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Copyright 1998 The Buffalo News

The Buffalo News

October 23, 1998, Friday, CITY EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 1B

LENGTH: 581 words

HEADLINE: FBI RULES OUT JOINING PROBE OF SLAYING

BYLINE: DAN HERBECK and HAROLD McNEIL; News Staff Reporters

BODY:

 

The Buffalo FBI office has decided not to join the investigation into the beating death of Gary Trzaska.

As brutal as it was, the crime does not appear to have the elements of a "hate crime" as defined by federal laws, Special Agent Gregory Jennings said Thursday.

"We are not going to be investigating this case. We've been in close contact with the Buffalo police, and based on their information, this does not appear to have

been a crime motivated by hatred toward any particular group of people," he said.

Trzaska, 41, who was gay and white, was beaten and stomped to death on Oct. 2, near the intersection of Broadway and Titus Avenue. Police said his attackers were three black youths who were seen laughing and exchanging celebratory high-fives during the assault.

About 100 people attended a candlelight vigil in Trzaska's memory Thursday night in St. John Kanty Church on Broadway and Swinburne Avenue, a block from where the Cheektowaga man was slain.

A handful of uniformed police officers stood outside the church as an apparent precaution, but a respectful calm prevailed as area residents, including a small number of African-Americans, walked inside the church, where they were handed purple ribbons to wear in Trzaska's memory.

The brief service included remarks by Trzaska's nephew, Randy Ashby of Alden, and Susan Nardozzi, a resident of the city's East Lovejoy neighborhood and an organizer of the vigil.

"I find it totally incomprehensible how anyone could inflict such pain on another human being," said Mrs. Nardozzi.

She later said that she was moved to hold the vigil to help offer solace to Trzaska's family and to try to heal rifts in the community after his slaying and recent accusations of racially motivated hate crimes committed by white youths in Lovejoy.

"We have got to get along," Mrs. Nardozzi said after the service. "We have to begin caring for each other again. If we work at it, maybe we could save some the people out there with this kind of rage in them."

Her sentiments were echoed by Ashby during the service. "It's sad that people waste a lot of time with hate. If Gary were here, I think he would want healing,"

Ashby said.

Erie County Executive Gorski was among a small number of public officials who attended the vigil.

"This was a terrible crime," he said after the ceremony. "I do not believe it was a hate crime, but a random act of senseless violence. As a broad community, we are going to have to (be determined) to take pride in ourselves, our community and our children in order that something like this does not happen again.".

The brutality of the slaying led Trzaska's family to ask the FBI to investigate the incident as a hate crime, to see whether Trzaska was singled out because of his race or sexual preference.

After discussions with the family and Buffalo police, Jennings said the FBI has decided to stay out of the case. U.S. Attorney Denise O'Donnell said authorities consider an incident a hate crime if it is motivated by hatred "based on a person's race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity or national origin."

Buffalo police said they believe his attackers singled out Trzaska for no other reason except that he crossed their path at a particular moment.

William Nance, 17, of Miller Avenue, has been charged with second-degree murder in the case. He confessed to taking part in the crime, but now claims he was tricked by police into giving a false confession.

GRAPHIC: Calm prevailed at Gary Trzaska's memorial vigil. CHARLES LEWIS/Buffalo News; Dorothy Furtney, a friend of Gary Trzaska's, was one of

some 100 participants at Thursday's candlelight vigil.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: October 25, 1998

 

 

 

 

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Copyright 1998 The Buffalo News

The Buffalo News

October 24, 1998, Saturday, FINAL EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 1C

LENGTH: 407 words

HEADLINE: FBI KEEPS THE DOOR OPEN ON JOINING PROBE INTO TRZASKA;

BEATING DEATH

BYLINE: DAN HERBECK and JANICE L. HABUDA; News Staff Reporters

BODY:

 

The FBI softened its position late Friday on whether it will investigate the fatal beating of Gary Trzaska as a possible hate crime.

Bernard Tolbert, special agent in charge of the Buffalo FBI office, said in a prepared statement that the office has not yet decided whether it will join the investigation.

A Thursday announcement by the FBI, saying it would not enter the Trzaska investigation, was premature, Tolbert said.

