WCDO Radio News

NEWS 7-2-14

An indictment was unsealed Tuesday morning in Federal Court, accusing State Senator Tom Libous of using his political influence to get his son a job with a law firm in Westchester County, following an investigation by the FBI and The IRS.   Libous is accused of giving   false statements to investigators, his son Matthew is charged with 6 counts of charges of impeding or obstructing the IRS and filing false tax returns. Following yesterdays’ arraignment in a federal court in Westchester County, Senator Libous released a statement: claiming that he has spent 26 years working for the people of his district, and he will continue to do so.   Libous claimed his innocence from the charge; his office issued a statement that Libous intends to run for re-election this year, as originally planned.

The District 5 Ultimate Idol contest will get underway shortly, where area singers can showcase their abilities, with finalists possibly making onto the TV Talent show "The Voice” Lisa Jones of the Otsego County fair explains:

(Lisa Jones 7-2-14)

The fairs participating in the Ultimate Idol contest are Afton, Madison, Broome, Otsego & Delaware Caseloads continue to grow in family courts in New York State, and the lack of family court judges has caused a major backlog, but some relief is on the way. Family courts in 16 counties across the state will get help. Lawmakers recently approved a bill allowing for the addition of 20 new judges by 2015 and five more by 2016. Locally, a new family court judge will take office January 1, 2015 in Broome County, and a new family court judge will be seated in 2016 in Delaware County

The New York State Fair's new "Up Close With..." series kicks off at the 2014 Fair with stories from some of the former children from the TV series "The Brady Bunch," and from some of the comedians featured in the roundtable on the late-night "Chelsea Lately" talk show. The events take place August 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Empire Theater of the Art & Home Center. General admission tickets to each event are $20 and will only be available at the State Fair Box Office beginning July 18th

Now that he has been acquitted on corruption charges, former State Sen. Joe Bruno wants the state to reimburse him for $2.4 million in legal fees. Bruno, the former Republican majority leader, filed for the money with the state attorney general, under a statute that permits recovery of legal expenses, by state employees, accused of criminal wrongdoing related to official duties. Bruno was acquitted of receiving kickbacks disguised as consulting fees. Bruno led the GOP majority in the state Senate for 14 years before stepping down in 2008

The Town of Masonville will be conducting a dog enumeration starting August 1st, State law requires that ALL dogs over the age of 4 months MUST be licensed within the municipality they are "Harbored" in, any dogs found to be unlicensed after Aug 1st will be subject to an additional $5 enumeration fee and could also receive an Appearance ticket + fine. More information is available at 265-3537

Chenango county sheriff’s department and State Police arrested 33-year-old Douglas Scherr of Budd Lake, New Jersey, at a residence in the Town of Afton. Scherr was a reported as a Fugitive from Justice out of the State of New Jersey on an active arrest warrant for Arson, he was arraigned in the Town of Norwich court and remanded to the Chenango County Jail without bail pending court action today.

Jury selection is underway in the latest trial of former State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. Bruno is accused of taking bribes from a business associate who also had dealings with the state, while Bruno headed up the State Senate.   Bruno was Acquitted of 5 charges & was found guilty of 2 others in his 2009 trial; the convictions were overturned on appeal.

Michael Kicinski of Earlville will not be on the Republican Primary ballot in the 22nd congressional district. Kicinski lost his spot because he did not have enough valid petition signatures from the district’s registered Republican residents, with several of the collected signatures being deemed invalid by the state Board of Elections. Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney and incumbent Richard Hanna will appear on the June 24th primary ballot.

Police agencies from across the state will head to Albany this week to pay tribute to those who have died in the line of duty. A ceremony will be held tomorrow at the New York State Law Enforcement Officers Memorial at the Empire State Plaza. Before the ceremony, there will be a church service for police officers that have died. That will be followed by a march to the Law Enforcement Memorial at the Plaza. The memorial is inscribed with the names of more than 1,300 police officers that have died in the line of duty across the state.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is asking the FDA to prevent a powdered alcohol from reaching store shelves. Schumer said “ Palcohol” can be mixed with water, sprinkled on food or even snorted and is easily concealed. Palcohol's parent company Lipsmark disagrees, saying it will be sold under the same restrictions as liquid alcohol.   Schumer said the FDA should intervene like it did with caffeinated, fruit-flavored alcoholic beverages that appeal to young people. The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau gave Palcohol label approvals April 8th, they were later withdrawn.

The Delaware County Board of Supervisors announced that they have set up a hotline, to inform law enforcement agencies of possible drug issues, mainly with heroin.  State senator John Bonacic said that while the “I-Stop” program has cut down on doctor shopping, there were unintended consequences:

(Bonacic 4-21-14)

The Delaware County hotline to inform police of heroin & drug related problems is 888-914-9111, all calls will be confidential.

State police issued 748 tickets to drivers in Otsego & Delaware counties for using their cell phones or other electronic devices while driving this year.  The statistic was released following  ”Operation Hang Up.”, the 1st national distracted driving high-visibility enforcement crackdown, which was coupled with advertising and media outreach about the law, and the potential fatal consequences of texting and driving.

State Troopers arrested 49-year-old Patrick Keigel of New Lisbon for Unlawful Imprisonment, Menacing and 3rd degree Assault.  The arrest followed a dispute in New Lisbon, where Kiegel allegedly pulled a victims hair out, threatened to strike the victim with a hammer & held the victim against their will.  Kiegel was arraigned in the Town of New Lisbon Court and was remanded to the Otsego County Jail on $1,000 cash bail.  An  order of protection was issued against Kiegel for the victim.

The former State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno will go on trial again next month, he is accused of 2 charges under a revised fraud case alleging the he took bribes or kickbacks.  Bruno is accused of accepting more than $400,000 from a businessman for helping with state grants. Bruno led the Senate’s majority for 14 years before stepping down in 2008.  Bruno was acquitted in 2009 of 5 fraud counts and convicted of 2 others. The convictions were overturned on appeal.  The trial is scheduled for May 5th