Independent
Review Board
Independent Review Board Members
Honorable Salvatore R. Martoche (Chairman)
Retired Justice of the NYS Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Rose F. Buscaglia, LCSW-R
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Lee Coppola
Former dean of St. Bonaventure University and former assistant U.S. Attorney
John F. Coyne, M.D.
Former priest, local pediatrician, graduate of University of Buffalo’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Amy Habib
Prominent leader in the WNY community, having served on numerous boards and institutions
Sister Anne Marie Jablonicky, CSSF
National Board Certified Counselor and NYS certified school psychologist
Alfred F. Luhr, III
Retired Senior Vice-President and regional market manager Business and Professional Banking Department at M&T Bank
Nancy H. Nielsen, M.D., Ph.D.
Senior Associate Dean for Health Policy and a Clinical Professor at University of Buffalo at Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Studies
Rev. Richard (“Duke”) E. Zajac
Chaplain, Sisters of Charity Hospital
Biographies of the Independent Review Board Members
Honorable Salvatore R. Martoche (Chairman) is a retired justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division. A graduate of Canisius College and the University of North Dakota School of Law, Martoche has had a long and distinguished career as an attorney in private practice, in the public sector and as a judge. He served as assistant counsel to the majority for the New York State Senate early in his career. One of the cases from his early days as an attorney became the basis for the movie “Hide in Plain Sight.” He served as United States Attorney for the Western District of New York from 1982-1986 and as a member and them chairman of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. He was also Assistant Secretary of Labor (Enforcement) from 1986-1988 and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury from 1988-1989. He was also the Acting Director for the Office of Thrift Supervision. Upon his return to the private sector in 1990, he entered private practice while also serving as a Commissioner on the NYS Commission of Investigation, which investigated charges of public corruption in New York State. He was elected to the New York State Supreme Court in 2000 and elevated to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department in 2004, where he served until his retirement from the bench in 2013. His career culminated with his service at Hodgson Russ LLP as the head of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice until his retirement in 2018.
Rose F. Buscaglia, LCSW-R is a licensed Clinical Social Worker practicing in Buffalo, New York. She has over 32 years of diverse experience, including group therapy and individual therapy. She has significant experience in the treatment of both victims and perpetrators of sexual abuse. Ms. Buscaglia also cooperates with doctors and physicians in medical groups including Catholic Charities of Buffalo.
Lee Coppola, former dean of St. Bonaventure University’s journalism school, was a newspaper reporter, an investigative television reporter and an assistant U.S. Attorney before taking his position at St. Bonaventure. As an assistant U.S. Attorney, he investigated and prosecuted a number of high profile criminal cases for the government. Coppola is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and the State University of New York at Buffalo’s School of Law.
John F. Coyne, M.D. was an ordained Catholic priest before deciding to change his vocation and study medicine. The local pediatrician is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and currently works for Catholic Health. He has long been regarded as a strong advocate for victims of child abuse and has worked closely with the Erie County district attorney’s office as an expert witness in the prosecution of child abuse cases.
Amy Habib is a prominent and long-time leader in the Western New York community. She was for many years a successful business executive and before that a teacher. She is a community leader frequently called on to exert her considerable energy and talent for the benefit of community and philanthropic institutions too numerous to mention. The highlights of her service include both the Board of Trustees and the Board of regents of Canisius College, her alma mater. She also served with distinction on the Bishop’s Council of the laity, the Catholic Schools Board of Education, the catholic Charities Foundation, the National Conference for Community and Justice, and the Buffalo Philharmonic. Ms. Habib holds an honorary degree from Canisius College and is also the recipient of the LaSalle Medal and the Board of Regents “Distinguished Citizen Achievement Award” from that institution. She also received an honorary degree from Georgian Court University and has been the recipient of other awards and honors for her outstanding contributions to the Western New York community.
Sister Anne Marie Jablonicky, CSSF, a Felician Franciscan sister, is a counselor and a therapist in the Diocesan Counseling Center for Church Ministers in the Diocese of Buffalo, NY. She is a National Board Certified Counselor (NCC) and a NYS certified school psychologist. She holds graduate degrees in clinical psychology from St. John’s University, Queens, NY, school psychology and a professional diploma from Alfred University, Alfred, NY and counseling from Canisius College, Buffalo, NY. She has also completed post-graduate training in counseling psychology and advanced Rorschach testing. For the past 30 years, Sister Anne Marie has done individual and group therapy, candidate assessments, psychological testing, educational workshops, and consultation services to diocesan officials, clergy, women and men religious, and various leadership teams. She has served as a member of her province’s leadership team, the formation team at Christ the King Seminary, East Aurora, NY and an instructor in the clinical pastoral education (CPE) program of the Catholic Health System. She also serves on the Felician Services Inc. Board of Directors which is responsible for the oversight of all the Felician-sponsored ministries in North America.
Alfred F. Luhr, III is a retired senior vice president and regional market manager with the Business and Professional Banking Department, which he established in 1988 at M&T Bank. In this position, he manages a team of 18 business bankers that oversee 20,000 local small business relationships. He is also responsible for new business development, credit and the maintenance of commercial account relationships involving professional, family and privately held-businesses throughout the M&T Bank Corporation Western New York market. After management training, Mr. Luhr was a senior commercial loan representative and office manager for Marine Midland Bank in New York City. In 1976, he returned to Buffalo to work for M&T Bank as assistant vice president and senior commercial loan representative. He left in 1979 to become assistant vice president of marketing with the American Steamship Company. Mr. Luhr returned to M&T in 1986 and was named vice president and group manager of the commercial banking department. Mr. Luhr received his MBA from New York University Stern Graduate School of Business in 1972 and his BA in History from Canisius College in 1968. Mr. Luhr was born in Buffalo and still resides in Snyder, New York with his wife, Susan.
Nancy H. Nielsen, M.D., Ph.D. is the Senior Associate Dean for Health Policy and a Clinical Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Studies. She is former President of the American Medical Association and specializes in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases.
Rev. Richard (“Duke”) E. Zajac, known in many circles as “Fr. Duke” has been a staff chaplain at Sisters of Charity Hospital in Buffalo for the past 39 years. He is presently serving on many Boards and Committees throughout the community including the Town of Amherst Meals on Wheels, Seminary Alumni Association, as well as the Perinatal Bereavement Network. He has chaired or co-chaired the Sister’s Hospital Ethics Committee since its inception in 1984, and serves on the Ethics Committee for the Catholic Health Care System of Western New York. He’s been an officer of the Parochial Baseball League since 1969 and was inducted into the Western New York Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. He served on the National Advisory Council of the National Association of Catholic Bishops, and served as the Chairman of the Board of the Life Transition Center as well as the South Buffalo Community Development Association. He served on the Boards of the Upstate New York Transplant Services, Baker Victory Services, Bishop Timon High School, Catholic Medical Partners, WNY Peace Center, Catholic Health System’s Corporate Members Board, Buffalo Area Metropolitan Ministries (BAMM), Sister’s Hospital Credit Union as well as the American Cancer Society. He has also served 8 terms on the Priests’ Council of the Diocese of Buffalo, 2 terms on the Priests’ Personnel Board and 3 terms on the Priests’ Council of New York State. He is the author of four books: Life Injections I , II , III & IV, and is presently writing a book on preaching at funerals for priests, ministers, and deacons.