Good Morning, Buffalo: Drug trafficker who owned mansion tells all about his criminal rise and how it suddenly fell apart (2024)

March 13, 2024

Drug trafficker who owned mansion tells all about his criminal rise and how it suddenly fell apart

With money pouring in from his marijuana and cocaine trafficking, Ronald Serio got a meeting in Canada with Frank J. “Butch” BiFulco, once viewed by federal authorities as a longtime leader in the local Mafia.

Serio, 47, testified Monday that he sought the 2014 meeting with “Butchie BiFocals," arranged by Serio's drug-trafficking partner Michael Masecchia, because he was looking for more marijuana suppliers in an attempt to control the market in Western New York.

BiFulco, who died in 2020, was not the only person who Serio identified in his testimony against former Drug Enforcement Administration agent Joseph Bongiovanni. Serio said he paid at least $250,000 in bribes to Bongiovanni between 2010 and 2017 as a way to get names of anyone informing law enforcement officials about his drug-trafficking organization. On Monday, the 13th day of testimony in Bongiovanni's bribery and corruption trial, Serio emerged as a pivotal witness naming names. Serio identified or confirmed the roles of more than two dozen people who he said helped him grow, buy, sell or transport illegal drugs.

The one person he never met: Bongiovanni, the man he said he bribed.

– Patrick Lakamp

WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT

Stadium construction inclusion goals closer to being reached but still short:At last check, use of minority-owned business enterprises on the project was at 17.4%, exceeding the suggested goal of 15%, but women-owned businesses were being used at 8.4%, and military service-disabled-owned businesses were being used at 3.1%, both below the goals of 15% and 6%, respectively.Read more

Accused of misusing pandemic funds, businessman withdraws from Buffalo parks projects:Hormoz Mansouri, who has been indicted on charges accusing him of misusing federal pandemic aid money, announced that his company is withdrawing from a project for the City of Buffalo’s Department of Public Works, Parks and Streets. It had been awarded a $175,000 contract for the project. Read more

Prominent forensic pathologist testifies inmate was asphyxiated by deputies:An Erie County Holding Center inmate died in 2012 because jail deputies asphyxiated him with their restraint methods, a prominent forensic pathologist told a State Supreme Court jury this week. The judge on Tuesday rejected efforts by the defendants' attorneys to strike the testimony of Dr. Michael Baden, who has been involved in high-profile cases from O.J. Simpson to George Floyd to the assassination of John F. Kennedy – ruling that the attorneys received sufficient notice Baden may appear as an expert witness for the plaintiff. Baden was a member of the state Commission of Correction's Medical Review Board, which concluded in 2016 that Richard Metcalf Jr.'s death was due to poorly trained deputies who improperly tied a "spit mask" around his neck and put a pillowcase over his head. Read more

Bills, Legends hope experience center provides 'complete story' of new stadium:The Stadium Experience Center in Amherst, which officially opens Wednesday, will give fans a feel for what they will see at the $1.7 billion stadium in Orchard Park before it is constructed. The experience features what is essentially a shrunk-down version of the stadium, where there is no shortage of attention to detail. Read more

$56 million in Erie County projects held up as political drama takes over:Republican legislators voted against a resolution that would have borrowed $56.1 million for a number of projects. Republicans say they want to wait and see how much year-end surplus the county has, but Democrats accuse them of being motivated by politics.Read more

Community, students object to layoffs at Hamburg Central School Board meeting: Hundreds of parents, students and teachers packed the Hamburg Central School Board meeting Tuesday night to object to the layoffs of 17 employees, including 13 teachers. Teachers were told Friday during school that their positions would be eliminated at the end of this school year due to budget constraints. Read more

State trooper charged with manslaughter in shooting after Thruway pursuit takes the stand: Anthony Nigro IV took the stand after prosecutors from the state Attorney General's Office rested their case against him, which included testimony from his fellow troopers, a policing expert and footage from his body-worn camera. Read more

[BN] Politics Now 📩: The state of our union? Divided beyond belief:There used to be something majestic about watching the doorkeeper of the House of Representatives bellow out, “Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States!” As intense as our politics were becoming, our congressional representatives and senators were at least able to sit down in the same room and listen to a speech like adults, Charlie Specht writes.Read more

