text:
Category Archives: Gordon Bennett
New Baltimore: Pick up rocks, find snakes. Part I.
Is the Chairman of the New Baltimore Town Planning Board
Guilty of Conflict of Interest and Abuse of Public Office?
Our message to Robert Van Etten, Shelly Van Etten, Jeff Ruso, Nick Dellisanti, Gorden Bennett, Donna Degnen.
Is his wife, sitting Town Board Member Shelly VanEtten, accessory to the criminality of her husband?
Are the New Baltimore Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso and Deputy Supervisor Nick Dellisanti and the Town Board involved as well?!?
Based on documents, records and information received under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Law, and based on the Town of New Baltimore's refusal to provide information exonerating the suspects, we think that several resignations are in order and that the alleged criminal activity in Town Hall should be prosecuted by the Greene County District Attorney, Joseph Stanzione.
As the saying goes, if you pick up rocks, you're liable to find snakes. Well, we've been picking up rocks in New Baltimore, New York, and we've found snakes, a lot of snakes. Here are just a few:
Several months ago we reported on some disturbing facts about the Town of New Baltimore Assessor, Gordon Bennett, and the New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review, headed by Donna Degnen (members include: Donna Degnen, Linda LeClair, Bernie Jones, Ronna Smith, Lynn Taylor). Based on our initial findings, we continued our investigations and have received confirming information in the form of documents produced by the Town of New Baltimore in response to a resident's Freedom of Information Law demands.
Not only is the Assessor's Office under Gordon Bennett operating under some very creative assessment procedures and is very likely guilty of abuse of office, the Board of Assessment Review, as we have already reported is incompetent and corrupt as ever. But more details on Bennett and Degnen in a follow up article devoted completely to them and their keepers, New Baltimore Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso, his deputy supervisor, former town supervisor Nick Dellisanti, and the New Baltimore Town Board. Bennett is one of their hirelings, and the Board of Assessment Review is a town committee appointed by the Supervisor and Town Board. The incompetence and corruption is gargantuan but more on that later. Right now we'd like to take a closer look at one property owner who got special treatment under the Board of Assessment Review and with Gordon Bennett's blessing: William Brandt, owner of the Bristol Manor Senior Housing Project in the Town of New Baltimore, and who is represented by local Ravena sheister Michael Biscone, so you know something has to be crooked about the whole business once Biscone gets involved. Well, we won't disappoint you on that item.
Business as Usual in New Baltimore, Coeymans, and Ravena.
The Brandt project had been languishing in the New Baltimore Planning Board for several years. It got our attention when we started investigating the New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review and found, after reviewing the documents and the taped recordings of the proceedings, that Brandt was granted a substantial reduction in his tax assessment, and that he was supposed to have submitted a number of documents, including receipts, to support his claim for a reduction. Michael Biscone clearly states that he will provide the receipts within two weeks of the Board's hearing, those receipts were to have included receipts for work done by "VanEtten construction."
The first problem we found was that the Board of Assessment Review made all of their determinations on the evening of the hearings. In other words, they didn't wait for any further discussions or for any receipts to arrive from Mr Biscone; they just doled out the reductions in assessment to their friends. We'll report on the details in that promised follow-up.
The name VanEtten raised our interest because Shelly VanEtten is a sitting member of the New Baltimore Town Board and her husband Robert VanEtten owns VanEtten Excavating out of Ravena (1314 Saw Mill Rd, Ravena, NY 12143 (518) 756-3517 / 424-8854). Robert VanEtten is also chairman of the New Baltimore Planning Board, and has been since at least 2017. Before that he was a member of the board.
[Editor's Note: In all fairness, we have attempted to obtain information from the Town of New Baltimore in order to either eliminate any involvement of Van Etten or to confirm his alleged misconduct. The Town of New Baltimore on at least two (2) occasions has refused to provide confirmation or any information about Van Etten in response to our inquiries. In fact, both the New Baltimore Town Clerk and the Clerk of the New Baltimore Planning Board, Ms Marjorie Loux, have denied having any telephone number or other information on Mr Robert "Rob" Van Etten. We find that incredible (unbelievable) that no one in New Baltimore Town Hall has any information on a member of a Town committee, particularly an individual appointed by the Town Board to the position of chairman of the New Baltimore Planning Board. Too many secrets in New Baltimore Town Hall, don't you think? Now, Readers, do YOU believe that the Town of New Baltimore doesn't have as much as a telephone number for Mr Robert Van Etten or for sitting board member Shelly Van Etten? Aren't they both getting checks from the Town of New Baltimore? The snakes are thriving in Town Hall and the lies and corruption don't seem to end! Note that the Town did not respond by saying "We cannot disclose the requested information," they responded that they did not have the information. Now either that's a lie or it's complete incompetence, neither of which belong in Town Hall.]
The Building Permit 2017-65 issued by the New Baltimore Building Department (Allan Jourdin) to Mr Brandt was based on the information provided in the Application for Building Permit approved by Marjorie Loux on November 15, 2017. The Application names "VanEtten Construction" as the general contractor doing the work on Brandt's building. Was this the same VanEtten construction as the VanEtten construction owned by sitting New Baltimore Planning Board and husband of sitting New Baltimore Town Board member, Shelly VanEtten? When we looked up some information, the picture got grimmer and grimier by the minute. You see, Robert VanEtten's business is exactly what you'd expect a local general contractor to be and is described on VanEtten's website as "Excavation Contractors, Landscape Designers & Consultants, Tree Service, Drainage Contractors, Utility Contractors, Concrete Contractors, Foundation Contractors." Now that alone doesn't make VanEtten's activity criminal in any way but what we found in the Planing Board minutes does.
You see, New York State law forbids a sitting member of a Planning Board to vote on any project in which that member has an interest. So, if Robert VanEtten is a member of the New Baltimore Planning Board and has accepted work from a developer whose project was before the planning board, and the member votes on that project, then the member has committed a crime.
We demanded the Planning Board Minutes for the meeting at which the Brandt project was finally discussed and approved. Guess what we found! You guessed it!
At the 2017 Organizational Meeting of January 1, 2017, and reported in the approved minutes of that meeting on January 9, 2017, Mr Robert VanEtten was appointed by the New Baltimore Town Board (in a motion by then Supervisor Nick Dellisanti and passed by board members Dellisanti, Ruso, Briody, and Irving. S. VanEtten abstained since they were appointing her husband) to be Chair of the Planning Board. So, Robert VanEtten was a member and chairman of the New Baltimore Planning Board in 2017, and reapppoitned on the motion of Supervisor Jeff Ruso (passed by board members Ruso, Briody, Downes, and Irving; S. VanEtten again abstained). Robert VanEtten was again chairman of the New Baltimore Planning Board in 2018. Having established that fact, we then examined the Minutes of the New Baltimore Planning Board.
In the Minutes of the Town of New Baltimore Planning Board Regular Monthly Meeting of June 8, 2017 (Approved on November 9, 2017), the meeting was called to order by "Rob" VanEtten, and the meeting was opened with board members Jean Horn, Bob Court, Pat Bruno, and Lee Salisbury present. Board members Vadney and Boehlke were excused and absent.
Under the heading "Old Business" we find "William Brandt – Bristol Manor Assisted Living Facilty [sic] – Site Plan." According to those official minutes, Mr Robert VanEtten presided as chair and voted to approve the site plan together with board members Court, Salisbury, Horn and Bruno (members Vadney and Boehlke were excused and absent).
If Mr Robert VanEtten who is a sitting member of the New Baltimore Town Planning Board is the same Mr Robert "Rob" VanEtten who owns VanEtten Construction, and if Mr Robert VanEtten as owner of the VanEtten construction company voted to approve the Brandt site plan, and if that same VanEtten construction company is the same "general contractor" named in the Application for Building Permit, and VanEtten construction did the preparation work for the Bristol Manor Senior Living Facility on Route 9W in the Town of New Baltimore, then Mr Robert VanEtten has violated New York State law and is guilty of profiting from a conflict of interest.
There are some pretty big snakes in New Baltimore Town Hall!
Given the fact that the then Supervisor, Nicholas Dellisanti, and present Supervisor Jeff Ruso, were on top of the Brandt project all along. And given the fact that Dellisanti and Ruso appointed VanEtten to be on the Planning Board and to be chairman of the Planning Board, and S. VanEtten, wife of Robert VanEtten and sitting Town Board member, was aware of all these goings on, Dellisanti (currently Ruso's appointed "deputy supervisor"), Ruso, the entire Town Board, and especially Shelly VanEtten, as the wife of Rob VanEtten and a sitting board member, are all implicated in serious abuse of office.
Consequently, there are two options: (1) Either Robert VanEtten, Shelly VanEtten, Nick Dellisanti, and Jeff Ruso come forward and deny these allegations, and provide proof that the facts so presented and based on the documents provided by the Town of New Baltimore were incorrect and the documents misleading. This is unlikely because the Town of New Baltimore, according to New Baltimore Town Assessor Gordon Bennett, is in "lawyer mode", meaning that they're scared shitless and won't say a thing because it might incriminate them. Despite our efforts to get more information the Town has been silent — in Bennett's "lawyer mode" — and has not provided any other information, not even confirming VanEtten's telephone number!!!
The second option, (2): Robert VanEtten must resign from the New Baltimore Planning Board and the Town of New Baltimore must notify the Greene County District Attorney, Mr Joseph Stanzione, of the facts of Mr VanEtten's suspected criminal activity. Furthermore, VanEtten's wife, Shelly VanEtten must resign her seat on the New Baltimore Town Board because she knew or should have known of her husband's alleged conflicts while chairman of the New Baltimore Town Planning Board. Jeff Ruso and Nick Dellisanti, both responsible for recommending Robert VanEtten to be chairman of the New Baltimore Planning Board, were and continue to be responsible for his activities while on the Board, and, consequently should be forced to resign from public office for their abuse of office and failure to ensure the lawful operations of the Planning Board they appointed and which the New Baltimroe Town Board approved!!!
If the documents are misleading and, despite our good faith efforts to clarify the outstanding questions, and despite the Town of New Baltimore's refusal to provide accurate information, Mr Robert VanEtten comes forward and provides proof that he has not been involved in a conflict of interest in the Brandt project, then we will take appropriate action.
The fact is that all of the circumstances and available facts point to a conflict of interest on the New Baltimore Town Planning Board and the Town of New Baltimore has done nothing to refute those facts is evidence enough to make the reasonable conclusions made in this article.
The further fact that the New Baltimore Office of the Assessor refused to produce the receipts promised by Mr Michael Biscone at the Board of Assessment Review hearings, receipts that Mr Biscone expressly and explicitly states on the record to be from "VanEtten" construction, further supports our conclusions. Had those receipts been provided as promised by Mr Michael Biscone, and if they were not provided we have to ask: Why did the Board of Assessment Review proceed to grant a reduction in tax assessment to Brandt? If the promised receipts were provided but not produced upon demand under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Law, then there is something the Town is hiding. We think we know what.
We think that it's time New Baltimore Town Hall started answering some very serious questions about what's going on in New Baltimore's inner circle of special friends. Town Hall has too many secrets being kept from voters and residents. Town Hall is doing too many favors for special people while ignoring those with real complaints and failing to play fairly and in good faith.
