Peter Cutler cover-up in October, & Again?
March 2nd, 2006

Mayor Byron Brown’s Communications Director Peter Cutler isn't talking. And few are asking him some very important questions.

Exposure on Tuesday by Channel 2’s Stefan Mychajliw of Cutler’s 3:30 AM arrest last October 15 hiding in a backyard on the devastated 400 block of Breckenridge should be shocking front-page news.

Cutler fled from his 3 AM collision with a motorcyclist downtown at Delaware & Tupper, as the biker tailed him around the West Side repeatedly calling 911 on his cellphone. Cutler crashed & stalled his car on devastated Massachusetts & Winter, then ran 4 blocks until caught in the backyard.

Cutler was allegedly “scared” of the angry biker.

But why he would head for a high crime neighborhood far from the scene of the accident rather than to one of two very nearby downtown police stations?

Nor has the lack of a breathalyser test as he was booked at Holding Center been explained. How many folks are downtown that late on a Saturday night & not drinking?

Then the unanswered questions get even harder.

How long was Cutler is jail?

Who was the presiding judge & Assistant DA who magically pled the case away merely 3 days after a serious crime resulting in injuries preventing the biker’s return to work 4 1/2 months later?

Why is the media so silent on such an important “ethics & accountability” issue involving a top official in the new Brown administration?

This is front page news! But the Buffalo News has not even put the story on their website, as City Hall reporter Brian Meyer wrote a watered-down version of Channel 2’s expose’. He sounded like he was not covering a very important story in depth because of problems getting Byron-Brown-news from an upset Cutler down the pike.

This story is on the heels of the front page News story, & cover-up by DA Frank J. Clark about Steve Casey’s alleged incredible “100 hour workweeks” to collect full NYS Senate pay while running Byron Brown’s campaign.

And there is the incredible vanishing David Dale story in Sloan, also covered-up by Clark.

All the local media seems unwilling to address the obvious. DA Frank J. Clark III runs a protection racket for the politically connected.

To (partially) quote the Mayor: (Clark repeatedly) "discredits our legal process".

I know because I was forced to move out of Buffalo by Clark after four years of relentless prosecutions for exposing crimes of one of Clark’s sociopath-friends, who went on to run for Mayor & now is the only Masiello-appointee remaining on the BMHA Board.

MORE TO COME

Dick Kern (in Mpls)


COPY:
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial...01/1008223.asp

Hit-and-run case expedited for Cutler

By BRIAN MEYER
News Staff Reporter
3/1/2006

Mayor Byron W. Brown’s communications chief rear-ended a motorcyclist two months before his appointment, fleeing the scene on the grounds that he felt threatened by the victim, his attorney said Tuesday.Peter K. Cutler was charged with leaving the scene of the Oct. 15 accident and an obstruction charge, a misdemeanor. Three days later, a plea agreement was reached that allowed Cutler to plead guilty to a violation of disorderly conduct.

The lawyer for the motorcyclist claimed Cutler was given too much leniency. Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark said the case moved through the system faster than it should have, but Clark defended the outcome.

“We took a plea on arraignment, which is contrary to our policy,” said Clark. “[The assistant district attorney] should have waited. But I’m not saying the plea was inappropriate.”

Clark said the staffer who handled the case was a young attorney with limited experience. He denied that Cutler’s prominence influenced the outcome, claiming the prosecutor didn’t even know who he was.

Cutler spent three years as communications director to Mayor Anthony M. Masiello. He did some volunteer work for Brown during the mayoral campaign last fall, and was named Brown’s $79,243-a-year communications director Jan. 1.

The accident occurred at 3:30 a.m. at Tupper Street and Delaware Avenue. A police report indicates Cutler struck a motorcycle driven by Keith A. Borders of the Town of Tonawanda. Cutler’s attorney, Roger P. Doyle Jr., said Cutler fled the scene because he was afraid of physical harm.

“The motorcyclist was very agitated, to say the least,” said Doyle. “Peter had a legitimate concern for his safety.”

Police said Borders followed Cutler’s car to the West Side, where Cutler crashed into a bus sign. Cutler fled on foot after his car stalled. Doyle said a police officer then ordered Cutler to stop, and apprehended him. He said Cutler was unsure who was chasing him.

“It was a huge relief when he found out it was the police,” Doyle said.

James A. Partacz, Borders’ attorney, said his client suffered extensive disk damage and has back pain. He said Borders, a mechanic, has been unable to work since the accident and intends to file a civil suit. Partacz said Borders feels he has been denied his “day in court.”

“I’ve been practicing for 25 years, and I’ve never seen a plea like this,” said Partacz.

Doyle disagreed, claiming such cases are common.

There is no evidence that alcohol was involved in the accident, but Partacz said Cutler was never given a Breathalyzer test.

Brown said Cutler informed him about the accident in December, shortly before Cutler accepted his new post. Brown said he believes the issue was properly resolved. He defended Cutler as a man known for his “fairness and forthrightness.”

“That this matter is now being publicized, suggesting that he was given preferential treatment, is unfair to Peter,” Brown said in written statement. “That is false and discredits our legal process.”
e-mail: bmeyer@buffnews.com