EX-CHIEF OF POLICE IN ALBION ADMITS THEFT

James Proietty Faces Up To 18 Months In Prison; He Took $25,500 To $48,000

ALBION, N.Y. (Jan. 20, 2000) - Former Albion Police Chief James Proietty
will likely face more than a year in prison when he is sentenced this year
on a theft charge.

Proietty, 40, was to go on trial this week in a federal court in Buffalo
for allegedly stealing $25,500 from a village fund used for drug
investigations. Instead, he pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of theft
from a local government receiving federal funding.

"It was an abuse of trust," said U.S. Attorney Denise O'Donnell.

Between 1994 and May 1998, Proietty allegedly took more than $48,000 from a
village account. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Campana said the chief would
go to the village clerk and withdraw money from a village account
supposedly for use by the Orleans County Drug Task Force. But instead,
Campana said, Proietty kept the money.

Village Mayor Edward Salvatore started questioning the withdrawals. When
Proietty could not explain them, Campana said, the FBI and Orleans County
Sheriff's Department began investigating.

Proietty was suspended from his job in June 1998 and fired two months later.

Although investigators believe he took $48,000, the federal indictment was
for the theft of $25,500 stolen between January 1997 and May 1998; during
that period, the village Police Department was getting enough federal
funding to make Proietty's theft qualify as a federal offense.

Probation officers will do a pre-sentence investigation into how much money
was taken. The dollar amount will help determine which federal sentencing
guideline applies, Campana said.

But Proietty likely is looking at anywhere from 10 to 18 months in a
federal prison.

Campana said the Justice Department will make its recommendation for a
sentence based on what the pre-sentence investigation turns up.

The former top cop has been living in South Carolina since early last year.
He remains free on his own recognizance pending the April 26 sentencing in
federal court.

Proietty is divorced, Campana said.

Yesterday, Proietty told U.S. Judge Richard Arcana that he took the money
because child-support payments ate up a substantial portion of his
take-home pay.

Proietty could not be reached for comment.