When you have two individuals in the Supervisor's office who have not been put there by a democratic vote — one who ran unopposed and took office by default (Supervisor Jeff Ruso) and the other one (Nick Dellisanti) appointed by him as his deputy — there's something wrong with the system. When the Greene County District Attorney Joseph Stanzione — another Republican who ran unopposed — the supposedly "elected" chief law-enforcement officer for Greene County runs "unopposed" and has to recuse himself from the investigation of the New Baltimore Highway Department because of involvement with former Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan (forced to resign), there's something wrong with the oversight in Greene County. When the brother, Alan Jordan, of suspect Denis Jordan's former deputy, Scott Jordan, runs unopposed for the office of New Baltimore Highway Superintendent and gets into office by default, there's something rotten in New Baltimore Town Hall. When the Office of the Assessor, the New Baltimore Building Department and the Board of Assessment Review ignore facts and hand out favors, there's something wrong in New Baltimore. How long will New Baltimore residents and taxpayers continue to play STUPID and ignore what's going on. But is the real question this: Are residents of New Baltimore just playing stupid or are they, in fact, really STUPID? After all, STUPID is as STUPID does.
Most popular tattoo in New Baltimore. Wonder why?
(Ask Joan or Robbie Ross. They coined the term "Newbaltimoron.")
As of this writing there are still public Town Meetings and you can ask questions — even if your elected public servants refuse to answer them — , and even if the media closes their eyes and ears to the situations that are not news but need to be covered.
Time for New Baltimore Town Hall to Come Clean!
The Town of New Baltimore's calendar of "events" can be viewed here. The next Regular Town Board Meeting is on February 11, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. Please attend and get some answers.
If you'd like to contact your New Baltimore Town Officials, here is their information:
Members of the New Baltimore Town Board
Supervisor Jeff Ruso – jruso@townofnewbaltimore.org
Scott Briody – (518)469-0031
Chuck Irving – (518)424-1950
Kelly Downes – (518)396-9255 downes@townofnewbaltimore.org
Shelly VanEtten – 518-756-3517 svanetten@townofnewbaltimore.org
Members of the New Baltimore Planning Board*
Robert "Rob" Van Etten – Chair
Robert Court
Frank Orlando
Lee Salisbury
Ann Marie Vadney
Marjorie B. Loux, Clerk mloux@townofnewbaltimore.org
* The Town website does not provide contact information on the Planning Board Members. You may email the Town Clerk, Hon. Barbara Finke (clerk@townofnewbaltimore.org) or Ms Marjorie Loux ( mloux@townofnewbaltimore.org) with your comments or complaints.
Stay tuned for upcoming reports on:
The New Baltimore Office of the Assessor and the Board of Assessment Review: Abuse of Public Office and Incompetence.
Local Government by Appointment: How New Baltimore is run by Unelected Supervisor, Deputy Supervisor, Highway Superintendent and what it means to residents.
Unelected Town Government and Appointed Board Members: Dictatorship and Tyranny at Home.
The New Baltimore Office of the Assessor, the Sole Assessor, Gordon Bennett, and Abuse of Office.
UPDATE on the New Baltimore Highway Department and Denis Jordan Investigation. Confirms all we have been saying!!!
We'll also keep you up-to-date on the progress of the Van Etten case and what the Town of New Baltimore and the Greene County District Attorney, Joseph Stanzione, are doing about it. We hope to see some resignations real soon…or some prosecutions.
The local epidemic of running stop signs and heavy trucks pulling out in front of oncoming traffic (LaFarge, Port of Coeymans and Carver). Our question is: Where are the Coeymans cops? Or are they letting the Albany County Sheriff do their jobs while they collect their salaries and accrue their pensions? "Car 54 Where Are You?" Crandall's Coeymans Cop Comedy.
Posted by Principal Editor on February 6, 2019 in 19th Congressional District, 19th Congressional District, 20th Congressional District, 20th Congressional District, Abuse of Public Office, Alan VanWormer, Assessment, Bitter Bob (Ross), Bob Ross, Bristol Manor Senior Living, Burning the Constitution, Chuck Irving, Coeymans, Conflict of Interest, Conflict of Interest, Conspiracy, Constitution, Corruption, Crystal R. Peck Esq., Denis Jordan, Fraud, George Amedore, Gordon Bennett, Government, Greed, Greene County, Greene County District Attorney, Hypocrisy, Jean Horne, Jeff Ruso, Jeff Ruso, Joan Ross, Joe Stanzione, Joe Stanzione, Joe Tanner, John Cashin, Joseph Stanzione, Joseph Stanzione, Joseph Tanner, Marjorie Loux, Michael Biscone, Michael J. Biscone, Misconduct, Misinformation, Misuse of Public Office, New Baltimore, New Baltimore Assessor, New Baltimore Highway Department, New Baltimore Highway Superintendent, New Baltimore Highway Superintendent, New Baltimore Republican Club, New Baltimore Town Board, New Baltimore Town Board Member, New York State Town Law, Nick Dellisanti, Nick Dellisanti, NYS Assembly, NYS Comptroller Audit, NYS Senate, Office of the Assessor, Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Comptroller, Official Misconduct, Pat Linger, Pat Linger, Patrick Linger, Patrick Linger, Planning Board, Professional Misconduct, Public Corruption, Robbie Ross, Scott Van Wormer, Scott VanWormer, Shame On You, Shelly van Etten, Shelly van Etten, Town of New Baltimore, Van Etten Construction, William Brandt, Zoning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals
Our 2018 Election Picks for the Town of New Baltimore and Greene County
Let's be clear: You don't "elect" an unopposed candidate! "Elect" in the campaign sign is a LIE!
When you see a campaign sign that asks you to "elect" an unopposed candidate in an uncontested election, think
The legal definition of election is a selection process: In an election voters are presented with at least 2 candidates and choose one of them. Candidates may be "endorsed" by one or more parties but for an election or a selection process to take place, you need at least two candidates. One candidate is not a choice and is not an "election."
It is the duty of the so-called political parties to present voters with a choice. There has been a disturbing recent trend in our so-called American democratic process — a trend that is becoming very conspicuous in Greene County and the Town of New Baltimore — of presenting voters with a single, unopposed candidate in uncontested "elections." This is not a new trend and has been concealed from voters in at least 38 states for decades and has been permitted by state election laws, laws that deprive voters of their right to choose who governs them.
As many of our readers know, each election year we study the candidates and make our picks. We share them with you because we have done the research and have asked the questions. When, IF the candidates respond, we let you know what they had to say. Here are our picks and recommendations for November 6, 2018:
First of all, we'd like to start our election choices with a positive:
Peter J. Markou
Greene County Treasurer.
Peter Markou is a Five-Star Choice for Greene County Treasurer.
Experience, Integrity, Committed
Peter Markou is a five-star candidate.
Mr Markou is intelligent, a gentleman, honest, and so different from the bottom-feeders that are left on the ballot. Mr Markou has been Greene County Treasurer for several terms and there's no one who can say anything negative about the man. Vote for Peter Markou for Greene County Treasurer; he's honest, competent and has proved he can do the job like a real professional, not like a politician.
Greene County Coroners
Bob Gaus (D) and Joshua Lipsman (D)
(Democrats endorsed by the Independence Party)
Richard Vigilio (R) and Paul Seney (R)
Gaus and Lipsman have kept their Democrat affiliation a bit under wraps, and have touted their endorsement by the Independence Party. That's a bit sneaky in our opinion but HEY! we are reporting about much, much worse in this article.
Not many voters really understand what a county coroner does but many may at some time in their lives have to deal with one, so we'd like to make certain it's the right one.
We have written several pieces on coroners in the past and our basic opinion is that it is an outdated office, political, and really should be made obsolete in favor of the medical examiner's office. That having been said, and already having raised important questions about the ethics of funeral directors or physicians being involved with the politics of death investigations,we object only to the general ethics and the history of the office of coroner, and why it should be done away with and replaced by a competent, qualified and non-political medical examiner.
There are already two incumbent Greene County Coroners: Richard Vigilio has been Greene County Coroner for 24 years and a funeral director (Richards Funeral Home) for 63 years. We think it's time for Vigilio to retire before he becomes a coroner's case himself. Paul Seney is the second Greene County Coroner, and is a funeral director at Richards Funeral Home and Brady Funeral home.
As for the two individuals running for Greene County Coroner: Bob Gaus, a funeral director, and Joshua Lipsman, a physician/healthcare policy promoter, we can say but little about them in terms of competence or character. We'd lean more towards Gaus, given the necessary skills of a funeral director and his experience with death and deathcare on a daily basis. Lipsman? Well, he's more qualified in the politics of healthcare and probably has much less experience with death and deathcare than Gaus. Could they do the job? Our bets would be on Gaus in terms of effectiveness. Given Lipsman's history and training, we don't think he'd be the best choice. Death is something physicians try to avoid (unless you're a pathologist, which Lipsman is not)and you'll have a tough time changing a physician's attitude towards death and with it his attitude towards the survivors. Go with Gaus.
As for the second candidate, we'd go with Seney for a couple of reasons: First, he's experienced and has had the benefit of Richard Vigilio, with whom he's worked for several years. Second, he's a funeral diretor and, although we still object to the ethics of a funeral director in the coroner's position, if we must have a coroner, then the funeral director is intimately familiar not only with death but the paperwork and laws concerning death, and how to best deal compassionately with survivors. So, while we wish Richard Vigilio all the best in his retirement after this election, we think that Paul Seney would be a good man to partner up with Bob Gaus.
Gaus and Lipsman are both 61 years old; Lipsman is from downstate. Both are Democrats. It may seem odd putting a Democrat (Gaus) in office and running the risk of adding more corpses to the list of voters registered Democrat but dead, but Hey! Vigilio is getting close to being a corpse and is Republican; Gaus may have a few years of life left in him, and may be able to complete at least one term of office. What about Lipsman? Too political, too full of himself (he's a Democrat, a doctor, into public health policy, etc. We all know what happens when a Democrat gets involved in health policy; even if only the dead are affected!) Let's leave him to his interests in public health policy and his overly liberal politics; he'd be too much of a political prima donna in the coroner's office. Head's too big. Lipsman's from downstate and doesn't know local culture or people. Not a good choice.
Now we'd like to handle the
Real Scoundrels List
We'll have to wait til next year to go after New Baltimore Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso, but we've got enough on him already to put someone else in the Supervisor's office. He won't be able to save himself with anything worth mentioning in the coming year. He's dead in the water already.
But we'd like to concentrate on this year's failures:
Alan VanWormer
Running UNOPPOSED (Denying Your Voice and Wasting Your Vote)
So Why?!?! did the Republicans spend so much money on so many campaign signs for a guy who is running unopposed. In an uncontested election ONE campaign sign and NO votes would hand the election over to him since he's already legally considered "elected." Seems that wasting taxpayers' money is still the way to go in New Baltimore!
This time he's running on the Republican ticket, Unqualified, Gutless, No Training, No Education. We've already published an article dedicated to the problems we have with Alan VanWormer and you can read that article at The Problem with Alan VanWormer. We also are solidly against giving away a vote to any unopposed candidate and not having a voice in who gets into office. We have written a very well-researched article on the problems of unopposed candidates and uncontested elections and Why! they are a violation of our rights. You can read the article at Unopposed Candidates: The Denial of Your Vote!
