By all accounts at the fire scene today, Speedy Greco was quite a character -- he sold cars and Airstream trailers, collected antiques and raced cars.

He also had a bit of money and built himself one heck of a sturdy building at 1606 Broadway, Darien.

That strong construction made it difficult for firefighters from Darien, Corfu, Town of Batavia, Alden, Bethany, Attica, East Pembroke and Bennington to fight a fire that had climbed into the roof of Speedy's former car dealership.

The wood on the roof was at least four inches thick, possibly six inches in some places. That made it hard to vent the roof and get water onto hot spots.

The building, now owned by M & M Fabricating, Inc., was heavily damaged as a result.

M & M is a metal fabrication business.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

There were no reported injuries. The fire was reported at 2:45 p.m.

Assisting at the scene were the Sheriff's Office, City of Batavia's Fast Team, Mercy EMS and Genesee Emergency Management.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

The three Batavia men who admitted taking part in a bookmaking operation received on Tuesday pretty much the sentence Judge Robert Balbick promised them when they were last in court March 5.

The slight variation was that instead of 120 days in a weekend work program with the Sheriff's Office, the three men will work weekends in community service over the next 90 days.

The change was requested by the Sheriff's Office because of limited openings in the program.

Gregory Phillips, Brian Bordinaro and Lance Engel all declined to make statements to Balbick prior to their sentencing.

Phillps and Engel received, as requested, a "release from civil disability" from Balbick. The signed form will allow both men to pursue second careers. Phillips is attending barber school and will graduate soon.

The three men were also fined $1,000 each. They also can't gamble in any form -- online or off -- during their three years of probation. Their computers will be subject to warrantless search during probation.

All three had entered guilty pleas to a Class A misdemeanor charge of promoting gambling, 2nd, which was quite a step down from the original felony charges, especially the Class B felony charge of enterprise corruption.

There's never been a clear public answer from anybody involved in the case about why the charges were so greatly reduced.

Today, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman would only say, "there are a number of considerations that came into play, just like any case. We consider a lot of different things and when all things were considered in this case, all the things that were relevant, we felt this was the appropriate disposition."

Attorney Larry Andolina, representing Phillips, has accused the Sheriff's Office, and in particular, Sgt. Steve Mullen, at one time head of the Sheriff's major crime unit (the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force), of "mishandling the case."

Asked about Andolina's charge, Friedman said, "I'm not going to comment on anything to do with the Sheriff's Office or Sgt. Mullen or the investigation. We came to what we felt was an appropriate disposition to the case."

For the first time since the story of the bookmaking operation -- which Friedman still contends was substantial -- first broke more than a year ago, Phillips spoke with the media after his sentencing.

He didn't say much.

Asked what he thought of his sentence, he said, "I can't comment on the sentence today."

Asked if he had proof that Mullen placed bets with him, Phillips said, "Through legal and civil counsel I'm not able to comment on that right now."

Asked if the DA or the Sheriff's Office were involved in a cover up, Phillps responded, "i'm sure the DA's office and the Sheriff's Office wouldn't have done any kind of cover up. I would hope there wouldn't be any kind of cover-up in this investigation, but I'll let my attorney answer that one, too."

Asked if the case should never have had happened, Phillips said, "there will be other things brought out. I can't really comment other than (through) my legal attorney and my civil attorney. There will be other things that come out and we'll go from there."

Asked if his civil rights had been violated, Phillips said, "That will be for another jury to decide."

After the former city firefighter was reminded that this was his first opportunity to make a public comment on the case since being accused of taking illegal bets, and whether he had anything he wanted to say to the community he once served, Phillips only said, "no comment."

When asked about how the allegations against Mullen probably led to reduced changes against him, Bordinaro and Engel, again, Phillips said, "no comment."

Andolina stepped in at that point and was asked the same question.

"In the grand scheme of things, this case was resolved in a fashion like many gambling cases where the defendants have no prior record," Andolina said.

Andolina did say he believed Mullen had placed bets with one or more of the defendants.

Under repeated questioning, Andolina refused to offer up proof, however.

"I just said to you, we gave them (Friedman and Sheriff Gary Maha) the information and they have it," Andolina said.

Maha has said there was an internal affairs investigation that was terminated when Mullen retired from the Sheriff's Office.