"We are taking a closer look at this whole situation before a final decision is made," said Special Agent Paul Moskal. "We made an error Thursday in saying that a final decision has been made."

Trzaska, 41, of Cheektowaga, was beaten and stomped to death near Broadway and Titus Avenue the night of Oct. 2. One of three suspects has been arrested.

The victim's family asked the FBI to investigate to determine whether Trzaska was attacked for racial reasons -- Trzaska was white and his attackers were black -- or because he was gay.

"I would be happy if they continue their investigation for that reason," Arlene Slachciak, his sister, said Friday night.

"I have been getting tons of people coming to the house, calling me. 'How can it not be a hate crime?'they're saying," Mrs. Slachciak said. "Everybody is in an uproar."

Another family member says the FBI now appears willing to investigate a theory they presented about why Trzaska was killed. It has to do with a problem at an apartment house that Trzaska owned, according to his nephew, Randy Ashby.

A tenant was thrown out of his apartment on Broadway by drug dealers who "pirated" the place, Ashby said Friday night. "Gary got wind of it from his other tenants and called the police."

"These guys knew he had them all thrown out and they were just waiting for their opportunity to get him," Ashby said he told the FBI.

"This is probably more of a premeditated . . . payback," Ashby said.

Ashby said he also has heard, from witnesses, that there were more than three assailants, and that the vicious attack lasted more than the one minute estimated by police.

Buffalo police, meanwhile, have said they do not believe the incident was a hate crime. They have said they believe Trzaska's attackers singled him out for no other reason except that he crossed their path at a particular moment.

About 100 people attended a candlelight vigil in Trzaska's memory Thursday night in a church about a block from where he was slain.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: October 25, 1998

 

 

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Copyright 1998 The Buffalo News

The Buffalo News

November 20, 1998, Friday, CITY EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 4C

LENGTH: 329 words

HEADLINE: SECOND SUSPECT ARRESTED IN BEATING, STOMPING DEATH OF;

CHEEKTOWAGA MAN

BYLINE: JANICE L. HABUDA; News Staff Reporter

BODY:

 

A second suspect was arrested Thursday in the October beating and stomping death of Gary Trzaska.

Dennis Straughter, 19, of Laurel Street was taken into custody at his attorney's office, according to police Capt. Joseph Riga, Homicide Bureau chief. Straughter had been indicted on a charge of second-degree murder. He is being held in the city lockup pending arraignment this morning.

His was the second arrest following the death of the 41-year-old Cheektowaga resident after he was attacked on Broadway, near Titus Avenue, the night of Oct. 2.

Police said three attackers were seen laughing and exchanging high-fives during the assault.

Arrested nearby shortly after the attack was William M. Nance, 17, of Miller Avenue.

The third attacker remains at large; Riga declined to comment Thursday on the continuing investigation.

Because the assailants were black and Trzaska was white -- and gay, questions have been raised on whether the attack constituted a hate crime, as defined by federal law.

Buffalo police have said they do not believe so. They have said they believe Trzaska's attackers singled him out for no other reason than that he crossed their path at a particular moment.

But the FBI still is considering the question, leaving the door open on a possible federal investigation of the crime.

"The determination hasn't been made as to whether or not that particular incident involved what we would term a 'hate crime,' " Special Agent Paul Moskal, an FBI spokesman, said Thursday evening.

A hate crime conviction results in stiffer federal penalties than those provided by various states. New York has not enacted hate crime legislation.

The FBI needs to determine whether the crime was the result of a "preformed, negative bias against persons, property or organizations based solely on race, religion,

ethnicity or national origin, sexual orientation or disability," Moskal said.

"It will take awhile to sort that out," he said.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

 

 

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Copyright 1999 The Buffalo News

The Buffalo News

January 29, 1999, Friday, CITY EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 4C

LENGTH: 218 words

HEADLINE: TWO INDICTED IN SLAYING; ONE MAY FACE EXECUTION

BODY:

 

An Erie County grand jury today recommended a Laurel Street man face a possible death penalty in the fatal beating of Buffalo landlord Gary Trzaska.

Dennis Straughter, 19, and William M. Nance, 17, of Miller Avenue, were both indicted on murder charges in the vicious attack Oct. 2 on Broadway. But the grand jury only lodged a first-degree murder charge against Straughter.

Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark said he will have 120 days after the defendants are arraigned next Friday to decide if he should seek the death penalty against Straughter.

He noted that the state's death-penalty law mandates that suspects must be at least 18 at the time of the crime but declined to comment further on the case.

Nance was indicted on second-degree murder.

Authorities still are looking for a possible third suspect. Straughter and Nance both have been jailed for more than two months. The grand jury also lodged robbery charges against both suspects.

Trzaska, 41, of Cheektowaga, was attacked late at night on Broadway near Titus Avenue after collecting rent from tenants at properties in that area. Although authorities initially thought Trzaska was a hate-crime victim because he is gay, they later concluded he was only killed because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: January 31, 1999

 

 

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Copyright 1999 The Buffalo News

The Buffalo News

September 24, 1999, Friday, CITY EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 4C

LENGTH: 324 words

HEADLINE: YOUTH ADMITS ROLE IN DEATH OF LANDLORD

BYLINE: MATT GRYTA; News Staff Reporter

BODY:

 

A youth admitted Thursday he had participated in killing Gary Trzaska of Cheektowaga, who was stomped to death on Broadway after collecting rent on properties he owned in Buffalo.

William Nance, 17, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter as a third day of jury selection was about to get under way before Erie County Judge Sheila A.

DiTullio in his trial on charges of second-degree murder. The judge told Nance he still faces a prison term of 20 to 25 years when he is sentenced Nov. 3.

With several members of Trzaska's family in the courtroom, Nance admitted that he and others took part in the fatal attack, but he did not publicly identify his accomplices.

None of Trzaska's relatives would comment, but Sharon Simon, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said a family member might make a statement to the judge during Nance's sentencing.

Dennis Straughter, 19, is scheduled to stand trial in January on first-degree murder charges in the case. But Thomas J. Eoannou, his attorney, has filed a series of pretrial motions attacking the validity of the first-degree murder charge against his client.

Nance could not be charged with that more serious felony because he was 16 at the time.

Trzaska, 41, was attacked late Oct. 2 on Broadway near Titus Avenue. Although authorities and family members initially thought Trzaska -- who was gay and white -- had been the victim of a hate crime victim -- those accused of the attack are black -- investigators later concluded he was killed because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Authorities have said they still were trying to pin down enough evidence to arrest at least one more person in the slaying.

After first confessing to the crime, Nance recanted and maintained for months that he had been wrongly accused of complicity in the slaying. But when DiTullio today asked him if he had killed Trzaska "aided by others," he replied, "Yes."

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: October 21, 1999

 

 

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Copyright 1999 The Buffalo News

The Buffalo News

October 2, 1999, Saturday, FINAL EDITION

SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 1A

LENGTH: 936 words

HEADLINE: MAN ACCUSED IN SLAYING MAY BE FREED

BYLINE: DAN HERBECK; News Staff Reporter

BODY:

 

Dennis "Comfort" Straughter sat very uncomfortably in the Erie County jail for the past 10 months with a first-degree murder charge and a possible life prison term hanging over his head.

But police recently came to believe what Straughter has been telling them since the day of his arrest -- he is innocent.

Straughter is charged with killing Gary Trzaska in one of the most notorious crimes in recent years in Western New York. Horrified witnesses watched as three youths kicked and jumped on Trzaska. The killers laughed and exchanged high-fives as their victim lay bleeding on a Broadway street corner, witnesses said.

Based on eyewitness identifications and a tip provided by one of the killers, Straughter was arrested six weeks after the slaying a year ago today.

But detectives who arrested him recently received new information, and they no longer believe he committed the crime. Sources close to the case said the charges of first-degree murder and robbery against Straughter could be dropped soon.

"It's scary to be in jail for something you didn't do. I wasn't there. The police know I didn't do it. It's time for them to just let me go," said Straughter, 20, at the Erie County Holding Center, where he has been since Nov. 20.

"This boy has done some things that were wrong. He's been around the wrong people, and he's been in the wrong place at the wrong time," said his mother, Bertenia "Tina" Flood of Laurel Street. "But he's not a murderer. He's always been a meek person."