Alan VanWormer just stood by and kept his mouth shut while Denis Jordan did his tricks in the New Baltimore Highway Department. Alan VanWormer was part of the corruption and didn't do a thing to stop it. No Integrity! Alan VanWormer's brother, Scott VanWormer, was hand-picked by Denis Jordan to be his Deputy Superintendent. No one lifted a finger. Dellisanti, Ruso, vanEtten, no one said a word. But New Baltimore Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso, the chief financial officer of the Town, and the New Baltimore Town Board approved sending Scott VanWormer to Ithaca, New York, for a three-day meeting — the Cornell Local Roads Program — all expenses paid plus his salary. The money and the time was wasted since Scott VanWormer doesn't have the background or education to have understood what was going on. Furthermore, Alan VanWormer (Scott's brother!!! And also employed by the New Baltimore Highway Department) is the one who is running unopposed for New Baltimore Highway Superintendent. Unopposed means he's already got the job, so Why? didn't they send Alan VanWormer to the Highway Meeting, if anyone? That's the way Jeff Ruso and the New Baltimore Town Board thinks: They DON'T!!!
Question: Why are we still electing unqualified, dumbasses, with no training to the position of Town Superintendent of Highways. Most of them can't even read!!! Yet New Baltimore still keeps them in a job and hands them hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars, perhaps even millions of taxpayer dollars to play with and squander and no one seems to care. The job should not be up for election in the first place. The position of Town Superintendent of Highways should be a non-political, professional position filled on a competitiive application basis, with the successful hiree having the right qualifications and subject to discipline and even termination! Putting a professional in the position would more than pay for itself because of proper fiscal and human resources management and administration. That's the Town Board's job that they're not doing. They're a bunch of dumbasses sitting there thinking of ways to keep our Town Hall packed with political dumbasses and friends.
The Alternative: You don't have one!
Let's move on…
Patrick "Pat" Linger (R)
Out of Touch (except in an election year), Doesn't Care, a Political Fixture/Tool, No Accomplishments, a Wasted Vote.
We have already published an earlier article to Pat Linger and Greene County DA, Joe Stanzione. You can read what we had to say to them at Open Letter to County Legislator Patrick Linger and Greene County DA Joseph Stanzione.
Linger just didn't think it important enough to tell voters what his accomplishments were during his last term — obviously he had none — but now he's begging New Baltimore voters for another term. Take a hike, Patty! You ran and hid when residents needed you. You refused to respond to questions regarding your performance in office this past term. You handed New Baltimore Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars, and Jordan pissed them away, doing more damage than he was worth. Now the balless Republicans on the New Baltimore Town Board and New Baltimore Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso is following in the shite tracks of his mentor and now Deputy Supervisor Nick Dellisanti. We're sick of the same old-same old and the dog and pony acts in Town Hall and in the County Legislature. Take a walk Patty. Your double-talking friends in Town Hall will be following you out the door!
The Alternative: Jim Eckl
Joseph "Joe" Stanzione (R)
Running for re-election to the Office of the Greene County District Attorney
Joseph "Joe" Stanzione.
Pantywaist or Panty-waste?
Unaccomplished, Avoids Commitment, Violates his Oath of Office
Just like Pat Linger, Joe Stanzione is a dud, a panty waist. We have enough duds and panty-waists in Greene County and in New Baltimore. Stanzione goes into hiding when the real issues come up. Did he defend New Baltimore taxpayers and residents when they asked for his help to get compensated for damage done to property by former Highway Superintendent Jordan and his gaggle of monkeys? NOT! Did he go after the New Baltimore Town Supervisor Dellisanti or after Jeff Ruso and the Town Board when they ignored residents' and taxpayers pleas for relief, compensation for damage to their property? NOT! Does Greene County need a panty-waist District Attorney like Stanzione? NOT!
Back in we published an open letter to Joe Stanzione. It's worth a read at Open Letter to Greene County District Attorney Joseph Stanzione. Since then he's done zilch but now wants to continue doing zilch. No way, José Stanzione! It's the highway for you, dude!
The county district attorney is the county's chief law enforcement officer. So Why? is Greene County nicknamed "Cold Case?" Because so little is being done by the Greene County District Attorney in terms of keeping local government honest and criminals prosecuted. That's Why!
The Alternative: ??? We had a tough time finding out who is opposing Stanzione. We're waiting for a reply from the Greene County BOE.
George Amedore
Republican, Irresponsible, Indifferent, Bullshitter.
You know it's an election year when you see or hear him.
A pink-eared jackass!
George Amedore shows up every election year to beg for the NYS Senate seat, 46th District, and to appear with his Republican cronies at the New Baltimore Republican Club rally to tell everyone fairy tales of what he's done for New Baltimore and his district. Of course, the gullible back-woods politicians, committee people, and some misguided voters show up to listen to the mealy-mouthed promises never to be kept. In fact, Amedore was complacent and irresponsible when he was handing out state highway monies to Denis Jordan to burn up. We published an article about his legendary generosity with taxpayer dollars and his total lack of accountability. Denis Jordan is under investigation and had to resign; we think Amedore should do the same. He has some nerve asking for New Baltimore's votes!
Read our article George Amedore, NY State Senator for 46th District, Needs to do Some Homework to learn more about what we told Amedore about New Baltimore and the New Baltimore Highway Department.
The Alternative: ??? Pat Courtney Strong, another woman-wanting-to-be-a-man from Kingston. OMG! That's a choice??? (Note: Strong is from Kingston, like Amedore, a businesswoman. Problem: Strong knows about as much as Amedore about what New Baltimore and Greene County needs: both know nothing!)
Antonio Delgado
Democrat, Racist, ex-Rapper, Anti-American.
The Racist Rapper and the Democrat Candidate.
The same face, different outfit.
Is that the best the Democrats can do for Upstate voters?
Delgado is filth, a racist, ex-rapper whose rapping celebrated sex with porn stars and anti-American, racist lyrics. He might be the hero of give-it-all-away Liberal Democrats. And he might be able to attract votes in mostly minority New York City, but he's a big dirty ball of crappola to Central and Upstate NY. He might be popular with low-class, inner-city minorities and illegal immigrants with a name like Antonio Delgado, but he's a clear reject when it comes to people with values and morals. His skin color would get him the downstate minority vote but among people who look deeper than skin color when we vote, he's a total reject.
We've already wasted too many words on a loser like Antonio Delgado. If that's the best the Democrats can offer New Yorkers, we don't wonder that they are going to hell in barf bag.
You'll need this when going to the polls and seeing what the Dems have picked for you.
The Alternative: John Faso
James "Jim" Eckl
A multiple-loser but our only alternative to Patrick "Pat" Linger, a loser and a scoundrel.
Well, the New Baltimore Democratic Committee made up of Janet Kash, Eileen Vosburgh, Doreen Davis , Beth Schneck. and district committee members Janet Foley, Richard Guthrie, Judith Felsten, Anne Walsh Mitchell, Lee Davis (Yes. That's the former loser town justice! Another Democrat loser scraped up by the New Baltimore and Greene County Dems!), Jim Eckl (Yes. That's the same Jim Eckl the Dems are running against Patrick Linger). New Baltimore and Greene County Democrats have not only failed to give voters candidates, they can't even get people to serve on their district committees! So they have to keep running losers from past elections.
James "Jim" Eckl, Democrat, Recycled Goods, Democrats' Last Resort. Give him a chance to fly or fail. Anything's better than Linger!
His party handlers, the New Baltimore Democratic Committee, Janet Kash, Eileen Vosburgh, Doreen Davis , Beth Schneck., couldn't tell us why he should get your vote. We found that a bit odd because normally the political party committee members would be over the moon to tell us why their candidate should be elected. Not the New Baltimore Democraps! They didn't want to say a word about Jim Eckl. Well, there's not much to say about Jim Eckl, we guess.
The Alternative: Voters in New Baltimore are in a real predicament. You can chose between the Louse (Linger) and the Loser (Eckl).
In the Town of New Baltimore and in Greene County, we don't have much to work with. We residents, taxpayers and voters have so much garbage being handed to us You'd think we had a recycling plant or a transfer facility in the neighborhood; we get the dregs from the Republicans and the Democrats can't even dig up a candidate from the many cemeteries in the area.
New Baltimore & Greene County Elections.
What we have to choose from.
Recycled Garbage.
None of the majority of candidates running are really worth a vote but where there's at least a choice, that is, when the candidate on the ballot isn't running unopposed, it would pay to cast a vote for either candidate. They're garbage but at least you have a choice of which garbage.
When a candidate is running unopposed or in an uncontested race, New York Election Law has already "declared him elected," and your vote is wasted; you have no voice in who gets the position. As in past elections we say don't give them the numbers. Don't cast a vote for that candidate (in New Baltimore, for example, that would be Alan VanWormer) because if you don't cast a vote, you send the political party and the candidate an important message: You are offended by the fact that you were denied a voice in who to put in that office. If you vote for an unopposed candidate, you are wasting your vote; if you refuse to vote for that candidate, he's already elected but at least he won't get the numbers and you will have sent an important message to the parties.
DON'T WASTE YOUR VOTE ON AN UNOPPOSED CANDIDATE!
If you're trying to figure out who is running for what office, and you're having a hard time getting the information, you're not alone.
We are pretty good at getting information but when it comes to our fine Board of Elections and our Political Party Committees, you just can't get anyone to say anything or cough up some names or information. If you are having the same problem, you might want to give your Greene County Board of Elections a call or send them an email. If you're really lucky and they're having a good day, you might actually get a response. Here's the contact information:
Greene County Board of Elections
411 Main Street, Catskill NY, 12414
email (general): elections@discovergreene.com
Republican Commissioner: Brent Bogardus, bbogardus@discovergreene.com
Democrat Commissioner: Marie Metzler, mmetzler@discovergreene.com
The Golden Turd Award
For Political Excellence
Posted by Principal Editor on October 24, 2018 in 19th Congressional District, 19th Congressional District, 2018 Elections, 46th District, Accountability, Alan van Wormer, Alan VanWormer, Antonio Delgado, Beth Schneck, Bob Gaus, Catskill-Hudson Newspapers, CHIPS, Civil Rights, Columbia-Greene Media, Democracy is Dead, Democrap, Democrats, Denied Your Vote, Denis Jordan, Donna Degnen, Doreen Davis, Doreen Davis, Eileen Vosburgh, Eileen Vosburgh, Elected Official, George Amedore, Gordon Bennett, Government, Greene County, Greene County Attorney, Greene County Board of Elections, Greene County Coroner, Greene County Coroner, Greene County District Attorney, Greene County Independence Party, Greene County Legislature, Greene County News, Hudson Valley, Independence Party, Irene Beede, James Eckl, Janet Foley, Janet Kash, Janet Kash, Jean Horne, Jeff Ruso, Jeff Ruso, Jim Eckl, Joe Stanzione, Joe Stanzione, Joe Tanner, John B. Johnson, John Faso, John Faso, Johnson Newspaper Group, Joseph Stanzione, Josh Lipsman, Joshua Lipsman, Lee Davis, Linda LeClair, Lynn Taylor, Mark Vinciguerra, New Baltimore, New Baltimore Assessor, New Baltimore Conservancy, New Baltimore Democratic Committee, New Baltimore Democrats, New Baltimore Elections, New Baltimore Highway Department, New Baltimore Highway Superintendent, New Baltimore Highway Superintendent, New Baltimore Republican Club, New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways, New Baltimore Town Board, New York, New York State, New York State Election Law, Nick Delisanti, Nick Dellisanti, Nick Dellisanti, Pat Linger, Pat Linger, Patrick Linger, Patrick Linger, Protected Rights, Ravena News Herald, RegisterStar, Robert Gaus, Ronna Smith, Scott VanWormer, Shelly van Etten, Smalbany, Tal Rappelea, The Daily Mail, Times Union, Town of New Baltimore, Uncontested Election, Unopposed Candidate
Open Letter to County Legislator Patrick Linger and Greene County DA Joseph Stanzione
Funding for Justice
We're big enough now to start making a real serious difference in how things are done around here. So far, we've just been providing information and facts. Maybe it's time to start rocking some boats through the courts. Just think of it this way: If we were to ask only 50% of our readers to donate only $1 to a Justice Fund, we'd have enough to send a good number of our elected officials and public servants to the new jail they want to build. (We say only 50% of our readers because the other 50% are readers who say they don't read this blog but practically live on it. That 50% are the state, county, and town parasites who go on this blog to see if they've been mentioned today. We seriously doubt that they'd be willing to contribute to their own prosecution fund. Even if we sent just two or three to jail and a couple were to lose their pension rights, that would send a message to the others that they might be next. Send a couple of public employees to jail, have a couple of judges disbarred, take away a couple of attorney's license to practice their corrupt law. What do you think, readers, voters, citizens? Does that sound like a plan?)
