 growing pot plants. Task Force agents say they arrested 36 year-old Thomas Maher and 30 year-old Barbara Lobb on a warrant and, seized the plants, along with paraphernalia used for growing, harvesting, packaging, and selling marijuana. Maher and Lobb were charged with unlawfully growing cannabis without a license,as well as two counts of endangering the welfare of a child because children lived in the home. Both were sent to the county jail pending arraignment. More charges are pending.
A big turn-out of local prosecutors from across New York state were on hand for a special summit in Albany to learn more about sweeping changes in discovery laws -- beginning next January 1st.....
That from Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson, who was among over 50 D-As and Assistant D-As from across the State who attended the recent, day-long summit. Swanson says the laws were passed as part of the new state Budget.
Swanson says all prosecutors will have to disclose all discovery of evidence in their possession within 15 day of the accused being arraigned. He says the new law will also significantly increase the number of cases where full discovery will be required. Swanson says the big turn-out of District Attorneys and Assistant D-As is an indication of how sweeping the changes are.
The Grandparent Scam has resurfaced in Chautauqua County, and scammed people to the tune of thousands of dollars....
That from Office for the Aging Director Mary Ann Spanos, who says the scam involves someone calling an elderly person, claiming to be that person's grandchild and, saying they are stuck in a foreign country or in-jail. The person is usually crying or has some other explanation of why their voice sounds different and, they need money immediately to get out. They always say "don’t tell my parents" and usually need cash or gift cards sent. One way to check on the call's validity is to ask a question that the grand child would know the answer to about the family. If it's a scammer they will usually hang up. Fore more information, call their NY Connects Helpline at 753-4582 or 661-7582.
Now that former Western New York Congressman Chris Collins has resigned his seat, the question is when will there be a special election to fill his 27th District seat....
Local Congressman Tom Reed says Governor Andrew Cuomo has floated the idea of having a special vote next April when some primary elections take place in New York.
Reed says he hopes that Cuomo lives up to his word about scheduling a special election at a time when another vote is already being held. Collins resigned from office just prior to pleading guilty to a pair of federal charges stemming from insider trading. Prosecutors said Collins had access to inside information about a biopharmaceutical company through his seat on its board. They say he leaked bad news about a failed clinical trial at the company to his son.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says new state figures show the number of new HIV diagnoses has dropped to a new low since the peak of the epidemic....
The Democrat said in a Wednesday announcement that New York saw 2,481 new HIV diagnoses last year -- a 28-percent drop from 2014. The state directs $20 million annually to Cuomo's 2014 initiative to end the AIDS epidemic by the end of 2020. Health commissioner Howard Zucker says New York is making significant advances to reach that goal.
Cuomo's office says 32,000 New Yorkers filled at least one prescription of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, last year. That's up 32-percent from 2017. New York will require health insurance plans to cover PrEP -- which greatly reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex -- without co-pays beginning next January 1st.