WEATHER

A little bit warmer:Partly cloudy skies with a high of 54 degrees.Read more

GUSTO

Farms pour on the activities, and syrup, for annual Maple Weekend festivities:During two weekends every March, families in rubber boots flock to the country to hop on a tractor, learn how maple syrup is created and, after building a sufficient appetite, drench pancakes and sausages in the sweet, amber liquid. Here's everything you need to know aboutMaple Weekend.Read more

Buffalo's International Jewish Film Festival lives up to its name:The weeklong lineup of six features and five documentaries, from March 15-21, offers films from filmmakers representing some nine countries – Israel, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, Spain, Ukraine, Japan, South Korea and the United States.Read more

BUFFALO NEXT

Five Star Bank accuses Rochester-area restaurant owner of $18.9M fraud:Five Star Bank in a federal lawsuit accused Katherine Mott of being the driving force behind a "check-kiting" scheme that defrauded the bank of $18.9 million. In the suit, Mott is identified in the suit as the owner of several Rochester-area businesses, including restaurants and wedding venues. Read more

Buffalo Niagara unemployment rate jumps to 4.7% in January:The region’s jobless rate increased from 4.4% in December and was higher than the 4.3% rate in January of last year, the state Labor Department reported Tuesday. Read more

Highmark cuts 15 jobs in Western New York as part of larger companywide reduction:The local job cuts come almost exactly three years after Highmark completed its affiliation with HealthNow New York, bringing the Pittsburgh-based organization to the Western New York and Albany markets.Read more

Buffalo among 25 cities to get Bloomberg Philanthropies funding for climate change:Buffalo is among 25 cities chosen as “Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities” by Bloomberg Philanthropies, which will put $200 million toward helping the cities access federal funding for infrastructure projects to fight climate change. Read more

South Buffalo scrapyard clears environmental hurdle:A controversial proposal by a Canadian company to open a new but modern metal recycling scrapyard in South Buffalo cleared a critical environmental hurdle on Monday, despite vociferous opposition from residential neighbors and a competitor that used to operate on the same site.Read more

BILLS

Ryan O'Halloran: Running backs, guards changing teams highlight NFL negotiating window:Monday was a good day for running backs and guards who will switch teams in free agency, O'Halloran says.Read more

DaQuan Jones thinks the best is yet to come as he re-ups with Bills:Jones turned 32 years old in December. He thinks his great start to the 2023 season for the Buffalo Bills shows he has a ton left in the tank to give the team.Read more

A.J. Epenesa aiming for 'more sacks, more snaps' in re-signing with Buffalo Bills:The Bills are still molding next year’s defensive line, and Epenesa is both preparing for and embracing a larger role. Read more

Source: Bills agree to one-year deal with LB Nicholas Morrow:The Buffalo News has learned from a league source that the team has reached a preliminary contract agreement with former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nicholas Morrow on a one-year contract. Morrow, 28, played in 15 games last season for Philadelphia, making 12 starts and finishing with 95 tackles (66 solo, 12 tackles for loss), three sacks, five passes defensed, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. Read more

SABRES

Observations: Sabres roll over Red Wings to inch closer to wild-card spot:Out of playoff contention for months, the Sabres (31-30-5) played their way back into the race with an 8-4-1 record in their last 13 games to draw within five points of the Red Wings (33-36-5) and New York Islanders for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card playoff spot.Read more

Mike Harrington: Rasmus Dahlin left shaken by Sabres' trades, but his only choice is to forge ahead: "The Sabres, of course, would not have been in this position had they played better before the new year. Once GM Kevyn Adams took the plunge on Wednesday, it was clear there would be some damage control to do with Rasmus Dahlin, the current face of the franchise," writes Harrington. Read more

Sabres to open 2024-25 season in Czechia with two games against Devils:The NHL announced Tuesday that the Buffalo Sabres will open the 2024-25 season with two games against the New Jersey Devils in Prague, Czechia, on Oct. 4 and 5 at O2 Arena.Read more

PHOTOS

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