Frank Parlato
ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. — A jailed Erie County man has filed papers in federal court alleging that Gov. Kathy Hochul had a sexual relationship with Tonawanda Democratic Chairman John Crangle when both worked in the Erie County Clerk’s Office, and that local political figures later retaliated against him after he accused them of corruption.
Hochul is married to former US Attorney for the Western District of NY, William Hochul.
An extramarital affair is not a crime. But the allegation, if substantiated, would place Hochul’s early political career inside the same Tonawanda patronage network that Flynn alleges has protected insiders and punished critics for years.
Flynn made these allegations in court pleadings that no judge has yet tested.
Ryan Flynn, who is a cousin of former Erie County District Attorney John Flynn, filed the allegations in U.S. District Court. He has been held without bail for more than four months on charges that he violated an order of protection by posting what prosecutors describe as a threatening message on social media directed at the former district attorney’s wife.
According to court filings, the evidence supporting the charge consists of a screenshot of an anonymous social media post from an account not registered to Flynn. Prosecutors have not publicly presented IP address data, device records, or metadata linking the account to him.
The case rests, for now, on a screenshot.
The Hochul Allegation
Flynn’s filing cites a recorded conversation with Dennis Crangle, brother of John Crangle, in which Dennis states that his brother and Hochul were intimate while both worked in the Erie County Clerk’s Office. Hochul served as Erie County Clerk in the late 2000s. John Crangle was her deputy.
The allegation now sits in a federal docket.
The Governor’s office did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
The allegation, if true, would connect Hochul’s political rise to the same Tonawanda Democratic network that Flynn alleges has been trading favors, controlling prosecutorial decisions, and retaliating against whistleblowers for years.
Those claims have not been independently verified.
How Flynn Ended Up in Jail
In April 2025, Ryan Flynn filed a police report accusing his cousin, former DA John Flynn, of sexually molesting him when Ryan was ten years old and John Flynn was in his late twenties.
Months later, Ryan Flynn was arrested and held without bail.
He was charged with violating an order of protection through the anonymous social media post.
Four court-appointed attorneys have cycled through his case. He remains untried.
The DA’s Record
The filing also raises questions about what it characterizes as selective prosecution during former District Attorney John Flynn’s tenure.
Flynn built his public profile on victim advocacy, declaring “I stand with the child” in a press conference charging political rival Steve Pigeon with sexual assault of a teenager and seeking life imprisonment. After this publication reported evidence that the accuser’s account contained significant falsehoods, Flynn offered Pigeon a misdemeanor plea of eight months. Pigeon accepted.
When more than 900 clergy abuse victims came forward in the Buffalo diocese scandal, Flynn did not prosecute a single priest.
His uncle Ed Cosgrove was the attorney for the Diocese.
When his own cousin accused him of childhood sexual abuse, the accuser was jailed on unrelated charges.
Evidence Tampering Claims
In court filings, Ryan Flynn alleges that police altered text messages submitted as evidence, adding language to make them appear more threatening.
He further claims that a motion he filed challenging the evidence was destroyed by the court. Those allegations have not been independently verified.
The Crangle Network
Dennis Crangle’s recorded statements describe his brother John as a kingmaker in Erie County Democratic politics. He says John Crangle was instrumental in securing the DA endorsement for John Flynn, and that the two “exchanged political favors” for years.
Such claims remain allegations.
Dennis Crangle described his brother and the former DA as so powerful that locals “used to call them the Kennedys of Tonawanda.”
A local dynasty, at least in reputation.
What Remains Unverified
People who know Dennis Crangle have listened to the recording and state unequivocally that it is his voice. No forensic authentication has been conducted.
The sexual abuse allegation against former DA John Flynn has not been investigated or adjudicated.
No outside investigation — federal, state, or judicial — has been initiated.
Ryan Flynn remains in jail.
Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist, media strategist, publisher, and legal consultant.
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John Flynn is trying to silence his nephew Ryan and it is backfiring. I don’t know if John molested Ryan. Maybe he did. More likely i would say he didn’t. Knowing the family. But John Flynn’s handling of Pigeon was corrupt. It was vendetta plus headlines. The big stuttering showboater is an evil clown. Nothing about him is good or thoughtful. He does not understand the word justice. He only knows to use it when he wants to justify his selfish ambition. Not a good man. Glad he no district attorney any more.
Why does everything always go back to Steve Pigeon?
Unlike Pigeon, who has the morals of an alley cat, Crangle is completly the opposite. And the girl was not a ‘teenager,’ as your story states. She was “under the age of 11,” according to the Buffalo News report.
Problem for you, Frank, is that the incredibly misleading nature of your reports on Ryan pretty much make your other stories questionable.
What happened to the Frank Parlato who seemed to have a conscience when he wrote about his ride alongs with the ‘ladies of the evening,’ way back when – before he joined the Pigeon crowd.
Pigeon was railroaded by Flynn. After years of investigations they found nothing because there was nothing to find. One minute Flynn tells the public rape was committed (absent a trial) and the next he makes the offer of a lifetime- one year in prison. He’s got the lowest level sex offender which confirms he’s no risk to society- because he never was a risk to society. This was political payback and likely projection of Flynn’s own misdeeds.
Pretrial detention based on a screenshot from an anonymous account is dystopian. If the state can jail you without proving you even authored the post, none of us are safe. This should be front-page news beyond local politics.
Whether the Hochul allegation is true or not, the bigger story is the Tonawanda patronage machine. These county political networks operate like fiefdoms. Insiders rise, critics get crushed. This case reads like another chapter in that long, ugly history.
Disgruntled GOPer, whining for the lose of power in Tonawanda. Your party is done, pal, and as more people move into town, the more unlikely a rebound could occur. Not to mention the horrible condition the GOP left the town, when the Dems took over. Sewage backing up in people’s basements. Parks is awful shape. Key intersections a total mess. Bloated town board with far too many perks. And on and on and on.
An alleged affair from decades ago, filtered through a brother’s recorded gossip, is being used to smear a sitting governor. If there’s proof, present it. If not, this feels like character assassination.
Held without bail for four months based on an anonymous screenshot with no IP data? That should terrify anyone who believes in civil liberties. Even if Flynn is wrong about everything else, pretrial detention on that “evidence” alone is a scandal.
Whatever happen to the courts concern for Ryan’s mental health? Is that why he still remains in limbo without hearing in violation of due process?
They need to release Ryan Flynn. All his rights have been violated. There’s no evidence he violated a protective order. That was fine as a favor to Flynn to shut Ryan up.