"Dennis Straughter is no angel, far from it," said one law enforcement official. "But it looks more and more like he didn't commit this crime."

Defense lawyers Thomas J. Eoannou and Michael D'Amico said Straughter has repeatedly allowed police to question him. He also voluntarily took -- and passed -- a lie detector examination. Straughter's family paid $ 350 for the polygraph.

While polygraph tests are not admissible in court, they are sometimes used by police in screening suspects. And it is unusual, police said, for a suspect to offer to take repeated polygraph tests.

Eoannou's statement about Straughter's cooperation in the case was backed by law enforcement officials.

Capt. Joseph A. Riga, head of the Homicide Bureau, and Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark did not rule out Friday the possibility that Straughter will be released.

"I'm only going to say the case remains under investigation," Clark said.

Riga said, "We still believe there are people out there who were involved in this crime and haven't been charged. We're still working on it."

Other law enforcement officials said they strongly believe Straughter will be released, because police recently received information that exonerates him. The specifics were not disclosed.

Meanwhile, Eoannou filed court papers on Friday asking that Straughter be released on bail while Clark considers the matter.

The murder of Trzaska outraged the community and made some national news reports. The Cheektowaga resident who owned rental properties on the East Side was stomped to death at Broadway and Titus Avenue.

As Trzaska lay on the pavement, witnesses said, at least two of the three teen-age attackers repeatedly jumped high into the air, landing with both feet on Trzaska.

Trzaska's wallet, reportedly containing hundreds of dollars he had collected in rents, was stolen. But his killers left $ 200 in his pocket, and then ran away giggling, witnesses told police.

Because Trzaska was a gay white man beaten to death by blacks, Buffalo police and the FBI initially considered the killing a possible hate crime. But investigators later concluded that the incident was more of a "thrill-killing."

Police began investigating Straughter almost immediately because William Nance, 16, who was arrested at the murder scene, told them Straughter was his accomplice.

"Straughter was not targeted by the police. His name just came up in normal course of the investigation. He was a victim of circumstances," said one law enforcement official. "Later, four witnesses told homicide (detectives) that Straughter was there. They picked him out in a lineup."

Straughter has been arrested several times for charges including auto theft, harassment and gun possession. Dispositions of the charges were unavailable.

He has been shot twice -- in drive-by shootings on the East Side in 1997 and 1998.

Straughter had a falling-out with Nance's family after his sister had Straughter's baby, authorities said. She wound up getting an order of protection against Straughter.

"The Nance family hates Dennis, which is one more reason why Dennis would not be out with William Nance committing robberies and murders," Eoannou said.

 

On the night of the murder, Straughter insists, he was baby-sitting his 2-year-old daughter, Dennecia, in his mother's house.

"I was there all night, until my mother came home around midnight," Straughter said. "The next morning, the police called my mother, asking where I had been.

And then I found out they were looking at me in the murder."

Nance was arrested the night of the murder after witnesses pointed him out as one of the killers. Several hours later, he gave police a statement confessing to the crime, implicating Straughter as one of the killers.

But days later, Nance tried to recant, telling police that neither he nor Straughter was involved.

Nance was about to go on trial for murder last week, when he decided to take a plea deal, admitting to first-degree manslaughter. He faces a prison term of at least

20 years when he is sentenced in November.

GRAPHIC: JAMES P. McCOY/Buffalo News; Bertenia Flood outside the holding center housing her son Dennis Straughter.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: October 5, 1999

 

 

 

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Copyright 1999 The Buffalo News

The Buffalo News

October 7, 1999, Thursday, CITY EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 1B

LENGTH: 550 words

HEADLINE: STRAUGHTER LOSES BID FOR BAIL IN SLAYING CASE

BYLINE: MATT GRYTA; News Staff Reporter

BODY:

 

Murder suspect Dennis "Comfort" Straughter will spend a few more weeks in jail before his pleas for freedom can be answered.

A judge Wednesday refused to allow Straughter, 20, to be released from custody on $ 25,000 bail amid the probe into the killing of Gary Trzaska, a Buffalo

landlord.

Straughter, who is being held without bail, has spent almost a year in jail and still could face a term of life without parole in Trzaska's murder, a killing

Straughter's lawyers say he didn't commit.

