Northeast
Dem elites accused of slapping small-town cops with ‘witch hunt’ fines twice their pay
Dozens of officers in a small-town New York police department near the Canadian border have been fined for allegedly taking part in an unauthorized labor strike during a snowy stretch this winter.
The union described the fines as retaliation and an abuse of power that denied the officers due process.
One of the officers says the allegations aren’t true. He went to work, participated in on-duty training and even made a drunken driving stop during a span when it snowed “every day.”
“They’re upset that we didn’t make them enough money and meet their perceived ticket quota,” said Andy Thompson, a Tonawanda Police officer and the president of the department’s union, the Tonawanda Police Club.
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Tonawanda Police Chief James Stauffiger after an award ceremony in March. The local police union is pushing for his ouster after members were accused of an unauthorized strike. (Town of Tonawanda Police Department)
Tonawanda Police Chief James Stauffiger, whom the union is asking town residents to oust, said Thompson’s allegations are “without merit.”
“I stand behind the charges filed against the union with the Public Employees Relations Board and the individual officers,” he told Fox News Digital. “The process needs to unfold fairly and thoroughly.”
Thompson is among the nearly 50 officers accused of going on strike without authorization for one hour a day over a nine-day stretch and has had two hours of pay docked for each of those days, according to a letter he received that was signed by Tonawanda Town Supervisor Joe Emminger.
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“We didn’t strike. We showed up to work every day. We did our jobs every day,” Thompson told Fox News Digital. “We didn’t write enough tickets, and we didn’t put enough money in the town’s coffers. And they decided they’re going to fine each officer.”
Ticket quotas are illegal under New York law, he noted, and workplace retaliation can be, too.
Between late January into February, the town got so much snowfall it ran out of road salt, and there was an increase in police calls. Officers were also required to spend 16 hours doing mandatory training with new department-issued guns, all during a staffing shortage after seven officers retired or left at the start of the new year, Thompson told Fox News Digital.
The Tonawanda Police Department headquarters (Google Maps)
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This year, Tonawanda Police has issued 123 tickets, according to a filing with New York’s Public Employment Relations Board. Between 2021 and 2024, the department issued between 439 and 653 over the same period. Town leaders alleged in the document that the decrease is the result of officers striking without permission in violation of the state’s civil service laws.
“It’s unheard of,” said Mike O’Meara, the president of the Police Conference of New York, the state’s largest police union. “They’re making this up as they go along.”
He called the town’s labor complaint against Tonawanda officers “unprecedented,” as well as the fines, which are double the hourly wage of officers for each hour they were allegedly striking.
“It may be somewhat unprecedented to claim that a reduction in the issuance of traffic tickets constitutes a strike,” said Jerry Cutler, author of “Legal Guide to Human Resources” and a Columbia University lecturer. “However, the critical issue from a legal standpoint is whether the employees have abstained from performing their duties in the normal manner.”
Andy Thompson is the president of the local police union, the Tonawanda Police Club, and was accused of taking part in an unauthorized strike. (Andy Thompson)
Experts say that, feud aside, it boils down to whoever has more convincing evidence.
“A reduction in ticket volume may point to a concerted effort to interfere with the employer’s operations, in which case the action would likely be found to constitute an unlawful strike,” Cutler told Fox News Digital. “Alternatively, the evidence may suggest some legitimate reason for the reduced ticket volume – or that this is not an apt means of comparison – which would lead to a finding that the law has not been violated.”
Department leaders say officers went on strike to protest disciplinary measures taken against Tonawanda Officer Bikramjit Singh, a U.S. Army veteran accused of mishandling evidence while investigating a potential drug deal.
“He had his body camera on. He opens this water bottle. There’s a bag in there,” Thompson said. “He looks at the bag. … He says it’s garbage. He wraps it up in his glove, and he disposes of it.”
However, a suspected drug dealer and suspected drug user later told police there were drugs in the bag, and department officials moved to have Singh fired for throwing it out, Thompson said. The alleged drugs were never recovered, but Singh wound up resigning since being fired could have cost him his law enforcement certifications, Thompson said.
Tonawanda Supervisor Joe Emminger speaks during his State of the Town address Feb. 7, 2025. He is involved in an ongoing dispute with the local police union. (Town of Tonawanda/Facebook)
Tensions were already simmering between the rank-and-file and Stauffiger, an Emminger appointee who they accuse of unfairly forcing Singh out and withholding paperwork that would allow him to find new employment in law enforcement in another department.
Stauffiger, a 30-year member of the department, was appointed chief five years ago as part of an effort to eradicate corruption from the department. Thompson, too, represents new leadership, having been president of the union for just over a year.
