WILSON: Coaches' case delayed

Courts

January 14, 2009

By April Amadon<br><a href="mailto:april.amadon@lockportjournal.com">E-mail April</a> The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Wed Jan 14, 2009, 01:29 AM EST

As two coaches appeared in Wilson Town Court on Tuesday night, across the street at Wilson High School, the school board was meeting to discuss naming their replacements.

In court, the cases against last year’s varsity coach William Atlas and junior varsity coach Thomas Baia were adjourned until Feb. 26, as their attorneys said they have yet to receive crucial evidence from the prosecution.

Baia and Atlas were reportedly on a school bus last April when three varsity players — Christopher Sidote and Colton Sherman, both 17, and Geoffrey Seefeldt, 18 — allegedly assaulted at least two junior varsity players in the back of the bus.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Zucco said he will turn over several pieces of evidence, including a team roster and images of the school bus, in the next two weeks.

They will return to court next month to schedule possible hearings in advance of a trial.

“Assuming we can get all these other issues settled ... we’re looking at setting a trial date,” Zucco said.

Baia’s attorney, Robert Viola, said he hopes they can get the case on track.

“Believe me, my clients want this resolved,” Viola said.

Meanwhile, at the school board meeting across the street, the agenda listed the naming of 2008-09 spring coaches: John Thilk as the varsity baseball coach and Jerry Kadryna as the junior varsity baseball coach.

Patricia McIntosh said Thilk and Kadryna were volunteer assistants with the team last year, and they were on the bus when the alleged incident occurred.

“Is this the best possible thing to do for the children in our district?” McIntosh asked. “We would like a clean slate. A new beginning would be the best possible thing.”

Several parents attended the meeting to express their displeasure with the choices.

The official naming of the prospective coaches was tabled during the meeting, and the board went into executive session to discuss the matter.

Athletic Director Charles Jufer had advertised the position twice and received no response from anyone outside the district.

After the executive session, Superintendent Michael Wendt said the position would be posted again, but Thilk and Kadryna are still in the running.

“The board of education will do everything we can to have the (baseball) season,” Wendt said.

Parent Debi Diez said she was concerned if Thilk and Kadryna are given the jobs, some players may feel intimidated, especially those who might be called as witnesses in the court proceedings against their former coaches.

Bob Martin, who has served as spokesman for a concerned parent group in Wilson, said he hopes the school board will consider the kids involved.

“It’s got to be about the kids,” he said. “It all boils down to accountability.”

Diez agreed.

“It’s for the kids. ... so they grew up in the community that focuses on kids first,” she said. “It’s not about anything else.”

Contact reporter April Amadon at 439-9222, ext. 6251.

Reporter Joe Olenick also contributed to this story.

Text Only

Courts

No Headline Provided
May 23, 2012
Rohde sentenced, job uncertain
It’s unknown if a suspended Niagara County Sheriff’s deputy will return to work, following his sentencing Wednesday in Lockport City Court.

Kevin J. Rohde, 31, was granted a one year conditional discharge for endangering the welfare of a child. Rohde pleaded guilty to the charge in Feburary, a charge which stems from an incident that took place with a 15-year-old girl in March 1999. Rohde was given youthful offender status, as he was 18-years-old at the time.

April 26, 2012 2 Stories
Mongielo sentenced to 15 days
David J. Mongielo faces a 15-day jail sentence for violating the town’s sign ordinance a second time, which was a violation of the first offense’s conditional discharge.

Mongielo received a pair of sentences Tuesday night in town court, the first for his 2011 violation of the ordinance. The Robinson Road auto shop owner will pay a $250 fine and receive a one-year conditional discharge. That means Mongielo will serve 15 days in jail if he violates the ordinance again over the next 12 months.

April 18, 2012 9 Stories
Diefenbach sentenced to 10 years
Not only couldn’t Hans S. Diefenbach believe he was so delusional last spring that he thought Norma Confer was trying to kill him, Diefenbach said he would have married the woman he stabbed to death if circumstances were different.
Diefenbach made that statement Thursday, just minutes before Niagara County Judge Matthew J. Murphy sentenced him to 10 years in state prison, five years of post release supervision and a $5,000 fine.

March 9, 2012
Bartz could get probation
A Town of Lockport burglar will attempt to avoid jail time by participating in Niagara County Court’s judicial diversion program for court supervised drug treatment.
Matthew E. Bartz, 30, of Bartz Road pleaded guilty to three counts of third-degree burglary at an appearance Wednesday in State Supreme Court before Justice Richard C. Kloch, Sr. However, Bartz was also approved for the diversion program Wednesday. All three counts are nonviolent class D felonies.

February 23, 2012
Rohde given youthful offender status
A Niagara County Sheriff’s deputy has received youthful offender status in a rape case stemming from an incident that allegedly took place 13 years ago.
Kevin J. Rohde, 30, has taken a plea without admission and will be sentenced April 25 in Lockport City Court. He had been facing first-degree rape following an incident that took place March 1, 1999, at a Remick Parkway residence, when Rohde was 18 years old.

February 14, 2012
Former NFTA cop sentenced
A former Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority police officer will spend six years on probation for sending a sexually explicit photo to a teenage girl, a girl he later had a sexual encounter with.
In addition, John W. Ingham will spend 25 weekends in the service of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Work Program. Ingham was sentenced Thursday by State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch, Sr. Ingham will also register as a sex offender.

February 3, 2012
Rapist gets 15 years
A Middleport man will serve 15 years behind bars for raping a Lockport woman at knifepoint in March.
Harold G. Case, 50, 3470 Carmen Road, was sentenced Thursday in Niagara County Court for first-degree attempted rape, a class C violent felony. Upon completion of the sentence, Case will have 15 years of post release supervision.

January 5, 2012
Plea reached in stabbing case
Hans S. Diefenbach could be looking at 10 years in state prison, after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter Thursday in Niagara County Court.
Diefenbach 47, 70 Genesee St., admitted to stabbing 66-year-old Norma Confer several times with a pair of knives on April 21, leaving one of them in her back. She died in May after being in a coma for
five weeks. Diefenbach was originally charged with first-degree murder.

December 9, 2011
Court actions published Sept. 7, 2011
Schumacher DWI case adjourned to October
A Gasport woman accused of hitting two teens on Dysinger Road on May 26 will return in the beginning of October to Lockport Town Court, after having her case adjourned Tuesday night.
Amy J. Schumacher, 36, 8472 Chestnut Ridge Road, has been charged with Class E felony aggravated vehicular assault and driving while intoxicated.
On May 26, Schumacher was driving on Dysinger Road when she swerved off the road and struck two boys who were walking on the shoulder, according to the report from the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office. According to sheriff’s deputies, Schumacher registered a 0.12 percent blood alcohol content.

September 6, 2011
More Courts Headlines

Courts

Search Results

WILSON: Coaches' case delayed

Site Map

Contact Us