Chief defense attorney Thomas J. Eoannou claims Straughter was home taking care of his baby daughter when the slaying took place.

That prompted Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio to order prosecutors and police to speed up their investigation into the fatal beating.

She wants wants to see them back in her courtroom in two to three weeks.

The judge told chief prosecutor Brian Clinton Mahoney that if the investigation confirm the defense claims, she wants prosecutors to file a dismissal motion.

Mahoney declined to comment on the status of the probe, but court sources confirmed he met with three Buffalo homicide detectives shortly after the court

session.

Trzaska was beaten to the ground and stomped to death by several young attackers on the pavement near one of his rental properties on Broadway near Titus

Avenue, according to accounts police received from witnesses.

Eoannou, who couldn't be reached to comment after Wednesday's court appearance, reportedly gave police the name of a murder suspect who has never been

charged in the Trzaska fatal beating.

On Sept. 23, during the third day of jury selection at his murder trial in the case, William Nance, 17, pleaded guilty before DiTullio to a first-degree manslaughter

charge, admitting he took part in the attack on the gay white property owner but refusing to disclose his accomplices.

Sources close to the case confirmed that Nance, who faces a prison term of 20 to 25 years when Di

Tullio sentences him Nov. 3, was extensively questioned by prosecutors and homicide detectives hours after his guilty plea.

In an interview with a Buffalo News reporter last week, Straughter, who was indicted on a first-degree murder charge and faces a mandatory term of life without

parole if convicted, stressed his innocence in the slaying.

Straughter has been in custody since his arrest six weeks after the killing.

The arrest was based on police information provided by eyewitnesses and an alleged tip from a possible accomplice.

Eoannou told the judge Straughter passed a lie-detector examination about the killing and noted that his family paid $ 350 for him to take the test.

Straughter, in his interview with The News, said he was wrongly accused because he had a falling-out with the Nance family after William Nance's sister bore

his child.

Straughter is still slated to stand trial in January before DiTullio on first-degree murder charges in the case.

Prosecutors didn't opt for the death penalty and could only charge Nance with second-degree murder because he was 16 at the time of the crime.

An active investigation into the killing has continued since the arrests of Straughter and Nance as authorities try to pin down enough evidence against at least one

more person, sources confirmed.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: October 9, 1999

 

 

 

 

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Copyright 1999 The Buffalo News

The Buffalo News

November 1, 1999, Monday, CITY EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 5B

LENGTH: 538 words

HEADLINE: JUDGE WANTS ANSWERS ON MAN HELD IN SLAYING

BYLINE: MATT GRYTA; News Staff Reporter

BODY:

 

A judge today ordered Erie County prosecutors to respond in two days to questions about what she called the "extremely disturbing" case of a Buffalo man who

has spent the last year in jail in the thrill-killing of landlord Gary Trzaska -- in spite of the fact that he reportedly has been exonerated by his convicted

co-defendant.

Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio ordered prosecutor Brian Clinton Mahoney to respond to her questions about the reopened investigation of the case against

of Dennis "Comfort" Straughter, 20, of Laurel Street.

Thomas J. Eoannou, Straughter's chief attorney, charged prosecutorial foot-dragging and vowed to publicly disclose the identities of Trzaska's real killers. The

judge pressed Mahoney for new information as she considers Straughter's bail status.

Eoannou unsuccessfully sought to get Straughter out of jail on $ 25,000 bail Oct. 6 in light of William Nance's Sept. 23 guilty plea to a reduced charge of

first-degree manslaughter in the case and his statements purportedly clearing Straughter. Today the attorney complained that it is wrong to keep Straughter jailed

without bail when he has been "exculpated."

The defense attorney told the judge that two eyewitnesses to the Oct. 2, 1998, attack on Broadway had "recanted" claims that Straughter was part of the three-man

attack.

DiTullio is scheduled to sentence Nance, 17, on Wednesday.

Straughter has been jailed since his arrest six weeks after the killing. He was taken into custody based on police information provided by witnesses and an alleged

tip from a possible accomplice.

Straughter claims he was was home baby-sitting his daughter at the moment of the attack.