“There’s no due process, and this whole thing was done between the supervisor and the law firm that represents the town, who also donates large amounts of money to the town supervisors’ campaign and the Town of Tonawanda Democratic Party’s campaigns,” Thompson said, citing public records. “So, it’s more of a witch hunt than anything.”
Emminger did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did the town’s law firm.
Thompson believes the allegations mark the first time the state’s civil service law has been used to punish police officers for failing to meet “quotas” after he says the town lost money due to a decrease in traffic citations issued during the snowfall.
“This is going to end up being case law by the time this is all over,” Thompson said. “This has never been done to a police union before.”
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The union has launched a public campaign urging residents to demand that local leaders remove Stauffiger, who they accuse of retaliation and harassment and withholding “basic gear,” including winter coats.
According to the union, during the time officers were allegedly on strike, the department still made seven drunken driving arrests, issued more than 300 tickets and responded to nearly 2,000 more calls for service than the same period a year earlier with 14 fewer officers.
“The real losers are town residents,” O’Meara told Fox News Digital. “They’re saying, ‘Make sure you tag the residents of this town.’”
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Thousands of students across New York State this week were unable to finish annual standardized tests after a technological issue disrupted the computer-based exams for the second consecutive year.
Students in grades three through eight from Buffalo to New York City encountered error messages on Wednesday when they tried to log in to their math or English language arts exams, which do not affect students’ ability to advance to the next grade. While some could sign in and complete the tests, others were kicked offline, frustrating students, teachers and parents.
For the past three years, New York State has been transitioning to digital exams, with this spring marking the first time that every student in those grades had to take them on a computer. So when students encountered issues on Wednesday, there were no paper exams available as a backup.
The developer of the state test, NWEA, an educational testing and research group, said it had worked overnight to identify the source of the disruption, which was identified as a problem with a server, and repaired it before school started on Thursday.
After problems emerged a year ago, the company pledged that it would not happen again. The New York State Education Department has awarded $116 million in contracts to NWEA to develop the untimed, federally required assessments.
The repairs this week came too late for many New York City students who were taking the math portion of the state assessment. Education officials in the city had advised principals on Wednesday not to reschedule the math test for the next day out of concern that the system could remain offline.
But some schools resumed the math exams on Thursday after the outage had been resolved, said Dominique Ellison, spokeswoman for the Department of Education. The remaining schools will administer the test in the coming days.
“I know this issue has been challenging and frustrating for schools, students and families who have been working hard in preparation for these exams,” Kamar Samuels, the schools chancellor, said on Wednesday night at a meeting of the Panel for Educational Policy, an oversight group.
It was unclear how many students in New York State had to scrap the exams, but the disruption appeared to be widespread. JP O’Hare, a spokesman for the New York State Education Department, said that 116,000 students had taken the tests on Wednesday without problems.
It was also unclear how many students were scheduled to take the exams on Wednesday because school districts have a window of several weeks in April and May in which they can administer the tests. There are about a million third-through-eighth-grade students in the state.
On Wednesday, Buffalo Public Schools stopped all math exams for students, while more than 1,600 students at Zeta Charter Schools in New York City had to give up on their English language arts assessments.
“The current system is failing, creating unnecessary challenges for students, teachers and administrators,” Emily Kim, the chief executive of the charter school network, said. “Our students deserve a testing experience reflecting the same level of preparation, care and accountability we ask of them.”
Those must be some extra sticky fingers.
The Boston Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a man they say robbed a South End candy shop at knife point.
The man, captured on surveillance video, entered Madeleine’s Candy Shop at 47 Clarendon St. just before 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. He then walked up to an employee while holding “what appeared to be a knife,” according to a BPD statement, and demanded cash. He fled with an undisclosed amount of money.
Police describe the man as a white or light-skinned Hispanic man wearing a maroon sweatshirt, a gray wool cap, gray sweatpants, and a black mask.
Police ask that anyone who recognizes the man or who has information on the theft to contact detectives at (617) 343-5619 or to provide information anonymously through the CrimeStoppers tip line by calling 1-800-494-TIPS (8477), texting the word “TIP” to CRIME (27463), or through the online portal at Police.Boston.gov/CrimeStoppers/.
FBI recovers stolen 17th century Italian urn
Boston FBI agents recovered and returned a 17th century urn stolen from an Italian church.
“It’s incredibly exciting when the FBI can recover a piece of history that carries such deep emotional and cultural significance,” said Ted Docks, the special agent in charge of the Boston FBI. “After all, this reliquary urn is a tangible link to intense religious devotion and a connection to the generations who lived and prayed with it.
It represents the intersection of faith, history, and art – elements that are invaluable to the people of Italy and to humanity as a whole,” he continued. “This case highlights the power of international cooperation and our collective commitment to safeguard the world’s cultural treasures, no matter where they may be.”
