LANCASTER
Ousting highway chief would pose difficulties for Lancaster, lawyer says
Lancaster Highway Superintendent Richard L. Reese Jr. is sitting in a jail cell, charged with assaulting a federal officer and awaiting a psychiatric examination.
Robert H. Giza, the town’s supervisor, has said Reese will not be allowed to return to the post he has held since 1997.
But the law might say differently, and the town could face a complicated battle if Reese is released from custody and wants to go back to work.
Taxpayers, moreover, will have to pay his $71,892-a-year salary, as well as the town’s attorney fees, all that time.
“He’s an elected official. You can’t just remove him from office,” said Nathan S. Neill, who recently represented the Town of Marilla in a similar situation.
That especially would be the case if Reese is not convicted, he said. “It gets very tricky.”
U. S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr. on Thursday ordered a psychiatric examination after FBI agents said Reese had fought with them as they tried to interview him about allegations that he had misused town equipment and money for his own benefit.
Twice during the struggle, Reese said he intended to take his own life, the FBI agents said.
Prosecutors and Reese’s lawyer agreed to the examination.
Schroeder entered a plea of not guilty for Reese and ordered him to remain in the custody of U. S. marshals until the psychiatric report is completed. He is being held in the Erie County Holding Center.
Reese had been arraigned Wednesday before Lancaster Town Justice Mark A. Montour on a misdemeanor state charge of possession of an unregistered weapon after Lancaster police, summoned by the FBI, found .357-caliber Magnum and Derringer revolvers in his home.
Reese hasn’t been charged with a crime in his operation of the Highway Department. But the FBI agents who talked with Reese say he admitted diverting money from a town recycling program for his own use, the complaint states.
Reese contended he always paid the money back but acknowledged he hadn’t yet reimbursed the town for the latest $2,800, the complaint says.
Neill said Marilla found itself in a similar situation when investigators found evidence that then-Highway Superintendent David Pierce had received thousands of dollars in kickbacks from a Springville businessman who supplied snowplow blades.
Pierce quickly resigned, sparing the town a removal effort. He committed suicide the day after being sentenced to seven months in federal prison.
News Staff Reporter Michael Beebe contributed to this report. ncervantes@buffnews.com
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments