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To commemorate the last steel beam being put in place on UMMC's $19.5 million expansion, the hospital held a "topping off" ceremony this afternoon.

A worker placed a flag -- for national pride -- and an evergreen tree -- for growth -- atop the beam.

The beam was painted white and signed by employees, administrators and board members.

When completed, the expansion will add 44,000 square feet to the front of the hospital on the North Street side. Construction is expected to be completed in December.

(Updated 4:10 p.m.)

Reginald M. Wilson passed up a plea deal that would have limited his prison time to two- to four-years in State Prison on a charge of criminal possession of stolen property.

This afternoon, a jury convicted him of burglary, 2nd, and criminal possession of stolen property, 3rd, and now Wilson has to wonder if Judge Robert C. Noonan will want to lock him away for life.

Because of Wilson's prior violent felony offenses, his upcoming stint in prison won't be a short one either way.

On the burglary charge, Wilson is facing a possible 5 to 15 year sentence. The possession charge carries a maximum sentence of 3 1/2 to 7 years.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said he's not ready to indicate whether he will ask Noonan to consider a life sentence.

Noonan set the sentencing for May 12 and revoked Wilson's $100,000 bail, which was never posted.

Wilson showed little reaction when the verdict was read. There were four additional law enforcement officers in the court room when the jury came back. The jury forewoman's hands were visibly shaking when she handed the verdict slip to the court deputy.

Defense Attorney Fares Rumi said he still believes the jury should have returned a not-guilty verdict.

"I felt we put on a strong defense," Rumi said. "I felt we exposed the weaknesses in the prosecution's case. I'm obviously disappointed in the verdict. I didn't feel the People met the burden of proof.  But the law is the law. We have a good system."

Friedman said he was pleased with the verdict, that he felt all along that Wilson was guilty.

"As I told the jury (this morning), I really could not believe that this witness (Dillon Brito) who testified for us, the accomplice, as a 17-year-old, would falsely implicate this particular defendant. I just could not fathom what his motivation would be for doing that. He was consistent. I thought he was believable. Obviously, the jury thought so, too."

UPDATE: After court, I failed to ask Mr. Rumi why he didn't have Gibson and Dash testify. Readers may remember that Gibson and Dash were reportedly willing to say that Wilson did not participate in the burglary.  I spoke with Mr. Rumi again a few minutes ago. He said even though the trial is over, he didn't want to go into detail on his strategy, but it was a strategic decision based on his review of all the statements in the case.  "I still believe it is the right decision."  Also, in a previous story I said Rumi is "from Batavia."  He said he grew up in Batavia, but now lives and is based in Rochester.

For previous coverage of this case, click here.

The joint was hopping Saturday night at Batavia Downs, with more than 6,100 patrons on hand for a muscle car drawing and a live band in the Paddock Room.

There were 3.1 million credits played Saturday, and Marty Biniasz, director of marketing, said that is a new record, beating the 2.8 million credits played one night last march.

The muscle car -- a 2010 Camero SS -- was won by a guy named Jim (last name not released) from Le Roy. He opted for the $20,000 instead.

Players eligible for the drawing earned chances to win through play at the casino over the previous seven weeks.

Last year, the an OTB employee won the Dodge Challenger given away by the Downs. This year, Biniasz said, before the winner was announced officials made sure he wasn't an employee of the Downs, of OTB or the dealership sponsoring the contest.

To accommodate the large crowd, the Downs opened up the Paddock Room, where an 80s tribute band played live, and the grandstands were open with TVs tuned either to basketball or the Buffalo Sabres game.

The testimony of Dillon Brito, one of the men who admitted to taking part in a robbery on State Street, Batavia, in September, was the focus of closing arguments for both the defense and prosecution in the trial of Reginald M. Wilson.

Wilson is charged with burglary and possession of stolen property and faces a possible life sentence because of his prior felony convictions if the jury finds him guilty.

The jury began deliberations this morning.

In his summation, Defense Attorney Fares Rumi told jurors that Brito lacked credibility.

"He's a young criminal who took a deal to testify," Rumi said.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman countered that Brito implicated Wilson when he was first arrested, long before the prosecution offered a plea agreement. Brito's testimony was credible, Friedman said, because his statements were consistent from the time of his arrest to his testimony and even under cross-examination.

