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Riford Media
Is Niagara County Participating in Human Trafficking? – Part 1
The Katie Riford Backstory
In 2018, a family court proceeding was initiated against Katie Riford by her ex-boyfriend, Peter Diarbakerly. The two had maintained a long-distance relationship: Katie lived at her family home in North Tonawanda, Niagara County, New York, while Peter resided in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
The proceeding concerned custody of two children, Olivia Riford Diarbakerly and Mason Riford. Both children had lived their entire lives at Katie’s residence in Niagara County. By most conventional standards, the odds favored Katie retaining custody, as the children’s father visited only once per year.
What followed, however, was anything but conventional.
The Diarbakerly family hired a private investigative firm—Peter M. Vito Associates—which engaged in a campaign of harassment and intimidation against Katie and her family during the pendency of the family court proceedings, including during visitation periods. Kate Riford would go into hiding with her two children and would be found years later in New Mexico. An amber alert was never issued, the Niagara County Sheriff’s never went to the media, etc. You can read about that in our other articles.
This article does not attempt to relitigate the family court case itself. Instead, it raises a broader and more troubling question: Is Niagara County participating in, enabling, or turning a blind eye to human trafficking and related misconduct?
However, if you are interested, we did find a website named misplacedpower.org which contains a lot of good information regarding the Riford’s story. Additionally, there is an archived link we found: https://web.archive.org/web/20250407180833/https://misplacedpower.org/
To explore that question, we must examine several key individuals connected to this case.
The past history of Niagara County
I’ve lived in Niagara County – specifically Wheatfield for the entirety of my lifetime. Unfortunately, I did not know about the horrible things which occur in Niagara County. From human trafficking to drug trafficking. I was shocked to learn to these things occur. I was even more shocked to learn that both police and judges were involved – that’s according to the numerous news articles I’ve read.
http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/303866.html
source: https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/buffalo/press-releases/2010/bffo011410.htm
Peter M. Vito – Niagara County Resident
Peter M. Vito Associates is owned by Peter M. Vito. While the business is registered in Buffalo, New York, Peter Vito resides in Wilson, New York—within Niagara County.
Peter M. Vito has been the subject of extensive media coverage and controversy, which has already been documented by this publication and others. For background, see the following articles:
https://niagarafallsreporter.com/Stories/2013/Sep3/countytodefend.html
Patrick Ostrowski – Peter M. Vito Employee
Katie Riford and her family later learned that one of the private investigators involved in harassing them was Patrick Ostrowski. Ostrowski maintained racist content on his Facebook page at the time which was reported to the FBI, specifically FBI Agent Brian A. Burns.
Patrick Ostrowski was a full-time employee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, while also working for Peter M. Vito Associates.
Subsequently, another Niagara County resident and relative of Patrick Ostrowski, Matthew Ostrowski (age 49), was arrested and charged with child pornography offenses.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdny/pr/north-tonawanda-man-charged-possession-child-pornography
Additionally, the Riford family later learned that during the custody proceedings, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office employed Todd Ostrowski, another relative of Patrick Ostrowski.
Niagara County Family Court Judge – Erin “O’Brien” Delabio
The Niagara County Family Court judge assigned to Katie Riford’s case was Erin Delabio, also known as Erin O’Brien.
Katie Riford and her family have alleged that Judge Delabio acted corruptly during the proceedings. At a later date, Judge Delabio’s brother, Brian O’Brien, was arrested and charged in connection with child pornography offenses.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdny/pr/east-aurora-man-arrested-charged-attempted-enticement-minor
https://www.wivb.com/news/crime/east-aurora-man-admits-to-receipt-of-child-pornography
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-courts/article_7b4b550e-d790-4e72-a772-4f886d6502f2.html
FBI Special Agent – Brian A. Burns
Due to the alleged harassment and perceived corruption surrounding the case, the Riford family reported their concerns to the Buffalo FBI Field Office and met specifically with FBI Special Agent Brian A. Burns about 5-6 times inside the Buffalo Field Office.
The Riford’s later discovered that Special Agent Brian A. Burns has deep familial roots in Niagara County. Public records reportedly show that Jason Burns, identified as a relative of Brian A. Burns, made a $1,000 campaign contribution to Judge Erin Delabio.
Upon further discovery, Jason Burns is an employee of Niagara County, working as a correction officer at the Niagara County Jail. Jason’s brother, Robert ‘Bob’ Burns owns every Tim Horton’s in Niagara County which we have covered in a separate article.
Niagara County and Former Congressman Brian Higgins
Brian Higgins served as a U.S. Representative from 2005 to 2024, representing New York’s 26th (formerly 27th) Congressional District, which includes Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and surrounding areas in Erie and Niagara Counties.
At first glance, Higgins’ relevance to this story may not be obvious. That changed after this publication received a tip alleging that Brian Higgins appeared on the Jeffrey Epstein flight logs, alongside several other individuals – including the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office which has routinely harassed the Riford’s.
A subsequent Facebook search revealed multiple photos of Brian Higgins with Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti. Of course, we assume that these interactions were purely professional and focused on public safety. Thank you for the tipster who included the link to the file which shows Brian Higgins on the Epstein list. We would have never known without your tip.
We’re left wondering if Mr. Higgins has ever visited Jeffrey Epstein’s New Mexico Zorro Ranch? Mr. Higgins sure does give out A LOT of FEDERAL funding. Sometimes we wonder if there’s a difference between the words funding and bribe.
This concludes part one of Is Niagara County Participating in Human Trafficking? – Part 1. Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3. Thanks for reading.