It's an election year and in the New Baltimore Town Hall they're still in "lawyer mode," according to New Baltimore Sole Assessor, Gordon Bennett.
It's and election year and County Legislator for New Baltimore, Patrick "Pat" Linger, running on the Republican ticket, is seeking re-election. Joseph "Joe" Stanzione is also seeking re-election to the Greene County District Attorney Office.
Linger's and Stanzione's Republican "friends" in New Baltimore Town Hall haven't done them any favors! In fact, the way New Baltimore Town Hall has conducted the business of government is likely to have hurt Linger, Stanzione and others very badly, and may even cost them the election. We'll be doing our best to see to that.
These two politicians seeking re-election have two things in common:
They have dropped the ball when it comes to ensuring good government and compliance with the law.
They have managed to slip under the radar during their past terms in office, to avoid detection of their incompetence.
We haven't missed the fact that while the New Baltimore Highway Department was squandering taxpayer dollars, Pat Linger and George Amedore were handing him fistfuls of taxpayer money in CHIPS grants and other state and federal support for highway infrastructure. The New Baltimore Highway Department under Denis Jordan and now under Scott van Wormer, had no training or education to qualify them for planning or designing or even for repairing roads and highway infrastructure. The money was squandered, wasted, and Linger and Amedore just were oblivious, never checking or monitoring how the money was being used. The Greene County DA, Joe Stanzione, was aware of what was going on; WE REPORTED IT TO HIM!!! Nick Dellisanti and Jeff Ruso were also aware of what was going on but couldn't control Jordan!!! Puppet Dellisanti, we recall, defended his choices of appointees by saying, "Republicans appoint Republicans," and we see where that got New Baltimore! Residents and taxpayers got screwed!!!
Thanks Linger, St anzione, Dellisanti, Ruso, Jordan, van Wormer!!!
You sure know how to kindle a cozy fire for yourselves…using our money!!!
We think that a local resident has hit the nail on the head when he writes in an
Open Letter to
Patrick "Pat" Linger, Greene County Legislator for the Town of New Baltimore
Joseph "Joe" Stanzione, Greene County District Attorney
Here's what the resident has to say:
(Reprinted in its entirety; we have added the graphics.)
Dear Mr. Linger:
Dear Mr. Stanzione:
You have failed us miserably. You have betrayed the trust we invested in you when we stood behind you and elected you to public office. You have violated your oaths of office. You have shown yourselves to be unfit for public office.
I am writing to you regarding a state of affairs in the Town of New Baltimore, County of Greene, which has been ignored by the incumbent Republican Town Supervisors over three terms: Nick Dellisanti during his two terms in office, and Jeff Ruso, the current Town Supervisor.
We cite here as well the state of affairs that has been going on for almost two decades in the New Baltimore Highway Department under former Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan, and which is continuing under the acting Highway Superintendent Scott vanWormer, and will likely continue under the next Highway Superintendent Alan vanWormer, Scott vanWormer's brother, who is running for that office unopposed and who will be "declared elected," under New York State ElectionLaw.
Residents and voters, at least those of us who have not been so discouraged by the state of affairs in New Baltimore, and who still go to the polls – for all the good it does and what little difference it makes. New Baltimore voters have for several years now been deprived of their right to choose their elected officials because the Greene County and New Baltimore political party committees are unable to run candidates, and we voters are being force-fed candidates running unopposed; we are being denied our vote. We do not have "elections" in New Baltimore; we may go to the polls but we have a choice of ONE. That's not democracy.
Business as usual in Greene County and New Baltimore.
Former Town Supervisor Nick Dellisanti chose not to run for office in 2017; instead, his deputy Jeff Ruso (R) ran unopposed and was "declared elected" though not elected, in fact more than a third of those going to the polls abstained from casting a vote for Ruso. But Ruso's first order of business when assuming office in January 2018 was to appoint Nick Dellisanti as his Deputy Supervisor. Although the fact that Dellisanti accepted the appointment doesn't make a lot of sense, the bottom line is that we in New Baltimore have two executives, the Supervisor and his Deputy Supervisor, neither of which have been democratically elected.
But what's worse, is that in Town Hall we have a gaggle of clowns who have no idea why they are there, and are blinded by their political ambitions and have forgotten or never knew what public service is; they are not public servants, they are interested only in cronyism and their simple-minded notions of power.
Here's an example out of real life in New Baltimore, and an example of how Mr. Dellisanti, Mr. Ruso and their respective Town Boards, appointees, and hirelings have misused taxpayers, and abused their pubic offices.
You, Mr. Linger, and you, Mr. Stanzione, have been personally informed of these situations by those affected but have done NOTHING. It's an election year, Mr. Linger and Mr. Stanzione, so don't you think it's time you grunted or got off the pot? It's an election year, Mr. Linger and Mr. Stanzione, so don't you think you should come up with some answers and some actions? You've done nothing so far so now might be a great time to show some good faith, even if it is self-serving in an election year.
First of all, for almost two decades, the former New Baltimore Highway Superintendent, Mr. Denis Jordan, was given carte blanche to do what he pleased in the Town of New Baltimore, squandering countless hundreds of thousands, very likely millions of taxpayer dollars doing more damage than improvement. Why? Because he was allowed to do that by past Town administrations, both Democrat and Republican, and because he was not monitored, despite the fact he had no training or education, and was about as qualified as a cabbage to do the job. His recent resignation and the so-called investigations are in reality a smoke and mirrors game. The investigations it seems are nothing more than a pornographic dog and pony act, making fools of voters, taxpayers, and those adversely affected by Jordan's incompetence and indifference.
Why haven't we heard anything more about the so-called investigations? What was the outcome? You investigated a public entity and a public figure but the public has been kept in the dark. Is that your idea of good government? It appears to us that it is.
We don't hear anything from our elected officials in Town Hall about these investigations. In fact, according to local media, New Baltimore Town Officials claimed not to be aware of any "investigations," or not to have been informed of them. I find that very hard to believe, especially given the fact that the subject of the investigations was a New Baltimore Department head and an elected official, Mr. Denis Jordan, and the New Baltimore Town Clerk's office was floor-to-ceiling with banker's boxes all labeled "Highway Department," during the investigations. But Supervisor Ruso and members of the Town Board were unaware of the investigations. Were you, Mr. Linger, or you, Mr. Stanzione, aware of the investigations? If so, why weren't New Baltimore residents and taxpayers informed?
The incompetence and negligence of the New Baltimore Town Board under Dellisanti and Ruso, and their indifference and negligence of the damage that Denis Jordan was doing can't be made up. It's real, it's ongoing, and it's going to haunt them and you for some considerable time to come. Why? Because it's scandalous!
In 2016, both Dellisanti and Ruso, along with sitting Town Board member Shelly van Etten, made personal inspections of the results of lack of maintenance of New Street in New Baltimore, and the damage to private property as the result of that lack of maintenance of the roadway owned by the Town of New Baltimore and for which the Town of New Baltimore and its Highway Department were legally liable for repair and maintenance. [Editor's Note: After two years, neither Dellisanti nor Ruso, nor the Highway Department have responded with any proposal to fix the damage they caused.]
Dellisanti and Ruso, and two days later, Mr. Denis Jordan and his Deputy Mr. Scott van Wormer, again visited New Street, and for a second time Dellisanti and Ruso were apprised of the situation and the damage being done.
Dellisanti, Ruso, and Jordan managed to ignore the ongoing damage, Jordan creating new hazards and damage every time he managed to make an appearance.
Notices of Claim were served in which the Town was apprised in detail of the damage, and the associated liabilities. Dellisanti and Ruso did nothing to cure the damage or to take any responsibility; they simply handed the Notices over to their insurance company, who then handed the Notices to their attorneys.
Why is it that bad government seems to think they can avoid liability and responsibility if they hand their incompetence over to a law firm? Town law provides for remedies but the Town of New Baltimore has, and continues to avoid their responsibilities and forces taxpayers and residents into the poor house because the only possibility is court, lawsuits. But the insurance companies have much deeper pockets than residents. Why should a resident have to fight to get local government to accept responsibility for what they have done? Why should it cost local residents, hard-working honest people, tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to force elected officials to do what's right and to comply with the law.
That's a good question for you, Mr. Stanzione. You're the chief law enforcement official in the County of Greene, what's your position on New Baltimore's liabilities and failure to comply with the law?
Well, the Town of New Baltimore, and you, Mr. Linger, and you, Mr. Stanzione, have been kept updated on the ongoing damage to a private residential structure in the Hamlet of New Baltimore, which you all KNOW has sustained damage due to the failure of the Town to maintain drainage and roadways as required by the law. The structure has been subject to ongoing damage thanks to incompetent roadwork. The Town has been provided with images, videos, and ongoing updates but the Town has so far ignored everything, and has done nothing.
The Highway Department installed a deep so-called "catchment" that's almost 2 feet deep and 30 inches across, a booby-trap, but when asked to put in a proper grate, they've ignored the request for nearly two years. When asked at least to mark the catchment to avoid and accident, they ignored that request, too! Don't drive down New Street, New Baltimore at night, you're risking your life. But you, Mr. Linger, you, Mr. Stanzione, you Mr. Dellisanti, and you Mr. Ruso, all know about this. But you have done NOTHING about it. And now Linger and Stanzione, you're asking New Baltimore for their votes?!?
In fact, Mr. Linger, we've read that you were asked to share your accomplishments with a local reporting medium but you refused to respond. Does that mean you have no accomplishments or that you feel you don't owe the voting public that information or even a response? Which is it Mr. Linger?
Well, the tax bills come out though, with clockwork regularity. A building's collapsing because of Town negligence but the building inspector/code enforcement officer and the assessor refuse to inspect the building. The owner pays his taxes on a building that he can't use.
