Buffalo Radio: Talk Host's Behavior Raises Concerns

Tom Bauerle

Police responded to a 911 call early Wednesday morning last week at the Williamsville, NY home of WBEN 930 AM talk show host Tom Bauerle, who told officers he was under surveillance by operatives of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

According to buffalonews.com, two police sources, who did not want to be identified because officials have not released reports on the incident, said officers took a licensed, loaded, semi-automatic handgun from Bauerle when they encountered him in his backyard as he claimed a suspicious person was spying on him.

The two sources also said the radio host personally summoned police and then consented to a voluntary psychiatric evaluation later that day at Erie County Medical Center after police contacted Crisis Services about their concerns.

No charges have been filed against Bauerle. He did not return phone calls. WBEN managers have had no comment.  But officers and neighbors told The Buffalo News they have become concerned about Bauerle’s behavior.

Three neighbors said a neighborhood meeting was held recently so that Bauerle could talk about his fears about surveillance around his home, but they described his fears about the surveillance as “quirky” and “made you scratch your head.”

Bauerle’s fears and suspicions about surveillance occur at a time when he has been on the air, criticizing the governor for sponsoring the new gun control laws in New York State and accusing Cuomo of seeking retribution.

Amherst police have been dispatched to Bauerle’s home numerous times in recent weeks, two police sources said. One source counted 13 times since Nov. 18.

Bauerle, 50, was absent from the airwaves on Wednesday and Thursday, when he regularly hosts a talk show from 3 to 7 p.m. But he returned on Friday afternoon and explained his absence stemmed from hitting a “physical wall of exhaustion.”

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