Buffalo expats chime in with $50,000 for funeral costs for Tops mass shooting victims

Brad Termini, founder and CEO of California-based Zephyr Partners, teamed up with Ryan Brandenburger, owner of the CrossCountry Mortgage LLC offices in Buffalo and Boca Raton, Fla., in announcing their pledge on Sunday, through Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown. The funding will be made available to families immediately, in coordination with the city.

"Our goal is to make sure that all of the victims have dignified and honorable funerals, without their families having to feel the financial burden that’s typically associated with it," said Termini, son of Buffalo developer Rocco Termini. "It’s important to help our fellow Buffalonians in a time of need, and to show that Buffalonians stick together. The entire city is here to help these people."

A typical funeral could cost $10,000 to $12,000, so the funds would cover about half of the cost, depending on the specifics and whether other discounts are offered. Survivors do not need to apply for the funds, which will be coordinated through the mayor’s office.

Termini and Brandenburger said they were shocked by what happened Saturday afternoon, when a 19-year-old white gunman from a rural part of Broome County drove three hours to the Tops store and opened fire on the mostly Black shoppers and employees. Ten were killed and three wounded in what has been decried as the worst single shooting across the country this year.

"I never thought something like this could happen in our own backyard," Termini said. "We started texting each other almost immediately when the news was on."

Termini and Brandenburger have been friends since their late teens in Buffalo before they went their separate ways. But both began returning to Western New York in the last couple of years, through their respective businesses.

Termini owns Zephyr Partners, an investment firm based in Encinitas, Calif., that is spearheading a project to create a $200 million high-tech cannabis campus in South Buffalo, with both growing and product manufacturing facilities.

Brandenburger works for Cleveland-based CrossCountry, a nationwide full-service mortgage company with independently owned branch offices. He opened a branch at 5500 Main St. in Williamsville last year.

"It really hits home," he said.