When asked to inspect the site and to adjust the assessment, the New Baltimore Sole Assessor, Gordon Bennett, refuses and tells the owner to take it up on Grievance Day.
The owner presents the case on Grievance day to the Board of Assessment Review, a group of appointees, appointed by the Town Supervisor and approved by the Town Board. Again, facts, just the facts, images, answers were presented to the BAR, who granted 9 out of 11 requests for reduction of assessments but denied the requests made by the New Street property owner. This blog reported on that scandal.
The next step was to go before a hearing officer in a Small Claims Assessment Review proceeding (S.C.A.R.) and ask that an independent hearing officer reconsider the BAR's determination. This was done and Sole Assessor Bennett appeared to defend his assessment, but claimed that the property was not owner-occupied, and therefore, the owner was not eligible to be heard. But the property was and is "owner-occupied" as defined by the law but the more-than-eighty year old hearing officer stopped listening early in the hearing and, despite volumes of proof, sided with Bennett, although allowing a $1,000 reduction in another affected property.
Does something sound fishy here? Well, it gets even better, because New Baltimore's Bennett responded to the hearing officer's question, "Why hasn't New Baltimore condemned the structure?" Bennett replied that New Baltimore Town Hall was in "lawyer mode," meaning that they would not respond because of liability. [Editor's emphasis]
If that wasn't enough, Bennett shot himself and the Town of New Baltimore in the foot a second time when he stated, and I quote from the hearing officer's official determination:
But first, a quote from the hearing officer:
"Petitioner representative under oath states that the house is used for storage and that it is uninhabitable and unsafe to use as a residence because of structural failures and water damage. Photographs were presented to support the contention that it was uninhabitable." [Editor's emphasis]
And then the hearing officer states and certifies that:
"The Assessor [Bennett] concurred that the property was uninhabitable because of structural failures. Assessor then moved to disqualify the petition on the ground that the property was not owner-occupied." [Editor's emphasis. "Not owner-occupied"? Is Bennett crazy or just stupid? Maybe both! He just admitted that the property was "uninhabitable because of structural failures."]
Well, if I am reading that correctly, the hearing officer was provided with enough evidence and proof to clearly show that the property is "uninhabitable and unsafe," and Bennett agreed that "the property was uninhabitable because of structural failures," I am at a loss Why? Mr. Bennett and the Town of New Baltimore have not acted in good faith and at least reduced the assessment of the property.
I am also aware that the owner/owner's representative has addressed numerous letters and emails to the Town Supervisor, the Town Board, the Office of the Assessor, the Building Inspector, the Highway Department asking what they are going to do, what they propose should be done. The owner/owner's representative hasn't received a single response from any of those offices!
Sole Assessor Gordon Bennett explained the reason for this is that Town Hall is in "lawyer mode." [Editor's emphasis]
"Lawyer mode." I wonder if you, Mr. Linger, or perhaps you, Mr. Stanzione, can explain what exactly "lawyer mode" is and whether there is a provision of Town Law that permits elected, appointed officials and public employees to ignore their responsibilities and claim "lawyer mode?" Is that something like pleading the Fifth? I'd be very grateful if you could get back to me on that one. Yeah! Fat chance? Well, if hell doesn't freeze over in the meantime, there'll be a very special place there for you, Mr. Linger and you, Mr. Stanzione, as well as Mr. Jordan, Dellisanti, Ruso, and Bennett.
Shame on you all!!! You are hypocrites all!
Even if Mr. Ruso, Mr. Dellisanti, Mr. Bennet, Mr. van Wormer and the others in that den of thieves don't have any dignity, one would hope that one of you, Mr. Linger or Mr. Stanzione, would have the decency to call New Baltimore to explain, to justify their scandalous treatment of honest taxpayers, or at least to investigate their abuses. Or is that too much to expect, to hope for?
The hypocrisy includes their treatment of veterans. I am a veteran. The property owner of the damaged property is a veteran. I know of others who have suffered at the hands of Mr. Jordan and other public officials in New Baltimore, and those residents are veterans.
I am personally disgusted and affronted by the fact that so many of our county and town officials claim to support and to honor veterans but stab them in the back when push comes to shove. Mealy-mouthed, pabulum-puking hypocrisy is what it really is. Veterans luncheons, monuments, the whole embarrassing hypocritical dog and pony display makes me physically sick.
What's worse is when you see who's at those events, it's a bunch of deluded old men thinking that they are being honored – sometimes they're even outnumbered by the politicians who all seem to crawl out of the woodwork in time for a photo op, and then exchange a few empty words before making some sort of excuse that they have to be somewhere else.
In recap, we in the town of New Baltimore, the Little North Korea, Greene County, New York, USA, the Third World of the East Coast, are sick and tired of the propaganda and election campaign rhetoric, and the abuse we receive from elected officials who, in reality, are not elected. We are sick of being ignored and subjected to retaliatory or "special" treatment by incompetent public servants, who have their own agendas once they steal our votes. We are sick and tired of public servants and elected officials who breach and violate the contract between the taxpayer and government, the contract that basically says that we'll elect you, you'll collect tax paid salaries and pensions, but you have to conduct our business in good faith and fair play.
You have not done that. You have violated our trust. You have violated your oaths of office. You have cheated us. We now demand justice and your heads!
I demand, and I think I can speak not only for the abused property owner on New Street, but the abused residents throughout New Baltimore, for the abused citizens, residents, tax payers and voters who have been cheated and misled by people like you, Mr. Linger, Mr. Stanzione, Mr. Dellisanti, Mr. Ruso, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Jordan, Mr. vanWormer and so many parasites like you, that you make amends for your evil, your piracy, your treasons, your misconduct, your incompetence, your shameful abuse of the trust we gave you on election day.
Fix what you have allowed to happen and make those whose suffering and losses you have caused whole again.
And for those of you who were not elected, who were "declared elected," but not by voters, you are the worst of the bunch because you have not been approved democratically to lead or to govern.
Shame on you! Shame on you all! And shame on New Baltimore for allowing this to happen at all!
Disgusted,
A Concerned Resident
The Smalbany blog has already published numerous articles on the issues presented in the resident's letter. They are all true and factual. Supervisor Ruso, Deputy (former supervisor) Dellisanti, Sole Assessor Gordon Bennett, the New Baltimore Highway Department under Denis Jordan and Scott vanWormer,the New Baltimore Town Board are all a disgrace to any concept of decency, much less good competent government.
Veterans?!? The writer mentions an important point that we may have overlooked in the past but now have focused on: veterans and how they're treated. And Yes! we have noticed the so-called Veterans Luncheon and the Veterans Monument at Town Hall. New Baltimore has a Veterans Committee, too. You have to wonder if that so-called committee works as well as the other New Baltimore "committees," it's a wonder we have any living veterans in New Baltimore. Our opinion as veterans: Keep your casseroles and mealy-mouthed speeches and give us the justice we put our lives on the line for!!! And all you cowardly parasites who never wore a uniform in your lives, don't give us your bullshit about how you love your veterans!!! Put your policies where you're foul-smelling mouths are!!
By the way, Mr Linger, Mr Stanzione: Were either of you in the military? We mean other than the boy scouts, girl scouts, or National Guard or Reserves? How about you, Mr Ruso, Mr Dellisanti: Were you ever in uniform? We mean other than Albany Girls Academy, that is.
Yes, it's an election year and this is the time to make your voices heard, that is, if you haven't been deprived of a voice through your vote. It's uncanny that so many people will put up with having their rights taken away without uttering even a whimper. How can real Americans tolerate "unopposed candidates" or "uncontested elections" without screaming at the top of their voices: NO WAY!
Either do the job or get out of Town Hall! Do the job or get out of County government!
And we'd like to know more about this "lawyer mode" thing Mr Bennett has revealed; is this a new fad in Town and Village government? And what's the deal with the Town's refusal to respond to letters and correspondence? Too cowardly to take a position on the questions asked about how you operate the Town? Are the questions about taking responsibility and complying with the law over your heads? Yeah. We can see why you'd try to hide. Confused are you? Look, either do the job or get out of Town Hall! Do the job or get out of County government! And what about the Town of New Baltimore Town Board's responsibilities in terms of public safety and good stewardship of public resources? Have we turned a blind eye to that, too?
You! Yeah, YOU!
Your ass is grass, dude, and our foot's a lawnmower!
Mr Ruso, Mr Dellisanti, Mr Bennett, Mr Jordan, Mr vanWormer, Mr Linger, Mr Stanzione, and others can run but they won't be able to hide.
Letters will be going out soon the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (and the Office of Real Property Services), the Office of the New York State Comptroller, and the Office of the New York State Attorney General, demanding investigations or at least inquiry into what's going on in New Baltimore (and Ravena/Coeymans, too). We're going to ask Why? Mr Patrick Linger and Mr Joseph Stanzione have dropped the ball on so many issues, Why? they're asleep on duty. We'll also drop Mr Cuomo cc's of the letters to see what he has to say about his Repukelican friends in Greene County.
We will allege conspiracy to obstruct justice, to deprive citizens of their civil and protected rights, election fraud, violation of oaths of office, unlawful deprivation of rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the New York State and United States Constitution (3rd, 5th and 14th Amendments), violation of due process rights, breach of contract, among other violations and crimes, tortious negligence, unlawful eviction (constructive eviction), discriminatory practices. The list could go on but rest assured, the evidence and the proof for these allegations and others is clear, conspicuous, and incontestable. Mr Ruso, Mr Dellisanti, Mr Bennett, Mr Jordan, Mr vanWormer, Mr Linger, Mr Stanzione can run but they won't be able to hide.
How is it possible that New Baltimore, Greene County has such a bunch of irresponsible, despicable morons running the show. How can they get away with destroying private property, avoiding any notions of fair play and good faith, and still sleep at night. Well, when you have no conscience, you can do anything and still get a good night's sleep. new Baltimore Town hall, Mr Patrick Linger, Mr Joseph Stanzione, Mr Jeff Ruso, Mr Nick Dellisanti, Denis Jordan and Scot vanWormer are living proof of that!
What we have to choose from..
One Big Garbage Sorting Operation!