The reliquary urn, which authorities say is a significant piece of Italian history and is registered with the Historical Artistic Heritage Items of the Italian Episcopal Conference, was stolen sometime in August 2022 from the church of San Michele Arcangelo di Cangiano.
The piece turned up in the hands of an antiques dealer in the American Northeast on Feb. 11, 2026. The dealer, who purchased it at some point from an Italian dealer, voluntarily relinquished the urn to the FBI, who gave it back to the Italian Ministry of Culture.
Boston-based FBI agents worked with the agency’s art crime team, its attaché in Rome and with the Italian Carabinieri, a paramilitary national police agency. The FBI’s art crime division was launched in 2004 and has recovered more than 20,000 items valued at more than $1 billion, according to the agency.
A reliquary is a medieval holder of a relic, according to Bowdoin College’s art history department, an item that “belonged to a saint … or, in many cases, the relics were believed to be body parts of a saint, truly powerful objects in the eyes of many medieval Christians.”
2 teens arrested for Haverhill mill fire
Two teens have been arrested on suspicion of setting fire to a Haverhill mill building earlier this week.
Firefighters responded to the mill at 14 Stevens St. at around 2:45 a.m. Tuesday after callers reported heavy smoke and flames. Firefighters arrived to “intense fire conditions that required a coordinated, multi-alarm response,” according to the Haverhill Police Department.
Crews worked the scene all day and were still fighting hot spots at least as late as 11:22 that night, when the firefighter union made its own post on the efforts.
The building was determined the next day to be a total loss, according to a statement issued by Mayor Melinda Barrett, Fire Chief Christopher Cesati, and city Building Inspector Thomas Bridgewater.
“Due to the intensity of the fire, the resulting heat severely compromised the structural steel supporting the four-story building,” the update stated. An independent structural engineer “determined that the building sustained a critical loss of structural integrity and will require full demolition.
That same day, Haverhill PD announced the arrest of 18-year-old city resident Isabella Sargent, who they charged with arson of a structure and conspiracy to commit arson.
On Thursday, police announced they had also arrested a second teen, this one a 17-year-old juvenile, on charges of arson and related offenses.
Police report that there were no civilian injuries related to the fire and that the incident remains under investigation.
The police ask that anyone with any information contact them by calling 978-373-1212 ext.1551.
Police search for Roxbury shooters
Boston police are looking for three males they say are responsible for shooting two other males on Kendall Street in Roxbury last month.
Police responded to 3 Kendall St. in Roxbury a little after 7 p.m. on March 29. There they found two male victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Both were treated at local hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries.
One suspect fled toward the parking lot behind that address while the other two fled toward where Kendall Street intersects with Shawmut Avenue.
Police on Wednesday released a surveillance still of the suspects and ask that if anyone recognizes them or has any information regarding the shooting to contact detectives at (617) 343-5619 or through the CrimeStoppers tip line. Crimestoppers information is detailed at the bottom of the first Crime Briefs entry.
More than 50,000 people will run in one of the Pittsburgh Marathon events this weekend. It’s capped off by the marquee event of the marathon itself.
Call it a runner’s high or insanity; the marathon takes just about everything a person can muster up physically and mentally. That’s why supporters line the course, especially the tough miles down the stretch.
“It gives you a boost. It gives you a little bit of that rush to keep going, knowing that people are standing out there in sometimes not great conditions cheering you on,” said Ali Ewig with Dancing Gnome Running Club, which will be cheering around mile 23.
Running clubs, which are recent additions to the cheering sections, along with neighborhood groups like the Bloomfield Citizens Council and the Highland Park Community Council, which have been cheering for decades, all do their part. It can feel more like a block party with the vibes the groups give off as they help every runner get back Downtown.
“It’s a blast to finally be able to celebrate a sport that a lot of people do by themselves en masse together with everyone,” Dan Lampmann of Yinz Run Club said. His group will have a cheer section near PNC Park and on the South Side.
Arguably one of the toughest stretches can be crossing the Birmingham Bridge and climbing up the hill to get into Oakland. It can be a real gut check time for runners. So, Scottie Brown, dressed as Spiderman, will run up the hill with people to keep them going.
“I just run with them, encourage them, bring light to their day as they are halfway through the race, hitting that tough hill,” Brown said over Zoom.
And whether they are a yinzer running through town or someone from the other side of the world, there is pride in cheering people through the city’s neighborhoods.
“I think that we all have a lot of pride in cheering on these people that are maybe for the first time or maybe for the 50th time running this monumental personal goal for themselves,” Jessica Bowser Acrie of the Highland Park Community Council said. Her team will be set up around mile 20.
Sunday morning promises to be another marathon with miles of cheers.
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