The former sheriff of Erie County, the current undersheriff and Aurora’s former town supervisor are the partners in a new private investigations company.

The partners in Gallivan, Donovan & Yarnall are Patrick M. Gallivan, former sheriff now serving on the state Parole Board; Undersheriff Richard T. Donovan; and Terence M. Yarnall, who spent four years as Aurora supervisor before leaving office at the end of last year.

“We’re a full-service private investigations firm. We’ll serve law firms, conduct fraud investigations for businesses and investigate workmen’s compensation claims,” Gallivan said. “We’ll do reconstructions of car accident scenes, computer forensics and polygraphs.”

But Gallivan said he and Donovan are certain that their work with the new company will not interfere with their current full-time government jobs in the criminal-justice system.

Gallivan makes $101,600 as one of the state’s 17 parole commissioners. Donovan makes $112,575 as one of the county’s two undersheriffs.

“We’re going to be careful to avoid cases that would cause any conflict of interest. That would include cases involving the Sheriff’s [Office] or cases that would be tied in any way to my job as parole commissioner,” Gallivan told The Buffalo News.

Gallivan added that he and Donovan have checked to make sure their involvement in the new venture would not be improper under the state’s Public Officers Law.

The company began operations last month at an office in West Seneca’s Southgate Plaza.

Gallivan, 47, is the chairman and chief executive officer. Yarnall, 49, is president and chief operating officer. Donovan, who turns 58 Friday, is vice president.

Sheriff Timothy J. Howard said he spoke with Donovan at length before the new business was started.

“We’ve had a lot of discussions about potential conflicts of interest, and I’m confident he will avoid them,” Howard said. “All of the policy-making managers in our department submit an annual ethics form, and Rick will be mentioning this business in his next filing.”

Gallivan received approval from the state Government Ethics Commission to start the business, according to Mark E. Johnson, a spokesman for the Division of Parole.

“There are some conditions,” Johnson said. “[Gallivan] cannot engage in any bail enforcement activities or anything that would cause a conflict of interest. He’s not permitted to work for the company during his state hours or using state resources. He is prohibited from selling goods or services to any state agency except in an open bidding process.”

Yarnall, who has worked in private investigations for 14 years, will run the company on a day-to-day basis, said Donovan, who said his own involvement, for now, will be limited.

“I’ll be more involved in the future, after I retire from police work,” Donovan said.

Donovan started his law enforcement career with the Buffalo Police Department in 1971, rising through the ranks to become commissioner. He left that post in 1993 and worked for the U.S. attorney’s office for several years before joining the Sheriff’s Office in 1997.

Over the course of his career, Donovan said, he has known a number of police officers who also operated or worked in private investigations companies while doing police work.

Gallivan worked with the State Police for 15 years before being elected sheriff in 1997. He left that job after former Gov. George E. Pataki named him to the Parole Board in May 2005.

Both Gallivan and Donovan insist their government jobs will take precedence over their involvement with their new company.

As a Parole Board member, Gallivan takes part in hearings throughout the state to determine which state prisoners will be released on parole. He also takes part in some hearings by teleconferencing. Gallivan said his job also calls on him to spend some time in Albany.

When Gallivan first ran for sheriff in 1997, he raised questions about his opponent, Rocco J. Diina, because Diina was the co-owner of a busy private security company while also serving as Buffalo’s deputy police commissioner.

“What comes first, the public in his elected position or himself in his private business?” Gallivan asked at one point during that campaign.

Speaking about his own situation, Gallivan said he will take special care to make sure his state job comes first. His term as a parole commissioner ends in June 2011.

“I’ll be arranging my schedule with our new company around my state job, rather than the other way around,” Gallivan said. Diina declined to comment.