Eoannou today reminded the judge that on Oct. 6 she gave prosecutors two to three weeks to come up with answers, but the Straughter defense team willingly

gave them more time, only to find them today demanding even more time to complete their reinvestigation of the killing.

"Something's got to be done" on Straughter's bail, Eoannou argued.

The attorney said it is wrong "to keep delaying court proceedings. The defendant's mother could be heard in the courtroom crying and saying: "It's not fair!"

Mahoney refused to comment after today's court session, but Eoannou said that authorities "have embraced" Nance's statement. "On one of the worst murders in

the history of this county," he said, "they now want it both ways, and that is completely wrong."

Nance, who reportedly recently gave Erie County probation officers a third version of the fatal attack, faces a prison term of 20 to 25 years from DiTullio on his

guilty plea, which came on the third day of jury selection for his murder trial in the case.

Technically, Straughter faces a first-degree murder trial in January and, if convicted, would be sentenced to a mandatory term of life in prison without parole.

Trzaska, 41, of Cheektowaga, was attacked near one of his rental properties on Broadway near Titus Avenue and stomped by several of attackers as he lay on the

ground.

In a recent interview with The Buffalo News, Straughter claimed he was wrongly accused because he had a falling-out with the Nance family after William

Nance's sister bore his child.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: November 3, 1999

 

 

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Copyright 1999 The Buffalo News

The Buffalo News

November 4, 1999, Thursday, CITY EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 11B

LENGTH: 423 words

HEADLINE: MAN HELD 10 MONTHS POSTS BAIL IN SLAYING AFTER ANOTHER;

CONFESSES TO THE CRIME

BYLINE: MATT GRYTA; News Staff Reporter

BODY:

 

Still facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison for a Buffalo murder he claims he didn't commit, Dennis "Comfort" Straughter was released

from jail Wednesday for the first time in 10 months.

Indicted on first-degree murder charges and still facing a possible January trial in the beating death of landlord Gary Trzaska of Cheektowaga 13 months ago,

Straughter was released after prosecutors agreed to the $ 25,000 pretrial bail sought by his attorneys, Thomas J. Eoannou and Julian Johnson.

Released at the second-floor bail office at County Hall in downtown Buffalo about 3:10 p.m. Straughter, 20, of Laurel Street, said he wanted to thank his

attorneys "and my family" as he and his mother, his infant daughter and about a dozen other people left the courthouse together.

Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio approved the $ 25,000 bail after saying there are "some questions as to Mr. Straughter's liability in this case." She also

agreed with a prosecutor's demand that he remain under scrutiny of the Erie County Probation Department.

Also Wednesday, the judge delayed until Jan. 26 the sentencing of William Nance, 17, on his guilty plea to a reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter in the

case.

Hours after Nance entered that plea Sept. 23, he told investigators Straughter was not involved in the Oct. 2, 1998, attack.

Trzaska, 41, was attacked near one of his rental properties on Broadway near Titus Avenue and stomped by several young attackers.

In a recent interview with The Buffalo News, Straughter claimed he was wrongly accused because he had a falling-out with the Nance family after William

Nance's sister bore his child.

Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark said Wednesday the Trzaska murder investigation is continuing.

Bertenia Thomas, Straughter's mother, said she was "just glad my baby is coming home. Thank God!

"He was at home when it happened, with his own daughter," she said.

Eoannou and Johnson said they felt the questions they have raised about the murder case, in light of Nance's eight-page statement to authorities, forced

prosecutors to agree to bail for Straughter.

On Monday, DiTullio ordered prosecutors to give her answers by Wednesday about the murder case in light of defense efforts to get Straughter released.

Straughter still faces a possible trial in January on his first-degree murder indictment in the case. If convicted, he faces a mandatory prison term of life without

parole. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: November 6, 1999

 

 

 

 

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Copyright 2000 The Buffalo News

The Buffalo News

January 4, 2000, Tuesday, CITY EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 4B

LENGTH: 333 words

HEADLINE: JUDGE WARNS DA STAFF IN MURDER CASE

BYLINE: MATT GRYTA; News Staff Reporter

BODY:

 

A judge Monday warned prosecutors that, in the face of months of delays, she is considering dismissing Dennis "Comfort" Straughter's 14-month-old

first-degree murder indictment in the fatal stomping of landlord Gary Trzaska. Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio, rejecting a prosecution bid for an

open-ended probe of other suspects in the October 1998 slaying, rescheduled the start of jury selection in Straughter's trial to Jan. 18 and told prosecutors they

have to decide whether he should even stand trial.

