Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It has been nearly a full month since work at the new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park was temporarily halted after graffiti - described as pornographic and homophobic - was discovered inside portions of the stadium slated to open this summer.
While WBEN learned that, at least, two union workers were fired and removed from the union as part of the investigation done by the Erie County Sheriff's Office, no arrests have been made and no charges have come from the Erie County District Attorney's Office.
While many questions remain surrounding the circumstances of the incident, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz admits he's got bigger fish to fry, at this point.
"I'm truthfully focused on so many other things. I don't really care about it at this point. I've got more important things that are going on in the community," said Poloncarz on Wednesday when asked about the latest on the investigation. "If Gilbane | Turner finds the individuals and penalizes them, so be it. But for me, there's more important things, like just getting some of the work done that we need to for our community."
At this point, Poloncarz understands it won't be easy for the Sheriff's Office or the District Attorney's Office to determine if there's enough evidence to charge any individuals with a crime.
"They may have an idea who did it, but if they have no evidence other than circumstantial evidence, somebody said, 'I think it's Joe Smith,' I'm not in the position to determine whether that's enough evidence to charge an individual," Poloncarz said. "I've been told that if they had sufficient evidence, they would charge an individual. I've also been told if the individuals were determined to be whoever they were, they were going to be thrown out of the union, which is serious. That is talking about significant income loss for those individuals over the life of their career, which should happen as a result of the the issue. But I really can't add any more than that."
Poloncarz does confirm that none of the imagery that was depicted as part of the vandalism was anti-Semitic or racially indecent.
"It was pornographic, and there was, what you could argue, is [homophobic], in which they were basically outing an individual. That, in itself, is significant enough to rise to a level of a hate crime," Poloncarz noted. "There was initial reports of a swastika, they came back and my understanding is with this, there wasn't. But it was pornographic."
As a result of the damage, there was work to certain parts of the stadium that had to be redone, which Poloncarz says shouldn't have happened.
"It was stupid, it was juvenile, but it was also criminal. That's why I've said the people need to be held responsible, if they can determine who they are," he said. "I'm not on the site every day. I saw pictures of it, I've seen pictures on the walls, but if somebody said, 'Mark, where in the stadium that occurred?' I couldn't tell you, other than it was damage that had to be replaced because it affected something that was permanent and it was not cleanable."
While Poloncarz, the unions and other workers on site wish this had never happened, everyone is moving forward with the goal of completing the project on time.
"The unions moved ahead, the jobs are going, the people are doing the work. We're going to be opening that facility before football season, whether it's late June or July. It's going to be coming in that timeline, and it'll be just a blip on the radar when all is said and done," Poloncarz added.
Related
