GENESEE COUNTY/Chad Minuto promoted to chief deputy of criminal investigations

By Mike Pettinella
For Video News Service

All it took was an introduction – literally — for Batavia native Chad Minuto to realize that a career in law enforcement was for him.

“Once I got into high school, that was something that I started to look into, and as soon as I took my first class in college, I knew that was something that I wanted to do,” Minuto said on Wednesday afternoon during an interview about his recent promotion to chief deputy of criminal investigations at the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office.

The name of that first class at Fredonia State College?

Nothing other than “Intro to Criminal Justice.”

Photo by Mike Pettinella

Minuto went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology and criminal justice and, shortly thereafter, he was hired as a deputy, serving at the Genesee County Jail for a couple years before becoming a probation officer.

In 2005, he transitioned to deputy on road patrol and in 2015, he was promoted to investigator.

Ten years later, upon Joseph Graff’s election as Genesee County sheriff, Minuto was selected to take Graff’s place as the head of the agency’s eight-person investigative division.

Actually, Graff and Minuto came up through the ranks together.

“Joe and I started on the same day with the county,” Minuto said. “We had orientation together. He started at Probation in 1999 and I started at the jail in ’99.  He was a probation officer until 2004, so I worked with him the entire time I was at Probation.”

Minuto, 48, said the knowledge gained over 26 years with the sheriff’s office has put him in position to lead an investigative bureau that handles felonies — burglaries, grand larcenies, robberies, assaults and (increasingly) fraud cases.

“Fraud cases are a big part of our day. Unfortunately, fraud is huge right now — elderly fraud, scams, internet fraud,” he said. “And, with phones and cameras, investigations have become way more complex than they were even when I started as an investigator in 2015.”

Minuto said he works closely with his investigative team, reviewing all cases and, if warranted, going to the site of the alleged crime.

“I don’t specifically have to go out to the scene but if it’s a major, major scene, like a homicide or even a fatal motor vehicle accident, sometimes I’ll go out there just to be out there … to evaluate it and see if we need more resources,” he explained.

Despite his experience, Minuto acknowledged he’s constantly learning.

“You think you know it all, you think you’ve seen it all but then something new happens, and some new crime or scam or something comes out,” he said. “I can’t say that I know everything because I don’t.”

What Minuto does know is that he’s investigated a wide variety of crimes, many serious crimes, and oversaw the office’s evidence room for six years as an investigator. Furthermore, he said he’s thankful that Graff is now sheriff “because he was the one who last held this position.”

“So, if I ever need to ask a question, he’s right here,” Minuto said.

A family man and avid runner, Minuto said his personality lends itself to investigative work.

“I’ve always been intrigued about taking a case from the start to the finish,” he said. “I wasn’t that type of guy when I was out on the road that wanted to just hand off a case to someone else. I always wanted to solve the puzzle.

“That’s part of policing, right? I mean, you try to catch the bad guy and you’re trying to figure out pieces to the puzzle. Sometimes it takes a little extra work, but I was always someone who likes doing that and likes that challenge. So, the transition to investigations was something that I’ve always wanted in my career.”

Some people in law enforcement call it a career after 20 or 25 years. Minuto said he’s not ready to turn in his badge anytime soon.

“I really love my job and I can say that this community is one of the best communities to work in,” he offered. “If you work in other … and I don’t want to name other jurisdictions, but if you work in other places, sometimes you’re not always met with that same warm greeting toward police.

“But I really do think that our community in this county does respect law enforcement. You’re always going to have that one percent of people that don’t respect law enforcement. But, for the most part, we get ‘thank yous’ and we get waves when we drive through the neighborhoods. And you can’t say that about all police agencies, even in Western New York.”

Link to related story:

GENESEE COUNTY/Sheriff’s office taps experienced professionals to lead corrections’ staff at new county jail – Video News Service