The Buffalo News, N.Y.
(TNS)
For nearly a century, the Sheridan Park Volunteer Fire Company has raised money from the community to support its operations in the Town of Tonawanda.
Now, the company fears, much − if not all − of that money is gone.
Sheridan Park officers reported their findings to town police and authorities are now looking into whether a theft took place, according to police, prosecutors and the fire company.
“Based on our accounting, the missing funds, regretfully, are those raised through various fund drives and fundraising events over 96 years,” the company said in a statement to The Buffalo News.
Town of Tonawanda police have asked FBI financial-crimes experts to take on the case.
“On Jan. 22, 2025, we began investigating the theft of funds from the Sheridan Park Volunteer Fire Company,” Police Chief James Stauffiger said. “Due to the complexity of the case, we transferred it to the FBI’s white-collar crime investigators at the Buffalo field office around Jan. 27.”
This isn’t unusual, given that federal law-enforcement agencies have greater experience and more personnel available to investigate suspected financial improprieties, said Candace Vogel, a retired longtime fraud prosecutor with the Erie County District Attorney’s Office. Vogel said the value of the loss is one factor in whether federal agents will take up the probe.
“I mean, if it’s $500, it’s not going to be a federal issue,” she said. “The old expression, ‘that’s not a federal case,’ right? Not that they couldn’t do it. But they probably are not going to be interested in it.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Buffalo told The News it doesn’t confirm or deny the existence of investigations.
Tonawanda police, the DA’s office and the fire company all declined to say how much of the organization’s money can’t be accounted for.
The Sheridan Park Volunteer Fire Company had nearly $342,000 in savings at the end of 2023, according to its most recent publicly available IRS filing.
Authorities have released little information about the situation, including how company members came to suspect that money had gone missing.
Town of Tonawanda police said they received a walk-in complaint on Jan. 22. The department rejected a Freedom of Information Law request for the report because of the ongoing investigation.
Kait Munro, a spokesperson for Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane, provided a brief statement in response to questions from The News.
“Our office is investigating a complaint involving a reported theft from the Sheridan Park Fire Company,” Munro said.
Ultimately, Vogel said, prosecutors will sort out what charges, if any, best apply and where it makes the most sense to prosecute the case.
“Federal court’s going to handle larger cases than we do,” she said of local, county and state courts. “But for the most part it has to do with where you get the biggest bang for your buck. And that’s going to depend on who has the tools to work on it.”
The reported theft raises the questions of whether it involved the tax revenue received by the Sheridan Park Fire District or whether it could compromise the company’s firefighting capabilities.
The company sought to allay those concerns in its statement.
“We want to [assure] the public that none of the money was tax dollars,” Sheridan Park said. “Please know that this has not, and will not, impact our ability to serve our district and community to combat fires and respond to emergencies.”
Paul Palistrant, the fire company’s president, declined additional comment after providing the statement to The News early Wednesday evening.
The News initially contacted Palistrant on Tuesday and he agreed to speak with a reporter on Wednesday morning before he canceled the interview. He later spoke to WIVB-TV.
Sheridan Park is both a volunteer fire company and a fire district, said Robert Lutz, the town’s emergency services coordinator.
The fire district is a political subdivision that brings in property tax revenue used to pay for the company’s fire trucks, equipment, turnout gear, insurance, the maintenance and utilities at its hall and other fire protection expenses, Lutz said.
Fire districts in New York are overseen by the State Comptroller’s Office. Their finances are subject to annual review, he said, and they are governed by an elected board of fire commissioners.
The Comptroller’s Office has not audited the Sheridan Park Fire District in the past 25 years, a spokesperson said.
Fire districts like Sheridan Park in Tonawanda detail their spending in budgets submitted each year to the town.
The Sheridan Park Fire District planned to spend just over $1 million on fire services in 2025, according to its budget on the town website, with $905,000 covered by property taxes and $108,000 through a fire protection contract.
This revenue is kept separate from money raised by the volunteer fire company, essentially the district’s fire department, which operates as a nonprofit, Lutz said.
Fire companies raise money from fish fries, chicken barbecue dinners, raffles, fire hall rentals and other sources, he said.
This money is used to cover department expenses that aren’t directly related to fire protection, Lutz said, such as social activities or printing T-shirts for members and their families.
The nonprofit Sheridan Park Volunteer Fire Company took in $105,000 in revenue in 2023 and had $73,000 in expenses, leaving the organization with $342,000 at the end of 2023, according to the company’s financial disclosure form filed in November.
“That’s money that the members take in to support the social side of the department,” Lutz said. “So, fire districts, you know, can’t go out and just host a party. But the fire company can use their fundraising to say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have a big Christmas party.’ “
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