Editor:

Events this past week in Orleans County can best be described as “Political Shenanigans.”

Specifically, on Tuesday a member of the Orleans County Major Felony Crimes Task Force announced his candidacy for Sheriff in next year’s election. Two days later his job at the DA’s Office is eliminated.

In fact the entire Task Force was disbanded. Of course the timing is suspect. Coincidence? Not Likely! Cost savings measure? I was born at night, but it wasn’t last night!

If my Dad was still above ground, he would say, “You People Are About As Subtle As A Train Wreck”!

I wish I could say I’m surprised by all this. Sadly, I am not.

Steve Smith

Churchville

Smith is a former undersheriff in the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.

Editor:

This is an open letter to the Orleans County Legislature and Jack Welch, Orleans County Chief Administrative Officer. Please note that each legislator has received this in their email inbox.

After 40 years of dedicated service in law enforcement, my husband Joe Sacco deserved better than to have his career ended by administrators who said there was no money in the budget for his position.

Forty years of showing up, protecting people, serving the community, and doing a job that most people could never imagine doing. Forty years of commitment, sacrifice, and putting others first. Forty years of establishing and keeping relationships with law enforcement departments across the region and at both the state and federal levels. That kind of service should be recognized with gratitude and respect, not dismissed as a budget line that can simply be eliminated.

But this decision goes beyond one man’s career.

At the same time, county administration has eliminated the Drug Task Force, taking away one of the most proactive tools in ground-level law enforcement, eliminating the resources who are passionate and dedicated to identifying drug activity, addressing the drug problem in our communities, and getting ahead of criminal activity rather than constantly reacting to it.

The message these decisions send is deeply concerning: When it comes to county priorities, where does public safety really rank?

You cannot talk about putting the community first while eliminating proactive law enforcement resources and dismissing decades of experience and dedication in the name of small budget savings 0.3% of your 106 million dollar budget which is probably in there just reappropriated.

Public safety should never be treated as an expendable expense. The people who live, work, and raise families in this county deserve more than a reactive approach to law enforcement. They deserve prevention, proactive policing, and leadership that recognizes the importance of protecting its citizens.

My husband gave 40 years of his life to this profession and this community. He never stopped showing up for the people he served. It’s heartbreaking that the administration’s response to that dedication was to eliminate his position without warning or discussion.  To remove him and his personal belongings from the building immediately was just disrespectful to him and his dedication to this county for the past 40 years. You may call it protocol but we all know this is utter disrespect.

This is bigger than one person losing a job. It’s about the value we place on experience, the resources we provide to law enforcement, and whether the people of this county are truly being put first.

Forty years of service cannot be erased by a budget decision or so called restructuring,  the need for proactive law enforcement doesn’t disappear just because a task force is eliminated.

My husband can walk away and retire  knowing he gave this community 40 years and he has a very strong community of people around him that do respect admire and honor his years of dedication. You, the county leadership, will have to answer to the community for the priorities you choose and the reasons they are chosen. It does make me wonder if this decision was indeed political, not just budgetary, and I am certain you will have to answer that question going forward. This community deserves honesty transparency and accountability.

Hoping you all sleep well knowing Joe and his team are no longer identifying and removing the threats that are in our neighborhoods day in and day out.

Chantelle Sacco

Albion

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Editor:

I’m furious that Sheriff Chris Bourke would risk your family’s safety by working to abolish the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force — just days after I announced my candidacy for Sheriff.

The Task Force was a crucial crime-reduction division. As an Investigator, we kept drugs off your streets like fentanyl, arrested nearly 50 felony-level drug dealers peddling poison, and kept dangerous loaded guns out of your neighborhood.

Think about the Andre Robinson Cocaine Enterprise case that took down a major drug trafficking operation.

It was a major success, and we’re safer because of the Task Force.

Now, Chris Bourke is putting his own personal political gain ahead of the safety of your family, businesses and local schools. You can’t go any lower than this.

While Kathy Hochul and New York City Democrats push policies like Bail Reform that make us less safe, we can’t be moving backwards here at home.

I’ve lived in Orleans County for over 30 years. We know better than to play political games with public safety and our way of life.

How would you feel knowing there will be hundreds of pounds of illicit drugs still on the streets and countless illegal guns in the hands of criminals left unchecked?

I fought every day to keep Orleans County residents safe from drugs, guns and other dangerous crime.

But the criminals win when Chris Bourke puts his politics ahead of Orleans County families.

I’m calling for the immediate re-instatement of the Major Felony Task Force so I can keep fighting to make Orleans County a safer place and lock up dangerous criminals.

Brett Sobieraski

Kent

Sobieraski worked as an investigator in the Major Felony Crime Task Force, and is retired as a sergeant from the Rochester Police Department.

Editor:

Dear Citizens of Orleans County, I’ve known Sheriff Bourke for 30 years – from his time as a jail deputy, deputy, K9 handler, lieutenant, undersheriff, and finally sheriff!

No other law enforcement officer knows Orleans  County better than Sheriff Bourke. His love for the citizens of Orleans County, his sworn deputies, his civilian staff, and the 911 center is on display every day!

District Attorney Susan Howard is not being truthful, Chris Bourke had nothing to do with the decision to eliminate the Felony Task Force. That decision was made by the Orleans  County financial committee, which Sheriff Bourke does not have a seat on, the treasurer’s office, the Orleans County Legislature, with the recommendation by the chief county administrator Jack Welch!

What DA Howard forgot to say was she hates Sheriff Bourke because he supported a much better qualified candidate for Orleans County DA in John Sansone, who was an Assistant District Attorney under previous DA Joe Cardone, and is currently an assistant DA in Genesee County.

Howard also forgot to tell you that the 2027 Orleans County proposed budget cuts the Sheriff’s Department budget by $1 million, eliminates 1 deputy, and cuts 3 people from the department of social services, and did cuts in a 32 departments in the county.

DA Howard rarely  goes to trial and often settles cases to the lowest charge, thus making our community less safe, which should really aggravate anyone in law enforcement!

Also, Susan Howard would have known about the cuts to the Task Force if she had attended the last department’s meeting! This has nothing to do with politics but everything to do with budget cuts!

Jim Salmon

Barre

Editor:

Dirty politics?

Just when you think you’ve seen it all!

So, I’m hearing that the Orleans County Legislature, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to cut all funding to the DA’s office for the Major Felony Crime Task Force. This will eliminate a vital unit of law enforcement.

So I ask: doesn’t it seem awfully coincidental that just two days after the Hub publishes Brett Sobieraski’s announcement to run for sheriff, the Hub then publishes a plan to eliminate the task force? The Major Felony Crime Task Force, which happens to employ Sobieraski? The timing is something to consider.

The task force is a layer of law enforcement that cannot be replaced. It is governed by the District Attorney, who works closely with its members, to ensure air tight convictions. Its members obtain valuable information that is often passed on to other agencies.

You can eliminate the cost, but you cannot put a price on human life and wellbeing. It appears to me that a vital component of law enforcement is being eliminated because of politics!

I have worked with the task force many times. Sacco, Draper and Sobieraski bring nearly 100 years of law enforcement experience to the table.

Ask yourself this question; “Why wouldn’t I want Brett Sobieraski as my sheriff?”

Just when you think that you’ve seen it all!

Thomas O’Hearn, retired lieutenant

Albion Police Department