"It's not like he tried to accuse Reginald Wilson to save his own skin," Friedman said. "How does implicating Reginald Wilson saves his own skin? Why would he implicate Reginal Wislon when it hasn't been shown he has a motivation to lie? I’m not saying people never lie, but people usually lie for a reason. What was the reason?"

Brito said Wilson asked him to act as a lookout during the break-in and that he saw Wilson enter the residence. Brito also testified that he was with Wilson and the other defendants, Quentin L. Gibson, 25; Joseph D. Dash, 24, when they were showing off the allegedly stolen items.

Wilson's possession of the car that was stolen from the State Street house was also a key part of the closing arguments.

Rumi asserted that the prosecution failed to prove that Wilson knew the car was stolen. He relied heavily on the fact that Wilson drove that car around Batavia the day after the burglary, even hanging out with it on State Street.

"Think about it, men and women of the jury, my client rode around all over Batavia all day," Rumi said. "He wouldn’t have done that if he knew it was stolen. He would have taken it out of town or he would have ditched it."

Friedman told jurors that Wilson obviously knew the car was stolen because he gave differing versions of how he came to possess the car. First he told Toni White that his girlfriend gave it to him. Later he told her it belonged to "Joey."  When he was picked up by police, he reportedly said it belonged to a friend.

Obviously, Friedman said, Wilson wasn't worried about being caught with the car. "He had his story ready," Friedman said.

The car not only proves, Friedman said, that he knowingly possessed stolen property, but it corroborates Brito's testimony that Wilson participated in the burglary.

Following the arguments, Judge Robert Noonan instructed the jury on its role in evaluating facts, what they heard in court and that it is not the juror's job to decide what the law should be. He further explained the law and the scope of the case.

A 19-year-old driver says she hit an unknown object on Galloway Road yesterday causing her to lose control of her car, sending it over an embankment and into a group of trees.

Ashley N. Rippel, of 1302 Phelps Road, Corfu, suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported by ground ambulance to UMMC.

The crash occurred at 4:01 p.m.

Rippel was driving a 2001 Plymouth sedan owned by a Batavia resident.

There were no passengers and no other vehicles were involved in the crash.

No citations were issued.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Timothy Weis.

One lane of the Batavia Toll Plaza will be closed for pavement repairs until mid-May, according to a news release from the Thruway Authority.

Travelers should plan for delays of up to five minutes.

Lane #3 will be closed.

There may be other delays in the coming weeks as other lanes are periodically closed for concrete removal between toll lanes.

A one-car accident has been reported at Bank and Douglas in the City of Batavia.

A possible health problem may have been the cause.

No word on injuries.

City Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

I was in Oakfield this evening chasing what turned out to be a story that didn't pan out, but I figured so long as I was out that way and the sun was setting, I should try to find a barn to photograph at sunset. This is what I came up with. It's on Macomber Road near Galloway.

Burglars, supposedly, are out to steal things they can sell so they can buy drugs.

It doesn't seem too swift, then, to break into a house, steal several items, but leave your drugs behind, but that is precisely what seemed to happen yesterday in Stafford.

James Mitchell wrote us this evening to ask The Batavian to publicize the break-in at his parent's home on Sanders Road, hoping that the information might lead to the arrest of the burglers.

At the end of his e-mail, he wrote:

Oh yeah, the funny part of this story is that the stupid person(s) that did this were in such a hurry to leave, that they dropped a bag of marijuana on the floor on their way out.

He didn't say how much dope the burglars lost, but as a business proposition, they surely cut into their profits for that job.

The criminals did get away with a Wii, four Wii controllers, games, two digital cameras, a camcorder, a printer dock for a camera, a large suitcase and a shot gun.

The break-in occurred sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Mitchell asks if anybody can offer information on the recovery of the items and/or the arrest of the suspects, please call the Sheriff's Office (345-3000).

At 230 Ellicott Street, there is a vacant lot, but it's more than just an unsightly gap between two commercial buildings. It also represents unfinished business.

Richard Borrell, owner of Borrell Fitness, right next door, figures the fire that destroyed Cristina's Restaurant on July 12, 2008, has cost or will cost him from $340,000 to $375,000.