Posted by Principal Editor on October 13, 2018 in 19th Congressional District, 19th Congressional District, 2018 Elections, 20th Congressional District, 20th Congressional District, 46th District, 46th Senate District, Abuse of Public Office, Alan van Wormer, Allan Jourdin, Amedore Homes, Barbara Underwood, Bernie Jones, Beth Schnecke, Bob Ross, Chuck Irving, Civil Right Violation, Civil Rights, Civil Rights, Code Enforcement Officer, Conflict of Interest, Consolidated Highway Improvement Program, Conspiracy, Constitution, Corruption, Crystal R. Peck Esq., D. W. Contento, Daily Mail, Dangerous Conditions, DeLeonardis & Peck P.C., Democrap, Democratic Party Committee, Democrats, Denis Jordan, Department of Taxation and Finance, Deputy Superintendent of Highways, Donna Degnen, Eileen Vosburgh, Eilleen Vosburgh, Elected Official, Election Fraud, Elections and Voting, FaceBook, Felony, Fraud, George Amedore, Gordon Bennett, Greene County, Greene County Attorney, Greene County Board of Elections, Greene County District Attorney, Hudson Valley, Irregularities, Voting, Jeff Ruso, Joan Ross, Joe Stanzione, Joe Tanner, John B. Johnson, John Faso, John Luckacovic, Johnson Newspaper Group, Joseph Stanzione, Joseph Tanner, Linda LeClair, Lisa Benway, Lynn Taylor, Marjorie Loux, Mark Vinciguerra, Marshall & Sterling, Marshall Sterling Insurance, Misuse of Public Office, New Baltimore, New Baltimore Assessor, New Baltimore Democrats, New Baltimore Elections, New Baltimore Elections, New Baltimore Highway Department, New Baltimore Highway Superintendent, New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways, New Baltimore Town Board, New Baltimore Veterans Committee, New York, New York State Constitution, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New York State Highway Law, New York State Town Law, Nick Delisanti, Nick Dellisanti, NYS Assembly, NYS Senate, Obstruction of Justice, Office of the Assessor, Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Comptroller, Pat Linger, Patrick Linger, Protected Rights, Public Corruption, Public Office, Public Safety, Ravena News Herald, Real Property Tax Law, Republican Party Committee, Retaliation, Robert van Etten, Scott VanWormer, Shelly van Etten, Smalbany, Sole Assessor, Tal Rappelea, The Daily Mail, Times Union, Town of New Baltimore, Trident Insurance, VanEtten
New Baltimore: Home of the PortaPotty Polls! Blumpkin* Ballots!
New Baltimore, Greene County, Albany County, perhaps the entire nation has a problem. The problem is that the country is run by political party committees that do their own thing without consulting with anyone outside of their own organizations.
Another problem is that once voters think they elect someone to public office, they may not have really elected anyone at all! That's what happens in the case of the so-called "unopposed" candidate: they're elected without a vote. But it's even worse when the political parties are the ones who hand pick the candidates for you. That's democracy? We think not!
= Poop.
First of all, anyone who gets on the ballot has to be approved by a party committee or at least get past the county board of elections, which is run by party members. Just check out your Greene County or Albany County Board of Elections and you'll see entries for Repukelicans and Democraps, but no entries for independent voters. There's where you have no choice.
Let's look at what's happening in the Town of New Baltimore at this very moment.
Great Boilin' Blumkins, Batman!
They sure can cook up a mean batch of self-importance but can't conjure up any answers …. or candidates!
You basically have the Democraps and the Repukelicans, who then go after the fringe parties like the Conservatives, Independents, etc. and negotiate for their "endorsements."
Apart from the fact that the Democraps can't come up with anything better than recycled losers and a racist rapper, they have no shortage of arrogance.
The New Baltimore Democrats are run by an all-white, all-female party committee who can't come up with any real candidates and haven't done so in the past two elections. They are incompetent but that doesn't stop them from being biatches. A contributor recently asked the New Baltimore Democrap Committee a couple of very reasonable questions:
On Wednesday, September 5, 2018, we wrote to Eileen Vosburgh, Janet Kash, Doreen Davis, and Beth Schneck, the Democratic Party Committee members for New Baltimore,
We are preparing an article on the state of elections in New Baltimore and would like to have your comments on the following:
(1) Mr James Eckl's qualifications and commitments to the residents of the Town of New Baltimore if elected to be the New Baltimore legislator in the Greene County Legislature. Particularly, we'd like to know Why? Mr Eckl and the Greene County Democratic Committee feel he is qualified and the right choice to be Legislator.
(2) We would like to know Why? the Greene County Democratic Committee and the New Baltimore Democratic Committee were unable to put a candidate on the ballot to oppose Mr Alan vanWormer as candidate for the elected office of Town of New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways? (A similar question could be raised as to the fact of Mr Jeffrey Ruso's unopposed candidacy for the office of Town Supervisor in 2017).
We are preparing a preliminary article in preparation for the September primaries and would appreciate your confirmation of receipt of this communication.
We would be grateful for your response to the above questions by September 7, 2018, before 5 p.m.
Janet Kash replies on Friday, Sep 7, 2018:
"The thing is, [name redacted], if you want to talk to a candidate, you contact the candidate. Thank you for your interest in the race."
We followed up on our request writing on Friday, Sep 7, 2018 to to Eileen Vosburgh, Janet Kash, Doreen Davis, and Beth Schneck:
"Can you please confirm that you received our inquiry and that you are working on a response?"
Janet Kash replies on Sep 7, 2018, 4:02 PM
to me, copied to committee members Keltoneov, Doreen, Beth
"No reply is happening"
So much for transparency and openness in government. Those are Democraps talking. Those are the women who run the New Baltimore Democrap party and their response to YOU, the voters and residents of New Baltirmore.
Wouldn't New Baltimore residents, tax payers, voters like to know whey the New Baltimore Democrats can't come up with any candidates and, when they do, it's only to recycle a multiple loser and to run a racist rapper for Congress?!?!
Rapping Radical "God Bless Iraq" Dem challenges Republican for upstate congressional seat
If you think Congress is a bunch of clowns in business suits the Democraps want you to add a racist rapper to the mix.
Antonio Delgado has two things going for him:
His color will get him the Black vote, and his last name is likely to get him the Hispanic vote. His racism and total lack of values will get him the liberal Democrat vote.
"Meet New York City liberal Antonio Delgado. Before moving upstate to run for Congress as [House Democratic leader] Pelosi's candidate, Delgado was an L.A. rapper called AD the Voice," said the ad paid by the Congressional Leadership.
It then bleeped out provocative lyrics about having sex to a porno flick.
The ad also claimed that Delgado "laced his lyrics with extremist attacks on American values," criticized American presidents and "minimized 9/11" as footage of the burning World Trade Center towers appeared on the screen.
[Source: "House candidate's 'offensive' rap lyrics called out in attack ad" https://nypost.com/2018/08/17/house-candidates-offensive-rap-lyrics-called-out-in-attack-ad/, last accessed on October 3, 2018.]
[Editor's Note: We have searched the web for lyrics of "Ad the Word," Delgado's pseudonym as a rapper, but they seem to have disappeared from the web. Normally, simply googling an artist's name and lyrics or songs will turn up dozens if not hundreds of hits. Not so for Delgado! His keepers seem to have made everything disappear from the web…everything that would reveal the low-life character of Antonio Delgado, racist rapper!]
Perhaps you, residents, voters in New Baltimore would like to ask the Democratic Party the same questions. Here are their contact details:
Eileen Vosburgh: Tel. (518) 756-8113, email Keltoneov@aol.com
Janet Kash: Tel. (518) 915-4034, email janetkkash@aol.com
Doreen Davis: Tel. (518) 678-0317, email: doreendavis3@gmail.com
Beth Schneck (also Green County vice chariman): no phone available, email: bschneckPhoto@gmail.com
Me likey New Baltimore! They likey one party elections!
The New Baltimore Repukelicans are no better. We've contacted incumbent Greene County Legislator Patrick "Pat" Linger (R), asking him to share with us and New Baltimore voters what he's done during this past term in office. He's running again on the Repukelican ticket asking to be re-elected, so wouldn't you all, as voters and residents in Greene County and the Town of New Baltimore be interested in what Mr Linger thinks he'd done for you while in office. Here is what we asked Dingleberry Linger:
We note that you are running again for County Legislator and are actively tracking the candidates and balloting and campaign activities of your opponent parties and their candidates.
In view of the upcoming elections, we would like to ask you to provide the following information within the next 5 business days:
Please share your most significant accomplishments over this term of office as Greene County Legislator, and provide a brief description of each.
Please share your most significant accomplishments over this term of office as Greene County Legislator that most directly affect the residents and taxpayers of the Town of New Baltimore.
Please share your most significant support to any one resident or one family in the Town of New Baltimore as County Legislator.
What have been the most important pieces of legislation drafted by you during your term of office as Greene County Legislator?
What have been the most important pieces of legislation voted on (YES) vote during your term of office as Greene County Legislator?
What future legislation do you plan for Greene County as Greene County Legislator, if re-elected?
As incumbent seeking re-election, you will likely be running against Mr James Eckl. Briefly, what makes you a better choice for voters in New Baltimore?
Thank you for your prompt attention to this request. If you feel you need more time, please provide a reasonable date by which we can expect your responses.
We look forward to your responses.
Dear Mr Linger:
On August 15, 2018, we sent to you a request for information on your last term in office as Greene County Legislator.
We requested a response within a reasonable time and find now that more than 20 days have lapsed since our first contact requesting the information shown in the email below.
Please have the courtesy and show the respect your constituents deserve by either responding with your achievements or at least a refusal to provide your information. A non-response will be interpreted (1) as a statement that you have not accomplished anything in your last term, and (2) that you don't have the respect for your constituents that is required for re-election.
If we do not hear back from you by Friday. September 7, 2018, 5 p.m., we will assume (1) and (2), above, and contact Mr James Eckl for his statements, and publish accordingly.
Despite our follow-ups, Repuklican Mr. Linger refused to respond in any way whatsoever so we must assume that Mr. Linger has ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING during his term in office as County Legislator representing the Town of New Baltimore.
Editor's Comment: We do want to note that Mr Linger has plenty of time to spy on the activities of the other political hopefuls in New Baltimore and to share that information in great detail with his political cronies. Here's a recent example:
From: Patrick Linger <lingerems@yahoo.com>
To: Jeff Ruso <jrruso56@yahoo.com>; Kathy Yahoo <katysheba@yahoo.com>; Michael Meredith <mmeredith@fedex.com>; Barbara Finke <barb.finke@yahoo.com>; Edward Barber <edbarber@mail.com>; Scott Briody <sbriody@its-inc.com>; Chuck Irving <faithmiracle18@yahoo.com>; Alan VanWormer <nbfdprez@yahoo.com>; Nick Dellisanti <nadellisanti@gmail.com>; Jean Horn <jhorn38@aol.com>; Skip Aierle <laierle@aol.com>; Christine Byas <christinebyas1@hotmail.com>; Rob Krasney <rhkrasney@aol.com>
Cc: Robert Van Etten <rpveci@gmail.com>
Sent: Fri, Jul 13, 2018 12:13 pm
Subject: Re: Petitions
Good afternoon,
I received the following from the County BOE last night in reference to what the Dems filed petitions for. I had to specifically ask, but Alan and I were also authorized by the Independence Party. We will have Republican, Conservative, and Independence lines, with no primary. There is a bit of good news for the Legislature, Durham is a (D) now and will switch back to (R). Athens is (D) now and the incumbent, Palmateer, is not running so chances are good for the (R). Greenville is (R) now and the newcomer (C) is running unopposed at this point so we'll keep that one.
This is what the Democrats filed today. Now we know the landscape of what November will bring.
Independent (party for a day) petitions can be file up to August 21st.
We will be looking over their petitions to see if any chance to challenge. A quick look today shows no real opportunity to do so but we will take a closer look tomorrow.
Bottom line is they have three county wides (treasurer and two coroners) and legislative candidates in:
Catskill: But only two so that is good. Joe Kozlowski and Christopher Hamilton.
Cairo: Only Harry so Harry and Bill are running unopposed.
Halcott, Hunter, Lexington: Only Larry G. as we did not have a candidate.
Athens: Michael Pirrone
Windham, Ashland, Jewett, Prattsville: Lori
N. Baltimore: James Eckel
Some have multiple lines as detailed in info below Elisa sent me.
