Suspended Buffalo detective considers run for State Senate
Delano mulls challenge to Stachowski
By Robert J. McCarthy
Updated: 05/08/08 10:50 AM
-
- Dennis A. Delano wants timely resolution of status in Police Department.
Detective Dennis A. Delano, the suspended cold-case investigator who has become one of the best-known members of the Buffalo Police Department, is discussing a possible Republican candidacy against State Sen. William T. Stachowski, D-Lake View.
Delano said Wednesday he had accompanied James P. Domagalski, chairman of the Erie County Republican Party, to Albany on Tuesday to meet with State Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, RBrunswick, about the possibility of running. While he has made no decisions, he acknowledged that he is seriously considering the idea if his status with the Police Department can be resolved on a timely basis.
“I never considered politics,” he said. “But I do know I like helping people and also know I’ve been getting positive feedback wherever I go.”
Delano, 56, a registered Republican, lives in the Cheektowaga portion of the 58th State Senate District. He has become a celebrity in recent months over his involvement in the Cold Case Squad that cracked the Bike Path Killer case. But he was suspended in February for turning over video evidence from the Lynn DeJac murder trial — another cold case — to a local television station.
The suspension created a firestorm in the community and on the airwaves of local radio talk shows. His supporters back him for helping free Anthony Capozzi from prison in the Bike Path Killer case and trying to find the person who murdered 13-year-old Crystallynn M. Girard, DeJac’s daughter, in 1993. DeJac was freed earlier this year after 14 years in prison for the girl’s murder.
Delano acknowledged that he has become a well-known figure in the community and could become even better known in coming weeks as a finalist for Fox TV’s “America’s Most Wanted” All-Star First Responders Award.
That has made politics an option.
“They approached me,” he said of the GOP. “I don’t know why; maybe all the publicity. Or maybe they knew I am willing to stand up for things. I don’t know.”
“I’m kind of overwhelmed by all this stuff,” he added. “But it’s all been very positive. And I’m very intrigued.”
If Delano accepts the Republican invitation to run, he could present Stachowski, 59, his toughest challenge since his first election to the Senate in 1981. No Republican ever has seriously challenged him, and no Democrat has ever presented real opposition in a primary.
Stachowski was in session Wednesday in Albany and unavailable to comment.
While Delano acknowledged he is seriously exploring a Senate bid, he said he remains in “limbo” until police officials resolve the challenge to his suspension. They contend Delano disobeyed repeated orders and didn’t follow departmental rules in continuing what they regard as his own independent investigation into Crystallynn’s death.
The suspension followed Delano’s decision to give WGRZTV a videotape of the Girard crime scene. The department contends he violated the rules by releasing the tape, while his supporters hail him for attempting to shed new light on the death as well as his criticism of the district attorney’s acceptance of a new forensic report showing the girl died of a cocaine overdose and not strangulation.
Delano said he hopes police officials soon will resolve the matter so he can get on with his life and free him to run for the Senate.
“I’m trying to get a hearing so the case can be heard, because I feel I can prove my innocence,” he said Wednesday. “But I haven’t had any contact with anybody.”
Referring to Stachowski, the detective said he had “never heard anything bad about the guy.” But he said he feels Albany historically has ignored Western New York and that new measures are needed to stem the flow of young people to other regions of the country.
“Maybe Stachowski and those guys can’t get it done,” he said. “I don’t think it has anything to do with Democrat or Republican. Somebody has to do something.”