Asked if he thought the District Attorney's Office and Sheriff's Office had handled the situation with Mullen appropriately, Andolina said he did.

"I think he commenced an investigation," Andolina said. "They're both professionals. I have no reason to believe they didn't do their jobs appropriately."

Asked if the outcome involving Mullen was sufficient, or if more should be done, such as bringing criminal charges, Andolina indicated enough is enough.

"I don't know if there's enough for a criminal case and it's over," Andolina said. "The case is over. The sentence is what the judge indicated the sentence would be. He was within his discretion to sentence in that fashion and now it's time for these people to get on with their lives."

However, Andolina did confirm that his client is looking into a civil case based on alleged civil rights violations.

Asked what the basis of the case would be, "the conduct of the Sheriff's Office," was all he would say.

Later Tuesday evening, WIVB's George Richert aired a story accusing Mullen of placing bets and a "conflict of interest" in the case. The only evidence to back the claim offered by Richert was a report by a private investigator hired by the defense who claims Mullen placed -- years before this case arose -- 47 phone calls to the bookies. No gambling records were produced to indicate that Mullen actually placed bets.

UPDATE: The Buffalo News has published a more thorough story on Mullen's alleged involvement in the case.

Photos: Top, Phillips; second, Bordinaro in blue shirt; bottom, Engel.

Police and EMS are responding to Walmart where a cashier has come into contact with a woman who may have been the victim of an assault, but doesn't know how she arrived at the Walmart in Batavia.

She's from Hornell.

UPDATE 11:38 p.m.: A vehicle possibly belonging to the woman was located in the Home Depot parking lot. A deputy is heading back to Walmart with a person located at Home Depot.

Missing: Small, white Maltese/Shi-Tzu mix...8 lbs...answers to the name: Maisey. Very friendly. Missing since this afternoon 3/26 from the Bank Street Road area. Was seen being put into a car that had pulled off to the side of the road. Call 585.343.3329 if you have seen this dog, or if you have any information. Thank you.

UPDATE: Maisey was found and brought to the animal shelter and reunited with her family.

A woman was reportedly robbed in the parking lot of Save-A-Lot about 15 minutes ago. The suspect is said to be "an older female with her arm in a sling." Police are investigating.

A fight involving multiple subjects is reported at 77 E. Main St., east of Meadowbrook Terrace, in Corfu. Sheriff's deputies are on scene and State Troopers are en route.

UPDATE 3:44 p.m.: A deputy says things have calmed down and it's possible no charges will be pending. State Troopers are told they can back it down.

A working fire is reported at M&M Fabricating at 1606 Broadway Road (Route 20) in Darien. There are multiple hazards on the site of this commercial building, including a number of propane tanks which some neighbors report have exploded. The fire has already gone through the roof of the building. Darien Fire Department is responding along with mutual aid from Corfu and Alden.

UPDATE 2:50 p.m.: Mercy medics are heading to the scene in case they are needed. The location is west of Colby Road. The fire has gone to a second alarm. There have been multiple 9-1-1 calls reporting this incident.

UPDATE 2:52 p.m.: Alexander is called in along with the city's Fast Team.

UPDATE 2:56 p.m.: Fire police are told to shut down westbound traffic at routes 20 and 238.

UPDATE 3 p.m.: At the fire scene itself, Route 20 is shut down in both directions.

UPDATE 3:07 p.m.: Bennington is sending in a truck. National Grid is notified.

UPDATE 3:24 p.m.: A ladder truck from the Town of Batavia Fire Department is called to provide mutual aid.

UPDATE 3:36 p.m.: All interior crews are ordered out of the building. Sheriff's deputies are on scene, too.

UPDATE 3:35 p.m.: National Grid is on scene.

UPDATE 3:46 p.m.: Wyoming Correctional Facility inmates are enlisted to help out.

UPDATE 7:02 p.m.: Town of Batavia Fire returning, back in service.

UPDATE 8:04 p.m.: A backhoe is being brought in to start peeling back the metal roof on the building, "not to knock it in," a chief says. Monroe County Water Authority requested to the scene to shut off water to the building.

UPDATE 9:10: p.m.: Westbound Route 20 is open.

UPDATE 9:39 p.m.: Route 20 opened in both directions.