Coxsackie (2 legislators), Greenville, Durham totally unopposed so long as no independent line is created.
Please advise your candidates accordingly of what we have.
And he goes on in a later email:
Treasurer-Lee (DEM, WEP,IND)
Coroner-Robert Gaus/Joshua Lipsman(DEM,WEP,WOR,IND)
Leg Cat-Joseph Kozlowski(DEM,IND,WEP,WOR) & Christopher Hamilton(DEM&IND)
Leg Car- Harry(DEM&IND)
Leg HuHalLex Larry (DEM&IND)
Leg Athens- Michael Pirrone (DEM,IND)
Leg WiPraJeAsh- Lori (DEM,IND)
Leg NB- James Eckl (DEM)
-Pat
On Tuesday, July 10, 2018, 7:29:10 AM EDT, Patrick Linger <lingerems@yahoo.com> wrote:
I think I can safely speak for Alan when I say thank you for the work on the petitions! I submitted them to Brent yesterday with 62 total Republican signatures, plenty to cover the 5% needed. He also has the Conservative petitions and the Independence petitions. Thank you Shelly, AnnMarie, and Jeff Ruso for the help with those! The BOE has the signed authorization from the Conservative committee to allow us to submit petitions for their line, but did not yet have the same from the Independence. They have until July 16 to authorize.
Greene County Youth Fair is July 26-29 in Cairo. As many of you know, the Republicans staff a booth/table in the big tent for the weekend. Our time slot is Saturday, July 28th, 9am to Noon (Our usual noon – 3 was already taken). Anyone who wants to attend is welcome to join me (and hopefully Alan) there.
The next regularly scheduled committee meeting (4th Thursday) is July 26th, 7pm at the Boathouse.
So, New Baltimore voters, we can clearly see what Pat Linger, your Repukelican County Legislator has been doing; it's no wonder he can't come up with any accomplishments in the legislature! He's too busy doing other things.
You know, Jim Eckl may be a two-time loser but compared to Linger, Eckl's starting to look real good…if only he could shake the Democrap stench he'd have a chance. Can you do that Jimmy? Can you shake those three wenches from your back? Can you be a real man and run on your hind legs? Try it. Make a commitment to New Baltimore voters that you can do better than Linger and maybe we'll throw in a couple of good words for ya.
The New Baltimore Repukelicans ran their candidate, Jeff Ruso, unopposed for Town Supervisor. In other words, Ruso was not elected, he was declared elected by default. Ruso then immediately appointed his predecessor, Nick Dellisanti, to be his deputy. Dellisanti refused to run again, paving the way for former loser Ruso, who ran for the supervisor office once before and lost. So now New Baltimore residents have an unelected Town Supervisor (Ruso) and an unelected Deputy Town Supervisor (Dellisanti). Of course we can't fault the New Baltimore Repukelicans for the New Baltimore Democraps' failure to run a candidate but we can fault both Ruso and Dellisanti for so openly and glaringly pleasuring each other publicly and at the New Baltimore public's expense: Dellisanti clears the way for loser Ruso and loser Ruso invites RINO Dellisanti back into the Supervisor's office! Now that's the way to run elections…in North Korea!
As we have already published in several articles, the incumbent Repukelicans in New Baltimore Town Hall consider themselves above us all and feel it's unnecessary to respond to residents' correspondence; their appointees and employees like Gordon Bennett (Sole Assessor) and the Board of Assessment Review, a tool to reward or to punish by means of its incompetence, play their politics games and reward their friends while cheating others; while the Democrap and Repukelicans steal your right to vote or not to vote for candidates by their refusing to put up candidates and run candidates unopposed, who would be "declared elected," even if they got no votes at all.
Both parties have turned our polling places into portapotties.
Both parties have turned your ballot into a blumpkin.
Both parties have turned your voice into a fart.
Are you happy with your Democracy now?
Stay tuned for our follow-up article on how you are being denied your vote and the problem of Alan Van Wormer.
Posted by Principal Editor on October 4, 2018 in 19th Congressional District, 19th Congressional District, 2018 Elections, 20th Congressional District, 20th Congressional District, 46th District, 46th Senate District, Accountability, Antonio Delgado, Assessment Review, Beth Schnecke, Burning the Constitution, Civil Rights, Democracy is Dead, Democrap, Democratic Caucus, Democratic Party Committee, Democrats, Department of State, Doreen Davis, Eileen Vosburgh, Election Fraud, Elections and Voting, Gordon Bennett, Government, Greene County, Greene County Board of Elections, Greene County District Attorney, Greene County Elections, Greene County Sheriff, Gregory R. Seeley, Irregularities, Voting, Janet Kash, Jeff Ruso, Joe Stanzione, Joseph Stanzione, Joseph Tanner, Misconduct, Misuse of Public Office, New Baltimore, New Baltimore Assessor, New Baltimore Democratic Committee, New Baltimore Democrats, New Baltimore Elections, New Baltimore Elections, New Baltimore Republican Club, New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways, New Baltimore Town Board, New Baltimore Veterans Committee, New York, New York State Election Law, Nick Delisanti, Nick Dellisanti, NYS Assembly, NYS Comptroller Audit, NYS Senate, Office of the Assessor, Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Comptroller, Pat Linger, Patrick Linger, Poll Misconduct, Public Corruption, Republican Caucus, Republican Party Committee, Shelly van Etten, Smalbany, Smalbany Articles, Tal Rappelea, Vote NO!, Voting Irregularities
Board of Education Member James "Hadji" Latter: Is he paying his fair share of property taxes?
In the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District, the name James "Hadji"* Latter has a murky history. He's been able to stay on the RCS-CD Board of Education for a number of years now, not because of his tidy background and performance record, but because the RCS-CD is just a corrupt and manipulated as any other "elected" body in the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk/Albany County region, including New Baltimore and Greene County. But New Baltimore, although in Greene County, pays a portion of their property taxes to support the bloated budget of the RCS-CD and the idiotic programs approved by a board of back-scratchers and cronies.
* "Hadji" is our nickname for James Latter II because of his close associations with the Saudi Arabian company SABIC.
We have reported in the past about Latter's questionable conduct on the board but when you are dealing with a group who love their power to spend public money, and then ask for more and then make decisions that affect the school age young people in the district and their futures. It's hard for them to let go and share the responsibility or even to acknowledge and consult the public. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and the RCS Central School District Board of Education is no exception. Least of all Mr James Latter II.
That's why, when a local resident drew our attention to the parking and traffic situation in the Village of Ravena in connection with our recent investigation of Village of Ravena Code Enforcement and, while guiding us around on the grand tour of the many Village of Ravena parking opportunities — in no less than six public parking areas less than one block from the commercial district of Village Center —, and that resident pointed out and commented on a particularly ostentatious eyesore of recent construction on a large lot on Aluise Drive, just in back of the huge lot owned by the Roman Catholic Church of St Patrick, we got curious.
That's when sitting RCS Central School District Board of Education member James J. "Hadji" Latter II again waddled into the spotlight in his usual murky and questionable style.
You see, Latter and wifey, Amanda C. (Mrs Hadji) purchased two large adjacent lots (total acreage 6.5 acres, cost $101,000) on Aluise Drive in the Village. The lots were previously owned by the Roman Catholic Church of Saint Patrick (Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany) but were sold off and Latter was in the pews ready to close the deal. Was that because former BoE member and crooked cop Gerald "Dirty Hands Jery" Deluca was high up in the Church's lay administration and an insider? Probably. Latter and "Dirty Hands" Jerry were thick as flies on fresh summer sh*t. So here we have another questionable business deal in Ravena, Home of the Incest Club, and the Roman Catholic Church of Saint Patrick, an Incest Club meeting place, probably brokered by "Dirty Hands Jerry" Deluca before he was forced out ("resigned") of the Coeymans Police Department with former dunce Coeymans Police Chief Gregory "Dumplin" Darlington was canned ("retired"), and disgraced town/village justice Phil Crandall was elected to be Coeymans Town Supervisor. You really can't make this stuff up!!!
Our investigations to date have revealed the following interesting and questionable situations. But please note: This information is preliminary and is based on our research in the Village of Ravena and the Town of Coeymans using immediately available information, that is, information we could get on the spot without the formal F.O.I.L procedure (demanding production of public access documents and information under the provisions of the New York State Public Officers Law), and our vetting of that information on official New York state tax online sites. We have demanded the production of documents that will provide finer details of the transactions and Mr Latter's operations but that may take some time, given Mr Latter's position and his "friends" in Village and Town offices.
The properties are listed in the official property tax documents as belonging to James and Amanda Latter of 13 Laura Drive, Ravena, New York. Note that address because we'll be returning to that information shortly.
James "Hadji" and Amanda Latter posing with Hillary Clinton.
Birds of a feather…!
New York State Law Requires the Assessor to Assess Property Under Construction
In some states a new construction is not subject to assessment for tax purposes until it is completed and a certificate of occupancy is issued. The situation in New York State is different, however, here in New York state there is the so-called partial assessment.
Sitting Board of Education Member James Latter's new house he will be sharing with teacher wife Amanda Latter.
It's at 9 Aluise Drive in Ravena, in back of St Patrick's Church.
New construction assessments are placed on the assessment roll based on the partial market value if the construction is in process or the market value of the completed construction as of March 1st, and that assessment is used to compute the school tax bill issued in September and the county, town, and special district tax bill issued the following January.
9 Aluise Drive. Behind St Patricks RC Church and next to the P.B. Coeymans Elementary School.
In the case of a partial assessment, the market value of the home is determined by using the completion percentage of the construction as of March 1st. If the construction is partially complete as of March 1st, the assessment will represent only a percentage of the total property tax assessment when the construction is completed. A partial assessment will be place on the tax roll as a "partial", and increased each year until the construction is 100% complete.
In New York State, the assessor is required to value the property exactly as he or she finds it on taxable status date, that is on March 1st. The Assessor is required by New York State law to value property in its condition on that date. A partially completed building will receive a partial assessment based on its estimated percentage of completion as of March 1st. If your house is under construction on March 1, its estimated percentage of completion on that date will be the basis for the assessment
The property was assessed at a time when the progress of the entire construction project was measured and recorded as a partial assessment. An assessment calendar requires that a property review be based on where the progress of the construction is at the time, and the assessment be based on the progress at the cut-off date on the calendar year. The property has to appear on the tax roll for taxes to be paid in the following year.
The law would require that the Latter construction be assessed in it's state of construction on March 1st. It was not. This partial assessment procedure was not followed in Latter's case and Latter's property was not assessed in part while under construction and, though completed, the Town of Coeymans Assessor was unaware of the construction and the property has not yet been assessed! Mr Latter is not paying his fair share of property taxes. Mr Latter is not paying his fair share of his school taxes to the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District. Mr Latter should be required to resign from his position on the Board of Education for such malconduct.
We did some research and found that the latest tax information on the property at 9 Aluise Drive in Ravena doesn't show a thing about any new construction and lists it as vacant land. But there's a house on it that looks as if it's market value would be at least $200,000!!! What is the deal here? We all have to pay our property taxes and a big part of those taxes go to the schools. Latter is on the Board of Education and decides on the school budget and how much we have to pay but it looks like he's scamming the Town of Coeymans, whose Assessor wasn't even aware the house was there — even though you can almost see it from Coeymans Town Hall!!!