So far, neither Charles Brumsted Jr., Cristina's owner, nor Brumsted's insurance company, Mid-State Mutual Insurance, have reimbursed Borrell for his losses.

Borrell said he's retained a lawyer out of Buffalo and said a lawsuit was filed last week on his behalf, but the suit is not on file with the Genesee County Clerk. The Batavian has called the law office of Eugene C. Tenney seven or eight times since last Thursday, where receptionists say Edward J. Schwendler, III, is handling the case, but Schwendler has returned none of the calls.

It's unclear if Brumsted -- we couldn't find contact information for him -- settled his claim against Mid-State.

An attorney for Brumsted, Charles Ritter, of Buffalo, filed a lawsuit May 18, 2009, against Mid-State, alleging that Mid-State had failed to honor the contractual terms of its insurance policy. Brumsted sought at least $1.5 million in damages, which included a $375,000 claim by Borrell.

In the filing, Brumsted claims that Mid-State representatives indicated he would have no trouble collecting on his insurance claim and that he would be able to reopen for business by Spring of 2008.

On Dec 3, 2009, Ritter and Mid-State's attorney, Joseph Rizzo, of Rochester, signed a "stipulation of discontinuance." The short document is ambiguous on whether this constituted a settlement of Brumsted's claims and contains no details on whether Brumsted received any payment from Mid-State. 

Neither Ritter nor Rizzo returned calls placed today.

Mid-State has also not returned a phone call seeking more information about Cristina's.

Borrell is unsure why Mid-State has not settled with him and preferred not to comment in detail about his legal situation. He said his building suffered extensive fire and water damage. The floors on the second floor are warped, the bricks and mortar on the outside of the building were heavily damaged, he suffered water damage to equipment and his HVAC system. 

The cause of the fire has never been determined. Captain Michael B. Drew of the City of Batavia Fire Department issued a report following a thorough investigation July 12, 2008.

While the investigation team was able to eliminate many accidental hazards, it was not able to eliminate all hazards, namely electrical wiring or equipment malfunction.

In addition, the investigation team was unable to eliminate the possibility that the fire cause may have been other than accidental and is therefore undetermined at this time.

Drew's report says the fire started in the area of the central stairway.

A possible accidental cause that was not ruled out was a malfunction in a electrical junction box on the east wall of the basement. Damage to the box, which included a hole burnt through the cover, could not have been done by an external fire source, Drew wrote.

At the same time, given the location of the box and the location of the fire origin, that junction box could not conclusively be ruled as causing the fire.

In interviews with investigators, Brumsted said he had electrical problems with a fan and was bringing an electrician to fix it. "Fire damage to this unit was noted to be inconclusive with its direct involvement in the fire's ignition," Drew wrote.

Brumsted said the building had been up for sale since 2001. He also said he was seeking a demolition permit for the restaurant portion of the building. 

In 2000, news reports said Brumsted was planning to convert the building into office space.

Cristina's was named after Brumsted's aunt, Cristina Meleca, who crafted some Italian recipes for the restaurant. Cristina Meleca died in 1995 at age 95. Brumsted purchased the restaurant from his uncle, Frank Meleca, in 1985.

As part of a statewide program to concentrate police enforcement on seat belt and mobile phone laws, Batavia Police wrote 37 tickets over a 44-hour enforcement period that began March 9, according to Sgt. John Peck.

Twenty-two of the tickets were for failure to wear a safety belt. The rest were mostly for mobile phone violations, but some were also for things such as uninspected motor vehicle  or suspended license.

The increased enforcement effort was paid for with a state grant that allowed patrols to concentrate strictly traffic enforcement and not handle routine calls.

"We were able to get out and concentrate on enforcement, which is something we don't get much time for with our call volume," Peck said.

Officers on the detail worked in four-hour blocks, Peck said. 

The next enforcement detail window is in May, when officers will be scheduled for an extra 120 hours of enforcement.

Christopher P. Ball, 27, of 4902 Ellicott St. Road, Batavia, is charged with two counts of criminal contempt, 2nd. Ball is accused of contacting an ex-girlfriend he was previously ordered to stay away from. Ball was jailed on $2,000 bail.

Susan Marie Devault, 40, 11 N. Main St., Apt. A, Holley, is charged with petit larceny. Devault is accused of shoplifting $111.94 in merchandise from Target.

