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Sunday, July 13, 2014

BY SCOTT LEFFLER
scott.leffler@eastniagarapost.com


Republican State Sen. George Maziarz will not seek re-election, according to multiple sources in Western New York Political circles.

Maziarz, 61, has represented the East Niagara area in the state Senate since 1995 and had recently filed petitions to seek re-election. He will, however, decline the nomination of those petitions and North Tonawanda Mayor Robert Ortt will be named in his place, sources say.

There have been many rumors concerning Maziarz since Friday when it was announced that two of Maziarz' top aides had resigned.

Nick Forster, chairman of the Niagara County Democratic Party, called for an investigation into the senator over those resignations on the party's website.

“This week we learned Maziarz's Chief of Staff Alisa Colatarci and Office Manager Marcus Hall both resigned. Given the U.S. Justice Department’s increased focus on public corruption in Albany, if there are reports of senior staff members resigning it should raise some eyebrows,” the post claimed.

This evening, Forster said that "something catastrophic has occurred within the Maziarz political machine."

"What I do know is that the Moreland Commission named George Maziarz as one of the biggest abusers of campaign finance," Forster said, adding the speculation of Maziarz not seeking re-election is "a culmination of an ongoing corruption campaign."

A City & State article in May said that Maziarz spent more than $140,000 of campaign funds between 2008 and 2013 without specifying what the funds were spent on.

Maziarz told East Niagara Post at the time that "the Moreland Commission never asked me for any information, made any inquiries to my office or raised any issue with my campaign. We have followed all campaign laws, reported all expenditures and have always been very transparent."

Forster added, "I'm also being told that there's numerous subpoenas that are going to be delivered ... if they haven't already."

Gia Arnold, who filed petitions to run against Maziarz on the Republican and Conservative lines said the senator was at a rally in Albion on Saturday, campaigning as normal.

"He was there yesterday and he spoke about the Constitution and about himself," she said, but added that she'd also heard rumors of him not running.

"I've heard that it's not going to be a resignation. That he's going to decline the nomination for the petition," she said. Adding that North Tonawanda Mayor Bob Ortt will get the Republican nomination to the seat instead.

Niagara County Legislature Chairman Bill Ross also said Saturday was business as usual for Maziarz.

"It was a very ordinary day at the Veteran's Monument Saturday morning in N.T.," Ross said.

Former Somerset Justice Jeff Wick said Colatarci and Hall's resignation letters were damning to Maziarz.

"In their statement, they denounce him," he said by phone this morning. "They not only denounced him, but also said they were going to turn over evidence."

Wick said that he'd seen the statements but did not have them on hand.

"He's made a lot of enemies over the past 18 years and its finally coming back to haunt him," Wick said.

Attempts to reach Maziarz and Ortt have so far not been fruitful.



RELATED: Arnold says she deserves shot at Maziarz' nominations.

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