Dante Richardson healing

Donte Richardson is healing at Erie County Medical Center. He spoke to the Niagara Express by phone this morning from his hospital bed in the ICU after surgery to remove two bullets.

The Niagara Falls resident and former Republican candidate for Niagara County Legislature said he was fired Saturday from Buffalo Biodiesel, where he was the only Black executive and was working as director of growth and partnerships.

Richardson said Nick D’Angelo, a disbarred convicted sex offender formerly associated with the Niagara Reporter and allegedly now running the Niagara Action Website, is associated with Buffalo Biodiesel doing contracts and paralegal work as an independent contractor based out of an office at the concern’s Court Street headquarters in Buffalo.

“As soon as I knew he was working there,” Richardson told the Express, “me and him had words.”

Richardson said he met last Friday with Bonnie Lawrence, Erie County deputy commissioner of environment and planning about a proposal for municipalities to facilitate waste oil collection. Buffalo Biodiesel collects used cooking oil from restaurants and recycles it into fuel.

Richardson said he was told after the meeting with Lawrence he was unqualified to be having such discussions. On Saturday he was fired. On Sunday he was shot.

Richardson said last week he was told Buffalo Biodiesel was trying to get rid of him. He said he videoed Buffalo Biodiesel’s Human Resources director who also was recently dismissed, telling him he was on shaky ground.

Niagara Action has posted multiple unflattering Facebook statuses about Richardson since the shooting, focusing on his run for county legislature as well as a conviction for armed robbery from when he was a teenager. One, with his identification included, preceded the public release of information about the shooting which at first did not include the name of the victim.

Richardson said he is being represented by Michael Collesano, an attorney who also has made the Niagara Action page over money matters in New York City.

Two women were in the car with him at the time of the shooting. He chose not to name them for the Express, but after he was shot and his leg went numb, Richardson said they briefly pulled over. The woman in the passenger seat climbed across the console and operated the pedals as they drove across Grand Island to Niagara Falls Memorial after calling 911.

The reason for driving to Memorial was that’s where she knew to go.

Upon arrival at Memorial, Richardson said the car was surrounded by Niagara Falls police who seemed unconcerned about his health. One officer, assumed to be Scott Bax, said “you know my wife.”

Richardson said he immediately asked where Wyatt Earp was. Earp, just before the last election, sent an email that alleged numerous uniformed officers have been gaming the system to pad overtime and fatten pensions.

“I’m going to Houston to heal up,” Richardson said. “I can’t play with these dudes. I might talk shit but I don’t want to die. They shot me on the highway. There are cameras on the highway.

“I talked to police and I told them it was Nick and Buffalo Biodiesel. How can they say I am not cooperating with police?”

Richardson called Buffalo Biodiesel toxic and corrupt.

Richardson was ordering breakfast from his hospital bed and cut the conversation with the Express short when staff came to try and get him moving. He said a bullet passed through the door of his Malibu, entered his hip and lodged near his spine. He will need to relearn how to use his left leg. A third bullet went through his leg.

“I know we had our odds or whatever the case may be,” Richardson said of Buffalo Biodiesel and D'Angelo, “but I’m not trying to die over this. This is the first time I’ve been this messed up.”