UPDATE 9:42 p.m.: All units back in service.

List of participating retailers:

• Adam Miller Toys & Bicycles

• Alex's Place
• Blue Pearl Yoga
• B-Town Yellow Taxi
• Charles Men's Shop, Inc.
• The Color Salon
• Dave's Ice Cream
• The Enchanted Florist
• Dog Crazy Daycare
• FASTEC Automotive
• Fisher Sports
• Glass Roots
• Greased Lightning (Both Liberty St. & W. Main locations)
• Lambert's Design Jewelers
• Main St. Pizza
• RW Vapors
• Salsa & Curry
• Spirits
• Sweet Ecstasy Bakery
• Sweet Pea's Cupcakery & Cafe
• Terry Hills
• The Detail Shop
• Thee Cutting Edge
• T.F. Brown's
• Valle Jewelers
• West Main Mini Mart

To download the app to your iPhone, click here.

To download the app to your Android, click here.

Shopping local has never been so rewarding! 

It took a tiebreaker, but Batavia High School came out on top in the 2013 GLOW-region Mock Trial Tournament.

In Monday's final round, held in Warsaw, Batavia and Pembroke each scored 110 points in two simultaneous trials.

The plaintiff sides for both teams won their respective trials, making both teams 1-1 on the evening.

Wyoming County Court Judge Michael F. Griffith presided over one trial and and attorney Michael M. Mohun presided over the second.

The tiebreaker came down to Batavia scoring 114 points in the semifinal round to 90 for Pembroke.

The case involved a lawsuit by a student who accused a technical, private college of not providing the education and opportunities promised prior to his/her enrollment.

The photos are from Mohun's courtroom with Pembroke on the plaintiff side and Batavia on defense.

For Pembroke: Ben Reiner, Brandon Kohorst and Erik Schoenecker were plaintiff attorneys and Cody Zajaczkowski, Karen Glomb and Bryan Cox were witnesses.

The defense attorneys for Batavia: Trey Abdella, Danielle Quinn, McKenzie Stevens; the witnesses: Eric DiLaura, Cara Ranalli, Katie Kesler.

Batavia advances to the regional tournament, which will be held in the Genesee County Courthouse this year. The date, yet to be determined, will be one of the last two Saturdays in April.

To purchase prints, click here.

With the approval Monday of the 2013-14 city budget comes some support for a community garden at the Youth Bureau off State Street.

The plan for this year is to create 25 raised garden beds of 4x4 to 4x12 feet for community members to rent and use to grow fruits and vegetables.

Jocelyn Sikorski, youth bureau director (photo), gave a short presentation to the City Council on the project near the end of Monday's meeting.

"We're really optimistic that we will fill this community garden this year and sell out all 25 beds," Sikorski said.

The project was actually started in the Spring of 2011 by former Youth Bureau director Deb Kerr-Rosenbeck after she realized that many of the youth served by the agency weren't eating enough fruits and vegetables at home.

With one raised bed, Kerr-Rosenbeck, with the help of the children at the bureau, planted a garden and vegetables. Some of the children had never eaten certain kinds of produce before; what was grown became part of the meals served by the agency.

When Leadership Genesee caught wind of the project, some members teamed up to help build four more raised beds in the Spring of 2012.

This year, the plan is to transform the long-unused wading pond behind the Youth Bureau building into a spot for 25 raised beds.

City residents will be able to rent a bed for $15 to $35 for the season, Sikorski said.

"Our long-term goal is to have more community gardens around the city," Sikorski said.

The city portion of the funding for the project is less than $1,000, with donations coming from members of the community.

Constructions of the beds will be part of the Day of Caring on May 8.

The city realized a nearly $91,000 profit on the sale at auction of three properties that were seized last year because of delinquent property taxes.

Back taxes on the three properties totaled $66,686 and they sold for $157,500.

The names of the buyers were not released in a memo given to the City Council prior to Monday's meeting.

The properties sold were:

• 339-341 Ellicott St. ($23,062 taxes owed, sold for $44,500)
• 10 Swan St. ($18,730 in taxes, sold for $72,000)
• 61 Oak St. ($24,894 in taxes, sold for $41,000)

This time things worked out in the city's favor, City Manager Jason Molino said. Sometimes properties at auction go for less than the unpaid taxes.

