BUFFALO
Auto impound worker accused in threats
An employee in Buffalo’s Parking Enforcement Division has been charged with menacing after allegedly threatening co-workers at the city’s auto impound.
Kevin Derfert, 44, was arrested by police and arraigned in City Court on charges of harassment and menacing. An order of protection was issued by acting City Judge Jeffrey F. Voelkl barring the suspect from having contact with two employees, City Corporation Counsel Alisa A. Lukasiewicz said.
The incident occurred Tuesday at the auto impound on Dart Street. Lukasiewicz said Derfert made remarks that seemed to imply he might shoot his co-workers. “He showed them bullets he had in his possession, and he told them to take a sick day,” she said. “We take this very seriously.”
Parking Enforcement Director Leonard G. Sciolino said Derfert has been suspended from his $24,400-a-year job pending an internal hearing.
Derfert has worked in parking enforcement for several years, Sciolino said. Before that, he was a seasonal worker in the Public Works Department. Sciolino said that while Derfert had some past “run-ins” with employees, none was as serious as Tuesday’s incident.
“The employees were quite upset over what happened,” Sciolino said.
