It was in the town of Sardinia, in Erie County. And it was a state trooper.
New York State Troopers do not prosecute their own traffic cases. That means if you plead not guilty you will appear and meet with the town prosecutor. The trooper will only be in court if you are foolish enough to not accept the plea offered and the case goes to trial. If that happens I can just about guarantee you will lose.
I see three possible pleas that may be offered:
1) reduction in speed (still a speed but lesser points and fine)
2) disobey a traffic control device (2 points and it's a "generic" moving violation)
3) parking ticket
I don't know that court - it's too far away. My experience has been that the further north you go the tougher the judges are. In many courts the prosecutors are tough too. Many times court policy prohibits certain pleas.
Basically any deal you're offered will be better than what you have. When speaking to the prosecutor don't be afraid to politely ask for something more. For instance, if you are offered number 1 above, point out your driving record and ask if number 2 would be possible. The worst that will happen is you'll get a "NO".
Having an attorney at this stage won't help either - I never see attorneys get any better plea deals than pro se motorists, but that's your decision.
The only way you'll know what you will be offered is to plead not guilty and show up to court on the date appearing on the letter you'll receive from the court. Show up early and follow whatever procedure is in place in the court.