Brian Clinton Mahoney, the head of the district attorney's Felony Trial Bureau, told the judge that prosecutors and detectives are searching for "several witnesses

in the case.

William Nance, 17, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter in the case four months ago.

Mahoney conceded that the missing witnesses are in connection with "other individuals, not Straughter.

Trzaska, 41, was fatally stomped by several attackers near one of his rental properties on Broadway near Titus Avenue.

Meanwhile, defense attorney Thomas J. Eoannou noted that the murder indictment and a possible life sentence without parole have been hanging over Straughter,

20, of Laurel Street, for more than a year.

"I think the possibility of a dismissal is certainly one of the options, the judge said.

After the court session, both Mahoney and District Attorney Frank J. Clark said the renewed murder investigation -- prompted by statements made by Nance after

his Sept. 23 guilty plea -- continues to be a high priority. After Monday's court session, Eoannou said Straughter, who has been forced to wear electronic

monitoring devices since his Nov. 3 release from custody after 10 months behind bars, is living with his mother and getting vocational training while still trying

to get a job.

His attorney said electronic monitoring devices and a pending first-degree murder trial make life difficult for Straughter, who has always maintained his

innocence.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: January 6, 2000

 

 

 

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Copyright 2000 The Buffalo News

The Buffalo News

January 12, 2000, Wednesday, CITY EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 5B

LENGTH: 476 words

HEADLINE: BAIL REVOKED IN SLAYING, DEFENDANT RETURNS TO JAIL

BYLINE: MATT GRYTA; News Staff Reporter

BODY:

 

Dennis "Comfort" Straughter was returned to jail today after prosecutors told a judge the man charged with killing Buffalo landlord Gary Trzaska recently violated

strict court mandates governing his release from custody.

After spending about 10 months in jail awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges, Straughter had been free on $ 25,000 bail since Nov. 3. He was taken back into

custody shortly before 11 a.m.

Thomas J. Eoannou, his attorney, said he is consulting civil attorneys about a federal civil rights suit against prosecutors.

Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio, who had allowed Straughter to leave jail, revoked his bail and stressed her latest ruling is based on prosecution claims that he

violated mandates attached to his release as well as on undisclosed evidence in the murder case.

Straughter, 20, is scheduled to stand trial Tuesday on a first-degree murder charge in slaying of Trzaska, 41, who was stomped to death by several young attackers

in October 1998 near one of his rental properties on Broadway near Titus Avenue. The judge, however, clearly indicated his trial would be rescheduled.

After today's court session, Eoannou stressed that he plans to sue Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark and unnamed others, accusing them of violating

Straughter's federal civil rights.

But Clark stuck to his guns.

"They can file any lawsuits they might well choose, but we have a grand jury that returned first-degree murder against Straughter, and there is no reason that

indictment should be set aside as we speak," he said.

The district attorney noted that Eoannou seems to be basing his complaints on statements of unnamed individuals and William Nance, 17, Straughter's co-defendant.

Nance remains jailed, awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty Sept. 23 to a reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter.

During today's court session, prosecutor Brian Clinton Mahoney told the judge that although prosecutors and police are trying to track down unnamed witnesses

linking others to the killing, four individuals identified Straughter for the grand jury in late 1998 as a participant.

Mahoney, who is about go into private practice after an 11-year career with the prosecutor's office, also said other grand jury evidence, which he refused to make

public in court, substantiates Straughter's direct involvement in the landlord's slaying.

After the court proceedings, Clark stressed that DiTullio has copies of the full grand jury transcripts and can rule on the legal sufficiency of the criminal case, should

Straughter's lawyer press the issue.

In court, Mahoney and a county probation officer told the judge that in the past month or so, Straughter has missed two scheduled sessions with probation officials,

violated court curfew orders and failed three tests for marijuana use.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: January 14, 2000