Morning News Briefing

Prison time for the former owner of Batavia Nursing Home.
The former owner of the Batavia Nursing Home and the Fairchild Manor Nursing Home in Lewiston has been sentenced to prison.
62 year old Marc Korn of East Amherst was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution to three different private entities to the tune of $2,500,000 along with approximately $850,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.
After failing to pay employment taxes on his nursing homes over three quarters in 2009 and fraudulently mishandling funds from a credit card and loan from Fifth Third Bank, Korn was convicted of bank theft and willful failure to pay tax.
The investigation by the FBI and IRS had been ongoing since 2009 and resulted in the loss of both the Batavia Nursing home and Fairchild manor in Lewiston.

Investigation into stolen credit card leads to arrest for a Tracy Ave woman.
City Police took 51 year old Paula Cipro of Batavia into custody following an investigation into the use of a stolen credit card at Northside Deli last month.
Cipro is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, use of a stolen credit card, and petit larceny and was released with an appearance ticket for Batavia City Court on April 9th.

Local Assemblyman calls out Cuomo’s Prison Closure Initiative.
Governor Cuomo’s authorization to close three state prisons, including two within 90 days of the recently passed state budget has received sharp criticism from Assemblyman Steve Hawley of Batavia.
According to Hawley the closures are a threat to public safety across the state and will create a cloud of uncertainty for prison employees.
The Assemblyman said overcrowded prisons complicate the job’s of correctional officers and could lead to an increase in violent attacks against these public servants.
Hawley pledged to his continue his fight against prison closures.

President Trump’s top economic adviser says a ten-thousand dollar cap on state and local tax deductions likely won’t be revised.
Experts say Lawrence Kudlow’s announcement could mean a large federal tax hike for Empire State homeowners in the middle and upper classes. Governor Cuomo met with President Trump earlier this year to see if he’d be open to revising the cap.
The governor is blaming the deduction limit for a big drop in state revenues.

A judge will decide today if the case against former Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio will be dismissed.
The request was made by her lawyer after the prosecution finished up presenting its case yesterday.
Prosecutors say she tried to buy a shotgun at a sporting goods store last year while she was on probation.
Her attorney says the gun wasn’t loaded and wasn’t a dangerous weapon.
The case is being tried in Onondaga County after Astacio’s lawyer argued she couldn’t get a fair trial in Monroe County.