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Kevin Riford
Reporting Local Corruption
In 2019, my family and I began visiting the Buffalo, NY FBI Field Office to report serious misconduct. Our initial concern involved two U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents who were moonlighting as private investigators for Peter Vito. These “private investigators” were being used to harass my sister, Katie Riford, during her ongoing family court proceedings.
Later, we returned to the same field office to report what we believed to be corruption within the Niagara County Family Court system. Each time we visited — five times in total — we were allowed in by security and escorted to the second floor, where we met exclusively with FBI Special Agent Brian A. Burns.
But instead of action, we were met with troubling behavior. In 2019, I formally reported Agent Burns for nefarious and inappropriate statements he made during those interactions — statements that were concerning enough to be noted by WIVB News 4 reporter Dan Telvock. Although Telvock acknowledged hearing some of what was said, he ultimately chose not to include the FBI’s involvement in his reporting about our missing family members.
Other Accusations Against Brian Burns
As we looked deeper into Agent Burns, we discovered our family wasn’t the only one raising concerns.
In 2016, Artvoice published an article documenting alarming conduct by Burns in a separate case involving attorney-client communications. According to the article, Burns told an attorney he could not represent his client, claiming the attorney would be called as a witness — a move that raised ethical red flags.
The article continues:
“This suggests that there have been prior communications with the Court about this issue, without any notice to me or my client… Special Agent Burns showed me a copy of an email which I had forwarded to my client several years ago. Mr. Burns gleefully indicated that he had seized all my client’s emails, even though my client has never been served with a warrant.”
These allegations suggest possible witness tampering, unlawful search and seizure, and abuse of power — all involving a sitting FBI agent.
(Source: Artvoice – “Judge Piethttps://artvoice.com/2016/09/judge-pietruszka-role-assigning-counsel-witness-fbi-tried-flip-pigeon/ruszka had role in assigning counsel to witness FBI tried to flip against Pigeon”)
A History That Goes Further Back
The accusations against Brian Burns don’t begin in Buffalo.
Before transferring to New York, Burns served as an FBI agent in Tennessee, where his name surfaced again in connection with questionable conduct during a major corruption investigation known as the “Waltz” sting.
A 2007 article from Tennessee’s ActionNews5 described troubling behavior involving Tim Willis, a convicted felon turned FBI informant. Burns admitted under questioning that Willis:
- Had not signed the Attorney General’s standard informant guidelines (which prohibit criminal activity)
- Smoked marijuana with an elected official while working as an informant
- Was paid thousands of dollars monthly even after the investigation concluded
- Used FBI office space to film his personal movie project, Street Life, without the agency’s knowledge
Burns told the court that the FBI didn’t learn about Willis’s use of their E-Cycle office as a movie set until after seeing it on the news.
(Source: ActionNews5 – “FBI Agent says bureau didn’t know about Tim Willis side project during Waltz”)
Why is FBI Agent Brian Burns Still in Power?
From questionable statements in Buffalo, to allegations of witness tampering, to a long history of controversial conduct in Tennessee — FBI Special Agent Brian A. Burns has left behind a trail of serious accusations.
So the question remains:
Why is he still holding a position of power?
How many more families or individuals have raised concerns that never saw the light of day?
Until there is real accountability, we will keep asking.