Calling it the best solution possible, the Batavia City Council voted Monday night to remove garbage collection from the tax roles, remove city responsibility for garbage collection from the municipal code, and tell residents they're now on their own for getting rid of their trash.

Letters from the city to all property owners will go out within a week or so outlining the new rules for city residents and providing them with a list of vendors for trash collection.

Starting June 1, residents will contract with their own hauler  -- or haul it themselves -- and pay their own bills.

"This will make it fair for everyone," said Councilman Kris Doeringer. "It was not fair that some people were paying more than others based on the assessment rather than on the amount of trash they produced. It was just as unfair that businesses had to pay for a service that they were not even using and others did not pay anything at all."

The trash issue has been broiling in Batavia since late last year when city staff revealed a plan to change the municipal code to require an automated tote-based system for garbage collection and open up the refuse and recycling contract to competitive bidding.

For 28 years, Genesee ARC had provided garbage collection in the city, but after ARC was the highest bidder on the new proposed contract, ARC's supporters flooded council chambers through multiple meetings demanding the proposed changes be rejected.

And they were, but council members were still unwilling to give up the double-digit decrease in the tax rate from dropping garbage collection as a city service.

Many ARC supports said, "if it's not broken, don't fix it," but council members, such as Doeringer, said the old system was broken and it needed to be fixed.

Council President Tim Buckley also said the old system was unfair.

"The process now is fair," Buckley said. "I spoke to a widow who lives on the Northeast side of town. She's called me a couple of times. Her assessment is up there and she puts out one bag of garbage every week. She said, 'I go by every week and I see houses with five or 10 bags out.' She said, 'why do I have to pay for that?' It's not fair for her. OK, now it's fair for her."

Doeringer, as did Councilman Pierluigi Cipollone, made it clear they thought the proposed garbage collection plan brought forth by City Manager Jason Molino was pretty good.

"The residents would have received a needed service at a reasonable cost," Cipollone said. "The city would have realized a $1.2 million savings over five years. The city could have used those funds for providing other needed services."

Cipollone cast the lone dissenting vote to change the system to an open market.

While Doeringer believes getting the city out of the garbage business both accomplishes the council's goal to reduce city expenses and is responsive to his constituents' wishes, he regrets the new system won't do much to encourage recycling.

"I was shocked to realize people didn't want a better recycling system," Doeringer said. "They didn't want a system that's more efficient and would help the environment. They didn't want a system that helps clean up the streets from the many animals getting into the garbage, and most surprising, they didn't want a system that would cost less, now and in the future."

Doeringer, Buckley, Patti Pacino, John Canale and Jim Russell all left the door open for revisiting the trash issue for the 2014-15 budget.

"I will personally monitor the system," Canale said. "I will look at what the effect is going to be and if it proves not to be effective in my opinion, then I will personally spearhead an effort to propose a new system that is fair and effective for everyone."

Press release:

State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer has announced that the 2013-14 State Budget will increase funding for the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS), providing more than $275,000 in additional funding for infrastructure projects in Genesee County.

“For the first time in five years, more funding for local road and bridge repair projects will go directly to towns, cities and villages in Genesee County. Maintaining and improving our infrastructure is so important to our economy, while keeping drivers and their passengers safe,” Senator Ranzenhofer said.

In total, Genesee County will receive $1,674,921.93 in CHIPS funding, an increase of more than $275,581. The following is a breakdown of CHIPS funding by city, town and village:

Earlier this month, Senator Ranzenhofer joined his colleagues in a letter to the Governor and Legislative leaders, requesting an increase of at least $100 million for CHIPS funding. CHIPS funding is included in the Article VII Budget Bill for Transportation, Economic Development, and Environment. The State Senate passed the Article VII for the 2013-14 State Budget on Sunday.

The State Legislature started the CHIPS program in 1981. The CHIPS program provides funding for the repair of highways, bridges and roads operated by local governments.

The 61st Senate District encompasses: the towns of Amherst, Clarence, and Newstead and the villages of Akron and Williamsville in Erie County; all of Genesee County; and the towns of Chili and Riga, the Village of Churchville and part of the City of Rochester in Monroe County.

