BUFFALO
Davis denies avoiding investigators
Published: November 07, 2009, 12:30 am
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An embattled Buffalo lawmaker denied Friday that he intentionally dodged criminal investigators earlier in the week.
Ellicott Council Member Brian C. Davis told The Buffalo News he was in City Hall on Wednesday, the same day that state police and an investigator from the Erie County district attorney’s office showed up to question him.
Davis didn’t attend two of his three assigned Council committee meetings Wednesday. He insisted that he only missed the meetings because they ended quickly, before he arrived.
He steadfastly denied claims that he purposely stayed away from Council chambers, where investigators had been looking for him. Davis said he was unaware of their presence.
Davis declined to comment on the pending criminal probe into his financial dealings, saying he is following the advice of his attorney. But Davis said he has not spoken with investigators in recent days, nor did he have any appointment to meet with them. He was addressing speculation that investigators had made arrangements to interview him Thursday.
The News reported in July that investigators have launched a probe of Davis. In recent months and weeks, investigators from various agencies have obtained information related to Davis, the One Sunset restaurant deal and the city’s block grant spending.
Davis was involved in the saga of One Sunset, a Delaware Avenue restaurant that received city and county subsidies before it went belly-up. Davis shifted block grant funds earmarked for his district to assist the business, which was in the Delaware District.
Later, a building owner who leased space to One Sunset filed a complaint saying Davis wrote him a $3,500 check that bounced to cover one month’s rent for the restaurant. Buffalo police subsequently ruled the check was a civil matter.
bmeyer@buffnews.com
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