Accidents from the State Police blotter:

12:45 p.m., March 28, Thruway, mile marker 398, westbound, Pembroke, one vehicle; Driver 1: Lori C. Pittman, 52, of Niagara Falls. No injuries reported.

Bigness is killing New York dairy farmers.

Big and ever-growing milk processors and retail chains are controlling the market and driving down the prices paid to farmers, but not passing on the cost savings to consumers.

That was the message of a meeting yesterday at GCC of dairy farmers and the Assistant U.S. Attorney General Christine A. Varney, who is in charge of the Antitrust Division.

From the Buffalo News:

"Our farmers are getting paid less and consumers are paying more," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, who invited Varney to the meeting. "Someone's walking away with all the money."

Schumer said processors are making record profits at a time when farmers are on the brink of losing their family businesses. He wants the Justice Department to investigate anti-competitive practices in the dairy industry.

Consolidation among milk processors is one of the chief reasons prices paid to farmers has gone down, Varney was told. There are simply fewer outlets for farmers to sell their product to, meaning less competition, and without the competition it's easier for the buyer to set ever lower prices.

In some states, Dean Foods controls as much as 90 percent of the market, and about 70 percent in New York.

From the D&C: 

Bill Cook, who milks 1,800 cows near Aurora, Cayuga County, said he used to deal with five different milk buyers who were willing to pay a premium for the high-quality milk his cows produced. Premiums can mean the difference between just paying the bills and actually making a profit.

Meanwhile, Cook said none of those buyers is still operating because they went out of business or were consolidated into larger operations, such as Dean Foods, a giant among dairy processors. Cook had to borrow $500,000 to cover his losses last year.

The Buffalo News quoted a sixth-generation Wyoming County Farmer who used USDA figures to point out that the dairy farm share of retail dollars have dropped from 37 percent to 25 percent in the past three years.

Bigger and bigger retail chains were also blamed for downward prices on milk products.  Walmart's outsized pressure for lower and lower prices isn't helping farmers.

"Walmart's 'everyday low prices' applies constant downward pressure on all commodities, squeezing the supply chain while demanding more," said Ed Schoen of Shoe-Acres farm in Phelps, Ontario County. Pricing at Wegmans, on the other hand, is sensitive to the prices farmers are getting, he said.

Barbara Brown, a county legislator in Oswego County, said her district once had 26 dairy farms. Now it has three. She recently sold off her cows and closed her farm.

Varney offered the farmers hope.

"We will not let you down," she said, according to the Buffalo News. "We know the problem you're facing."

Sen. Schumer has called on the federal government to take several steps to help dairy farmers:

• Deal with the consolidation of milk processors and the lack of competition.
• A program called MILC provides aid to farmers when milk prices fall to a certain level. That target price needs to be raised.
• Raise MILC reimbursement from 45 percent of the price difference.
• Reform the milk marketing order system, which helps set commodity prices, used by the USDA. The current system doesn't adequately measure the cost of milk production in the Northeast.
• Return to a dairy compact system that helps New York farmers set prices.
• Pass a Milk Import Tariff act to ensure that milk producers and processors in other countries are playing by the same rules as the United States.

Slow news day. That's not entirely bad, because it gives me a chance to catch up on other work, especially the work related to revenue. Though, I'm sure on any given day, you would rather have the stories.

After all day in the office doing business stuff, I went out and searched around for something to take a picture of, hoping, really, for a good sunset shot. None was forthcoming, so these are the two pictures I did get.

Top barn is on Sprague Road, and bottom is on Upton Road. I think both are still in the Town of Batavia.

After receiving a Tip Line report that youths under the legal drinking age were using fake IDs to buy alcohol at local businesses, Batavia Police investigators ran a series of compliance checks on Friday.

No problems were found at the locations in the Tip Line report, but undercover agents did continue an investigation looking for adults buying alcohol and giving it to teens.

Police say when a person was seen getting into a car with a teen in it after purchasing alcohol, the car was stopped "to determine the circumstances."  The results of the stop were not released by police.

There was alcohol that was confiscated on Friday night, according to police, and one case was referred to Genesee County Probation.

The press release states:

The Batavia Police will continue to be proactive in the attempt to deter underage access to alcohol with these types of programs with the assistance of funding from the Drug Free Communities.