The death earlier this month of a Hutchins Street resident who was found in his home bleeding -- initial reports said from his neck -- has been ruled accidental, Det. Pat Corona, Batavia PD, said this morning.

Peter Ackley, 55, of 12 Hutchins St., had been released from the hospital March 12, the day before the incident, and had ongoing health issues.

Witnesses said he had been outside his house earlier that day and appeared disoriented and was helped back into his apartment. He was later found by a friend unconscious and bleeding inside his residence.

An autopsy found that ongoing medical problems apparently caused him to collapse. He fell against a household fixture, which caused his wounds.

Ackley was transported by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital where he later died.

There is no evidence, Corona said, of any foul play.

A Batavia resident arrested after leading local law enforcment on a multi-jurisdiction chase will spend three to six years in state prison following his sentencing in Genesee County Court today.

Todd Weaver, 44, of Seven Springs Road, previously admitted to a mischief charge, was also fined $1,000.

The chase began in Medina and wound onto the Tonawanda Indian Reservation where Weaver used his car to strike a Medina patrol vehicle. The patrol vehicle was disabled and the police officer lost sight of Weaver's vehicle.

Weaver was also accused of striking a mailbox on Skye Road.

His vehicle was next spotted by Batavia PD at Oak and Richmond, with Weaver then leading police on a chase that reached speeds of 50 mph through the city.

Police tried to use spike strips to stop Weaver, but he avoided them. 

He eventually ran out of gas on Clinton Street Road, Stafford.

Sweet Ecstasy Bakery Easter Menu! Pick up Saturday - March 30 - from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All items are by order only. You must order by Thursday, March 28.

Cookies: Frosted Sugar Cookies: choose from Easter Egg, Bunny, Crosses, Butterflies, Flowers, Chicks and more. $9/Dz. Lemon Drop Cookies: Small: $4/Dz.  Large: $8/Dz.

Breakfast Items: Lemon Bread $5, Coffee Cake $11 -- Cinnamon, Cinnamon Nut, Apple. Scones $9 1/2 Dz. -- Lemon Blueberry, Chocolate Chip, Blueberry, Glazed Raisin. Jumbo Muffins $8 1/2 Dz. -- Chocolate Fudge Chip, Apple Streusel, Blueberry Streusel, Strawberry Streusel, Banana, Honey Bran, Sour Cream Coffee Cake, Lemon Poppy Seed.

Pies: $15 each. Flavors: Apple, Banana Cream, Blueberry, Caramel Apple, Cherry, Chocolate Banana Cream, Chocolate Cream, Coconut Cream, Dutch Apple, Key Lime, Lemon Meringue, Mince Meat, Mixed Berry, Peach, Pineapple Cream, Pumpkin, Sugar Free Apple, Sugar Free Cherry, White Chocolate Raspberry, White Chocolate Silk.

Cakes & Cupcakes: 9" Round -- $22 | 12" Square --  $45 | 1 Dz. Cupcakes -- $18. Coconut -- A fluffy white cake with coconut filling and frosted with coconut buttercream.

Good Bunny - Spiced cake with fresh carrots & raisins topped off with a rich cream cheese icing and walnuts.
Lemon Raspberry -- Lemon Cupcake filled with Raspberry topped with a vanilla buttercream.

Cheesecakes: Orange creamsicle, triple citrus, classic cheesecake, cookie dough, lemon blueberry.

SweetEcstasyBakery.com
716-795-2253 •  6173 Main Road in Stafford

The former Dipson Theater's sign on Main Street, Batavia, was updated today with the sign for the renamed theater: Batavia Showtime. Downtown businessman Ken Mistler purchased the theater earlier this month and is planning several renovations.

Press release:

On Friday, March 29 (Good Friday), the City of Batavia Fire & Police Departments will hold a free Child Safety Seat Check Event at Fire Headquarters (18 Evans St.) from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., rain or shine.

Nationally certified technicians will be on hand to answer questions, check recalls, and assist with making sure all seats are installed correctly. Parents should remember to bring both the car seat and the child so that proper instruction/installation can be done.

Did you know three out of four car seats aren’t used correctly? Surprised? Stop down this Friday, March 29 to our event and ensure your children are traveling safely.

For more information contact City Fire Headquarters at 345-6375.