ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Republican Assemblyman Bill Nojay, a prominent upstate political figure and radio personality, died Friday from from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside Riverside Cemetery on Lake Avenue around 9:30 a.m., according to the Rochester Police Department.
The incident was witnessed by a Rochester police officer, who responded for a call for a check the welfare of an individual at the cemetery who was scheduled to turn himself in on fraud charges.
Nojay represents the 133rd Assembly District that includes all of Livingston County and parts of Monroe and Steuben counties.
The officer found Nojay near his family's plot deep inside the cemetery.
First elected in 2012, Nojay was a prominent member of the upstate GOP caucus in the Assembly — a reputation that preceded him as a conservative radio host in the Rochester area.
Nojay was slated to face a Republican primary against Honeoye Falls Mayor Rick Milne on Tuesday and had scheduled a fundraiser for this weekend. The lawmaker had also faced fraud charges stemming from a business deal in Cambodia, a legal issue he had initially dismissed as akin to a lawsuit.
Nojay took office as a vocal critic of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the sweeping gun control law known as the SAFE Act. He was also part of a group that unsuccessfully urged Donald Trump to run for governor in 2014 against Cuomo and was an ardent supporter of the businessman’s bid for president.
Nojay was the former director and treasurer of the Al Sigl Center in Rochester. In 1996 Gov. George Pataki nominated and the state Senate confirmed Nojay as Commissioner of the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority. He was elected chairman of the authority later that year.
Nojay and his wife, Debra, have three children.