Extract of New York State Real Property Report for one of the Latter Lots (where the house is standing).
New York State real property tax assessment law requires that a new construction be assessed as a partial assessment if it's not completed by the date of March 1st of any year. That means that whatever part of Latter's house that was completed by March 1, 2018, should have been assessed at that percentage of the total value of the house. But it wasn't and we all want to know Why?
Another inconsistency is this: James Latter and Amanda Latter list their address of record as being 13 Laura Lane in the Village of Ravena. A bit more research shows that 13 Laura Lane in the Village of Ravena is owned by Anthony and Ann Carrk, not by the Latters. True, the Latters could be renting from Amanda's parents all these years but isn't that a stretch? Could be true, though. Maybe Jimmy "Hadji" or Amanda could shed some light on this question. Or maybe Anthony or Ann Carrk can explain the living conditions and how so many could be living in that tiny hovel on Laura Lane.
13 Laura Lane and 9 Aluise Drive. Where do the Latters live?
If you ask the Village of Ravena Building Department Joe Burns, he willl tell you that they issue the building permit for new constructions, do the code enforcement inspections, and when the construction is done, they issue the certificate of occupancy. The Town of Coeymans Sole Assessor Dawn DeRose will tell you that they are notified by the Village of Ravena when the construction is finished. But that's doesn't explain why a partial assessment of the Latters' property wasn't done by the Town of Coeymans according the New York State Real Property Law. You'd think Town of Coeymans Sole Assessor Dawn DeRose would know better.
This just in: According to a very simple document provided to the Town of Coeymans by the Village of Ravena entitled "Village of Ravena, Building Projects Completed in July 2018" the Village of Ravena provides a one-liner notification of Latter's construction project. That's all. The document provides only the following information:
The Bare Bones Provided to the Town of Coeymans Assessor.
The above document provided by the Town of Coeymans in response to a F.O.I.L. demand clearly shows that Latter's new construction was likely completed by March 2018 and is valued at $300,000. Even if it were not completed it would have been substantially completed and should have been assessed and on the tax rolls!!! It is not. A 1728 square foot two-story home with attached garage can represent a pretty fair amount of tax revenue, even if only subject to a partial assessment. Our question is: Why wasn't the information provided to the Town of Coeymans Assessor when the building permit was issued? Why was it provided only after a Certificate of Occupancy was issued on July 3, 2018!!! Latter saved a pretty penny thanks to the Village of Ravena's substandard reporting procedures. We're certain the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance will be very interested in this case and will likely want to investigate how many other similar cases have gotten past the Assessor and the Tax Department.
Ravena will tell you it's not their problem because they don't have an assessor; the assessments are done by the Town of Coeymans Assessor. Coeymans will tell you that they don't police the Village of Ravena and the Village of Ravena has to tell Coeymans what's going on so that the assessor can do his assessments. Latter will likely tell us that he doesn't know anything about all this. Sounds like a really shady case of finger-pointing or passing the buck here, now that the cat's hit the fan and yet another problem in Village of Ravena-Town of Coeymans communications is revealed. Don't you think it's high time the Village and the Town started communicating? Now the community is losing property tax money from a select few that managed to drop below the assessment radar. That's just not fair and it's not legal. Someone has to answer for this illegal conduct and investigate how many other similar cases have cheated the Town out of tax dollars.
This is another case for the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Real Property Division, and the Office of the New York State Comptroller. Rest assured they'll be informed of all relevant details.
Do the Village or Ravena and the Town of Coeymans need a Special Audit?
But isn't Latter a Board of Education member elected by the deaf-dumb-and-blind voters of the Town of Coeymans? Doesn't he put together the school budget that gets funded in major part by our property taxes as assessed by the Office of the Assessor. And isn't Latter a so-called "financial analyst" at SABIC? Wouldn't you expect him to know about property taxes, assessments, etc.?
Ignorance is no excuse
Village and Town are Accessories.
Editor's Aside: Diverting a bit from Mr James "Hadji" Latter's past malconduct while a Board of Education member and later as president of the Board of Education that ranged from violations of confidentiality to a laundry list of questionable conduct and associations, he seems to have allied himself with a clique that manages to get elected no matter what. Probably by friends and family and a bit of influence peddling. But Latter is a decision maker on the Board of Education that hires the Superintendent of Schools for the RCS Central School District who runs the schools and manages the teachers. Latter's Board hired a former principal/teacher from the RCS high-school as Superintendent at an astronomical salary, and others in turn to other posts.
"Hadji" Latter and his cronies have considerable influence on what gets taught by whom in our schools but he is obviously a supporter of Hillary Clinton. What's worse still, is the fact that he is employed as a financial analyst at the Saudi Arabian company SABIC!!!
The SABIC flag flying near one of the company's cogeneration towers in Feura Bush.
SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation) is a Saudi diversified manufacturing company, active in petrochemicals, chemicals, industrial polymers, fertilizers, and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia, as listed in Tadawul, but the Saudi government still owns 70% of its shares. SABIC is also the largest listed company in the Middle East. Private shareholders are from Saudi Arabia and other countries of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Saudi SABIC
While Saudi Arabia is often a secondary source of funds and support for terror movements who can find more motivated and ideologically invested benefactors (e.g. Qatar), Saudi Arabia arguably remains the most prolific sponsor of international Islamist terrorism, allegedly supporting groups as disparate as the Afghanistan Taliban, Al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Al-Nusra Front. Saudi Arabia is said to be the world's largest source of funds and promoter of Salafist jihadism, which forms the ideological basis of terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, Taliban, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan) and others.
This is one of the guys you elected to run your school system!!!
We're staying on top of this one and will publish the information provided by the Village of Ravena and the Town of Coeymans in response to our F.O.I.L demands as it becomes available.
Yes. We know.
But let's see what you say when the cat hits the fan.
JUST PAY YOUR TAXES!!!
Posted by Principal Editor on August 23, 2018 in 19th Congressional District, 20th Congressional District, Accountability, Albany, Amanda Latter, Ann Carrk, Anthony Carrk, Assessment, Bill Bailey, Board of Education Member, Brian Bailey, Capital District, Church of St Patrick, Code Enforcement Officer, Code Violation, Coeymans, Coeymans Assessor, Coeymans Code Enforcement, Columbia-Greene Media, Daily Mail, Donna Degnen, Fair Play, Gerald Deluca, Gordon Bennett, Government, Greene County News, Henry Traver, Incompetence, James Latter, James Latter II, Jason Hyslop, Jeff Ruso, Jerry "Dirty-Hands" Deluca, Joe Burns, Joe Tanner, John B. Johnson, Joseph Burns, Joseph Tanner, Mark Vinciguerra, Mayor "Mouse", Mayor "Mouse" Misuraca, Michael J. Biscone, Moose Misuraca, Nancy Biscone-Warner, Nancy Warner, Nancy Warner, New Baltimore Assessor, New York, New York State, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, News Herald, NYS Assembly, NYS Comptroller Audit, NYS Senate, Office of the Comptroller, Official Misconduct, Partial Assessment, Phil Crandall, Property Taxes, Public Corruption, Public Office, Public Safety, Ravena, Ravena Building Inspector, Ravena Coeymans Selkirk, Ravena Coeymans Selkirk Central School District, Ravena News Herald, RCS Board of Education, RCS Central School District, RCS School Superintendant, RCS Superintendent of Schools, Real Property Tax Law, Sabic, Sante Debacco, Selkirk Cogen, Shame On You, Smalbany, Tax Avoidance, Tax Evasion, Tax Evasion, Taxation, Thomas E. Dolan, Tom Dolan, Village of Ravena, Village of Ravena Building Department, William Bailey, William Bailey, William Misuraca, William Misuraca, Zoning Enforcement Officer
Three Articles on New Baltimore Scandals: Pick One or Read All.
First of all: Were you aware of these little tidbits?
At the January 1, 2018, Organizational Town Board Meeting:
Mr. Jeff Ruso appointed former New BaltimoreTown Supervisor, Nick Dellisanti, to be his deputy supervisor. Dellisanti showed his true colors when he refused to appoint non-party campaign workers to key town positions when he took office; his damning response was, "Republicans appoint Republicans." Seems that New Baltimore Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso takes it a step further, since Ruso was Dellisanti's deputy supervisor, "Cronies appoint cronies." The net effect is that Dellisanti, although he had all sorts of excuses why he didn't want to run again in 2017, got himself appointed to act as supervisor. Ruso runs unopposed in New Baltimore and gets "elected" to be Town Supervisor and then he selects Dellisanti to be his deputy. Clever little trick, doncha think? Don't they call that a dictatorship elsewhere? Single party system, unopposed (s)elections. Padding the panel.
Two famous political cronies.
But what really reveals Ruso's attitude towards his unopposed election to be supervisor are his own words on appointing Dellisanti: "Now the appointment is mine entirely as Town Supervisor," but Ruso did have the decency to ask the Town Board to ratify his appointment by Resolution. His motion was seconded by his constant sidekick Shelly vanEtten, whose husband also serves on the Planning Board as chairman, and somehow got on the Town Agriculture Committee, indirectly pulls strings on Town committees through his wife, Shelly van Etten, a sitting Town Board Member.
The shyster factor was also confirmed with the re-appointment of Tal Rappelea to be Town Attorney. Rappelea will receive more than $800/month as Town Attorney, generally sitting for about an half-hour next to Ruso or Dellisanti once a month at the regular Town Board meeting, if he even shows up.
There's much more that our readers should be aware of and can be found in the minutes of that meeting at Organizational Meeting 2018 of January 1, 2018 .
This article is actually three component articles. Click on the links below to read the different sections. You won't regret it.
Posted by Principal Editor on August 4, 2018 in 19th Congressional District, 2018 Elections, 20th Congressional District, Alan van Wormer, Animal Control Officer, Assessment, Assessment Review, Board of Assessment Review, Broken Lease, Burning the Constitution, Charles Stahlman, CHIPS, Civil Right Violation, Consolidated Highway Improvement Program, Conspiracy, Constitution, Corruption, Crystal R. Peck Esq., Daily Mail, DeLeonardis & Peck P.C., Denis Jordan, Denis Jordan, Deputy Superintendent of Highways, Donna Degnen, Elections and Voting, Gordon Bennett, Government, Greene County, Greene County Court, Greene County District Attorney, Greene County Elections, Grievance Day, Harassment, Hazardous Conditions, Hudson Valley, Jeff Ruso, Joe Stanzione, Joe Tanner, Joseph Stanzione, Joseph Tanner, Law Enforcement, Lawsuit, Marshall Sterling Insurance, Meprision of Felony, Michael Biscone, Michael J. Biscone, Misconduct, Misuse of Public Office, New Baltimore, New Baltimore Assessor, New Baltimore Democratic Committee, New Baltimore Democrats, New Baltimore Elections, New Baltimore Highway Department, New Baltimore Highway Superintendent, New Baltimore Republican Club, New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways, New Baltimore Town Board, New Baltimore Town Court, New York, New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, New York State Constitution, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New York State Department of Transportation, New York State Department of Transportation, New York State Highway Law, New York State Police, New York State Police, New York State Supreme Court, New York State Town Law, New York State Unified Court System, Nick Delisanti, Nick Dellisanti, NYS Assembly, NYS Comptroller Audit, NYS Senate, Office of the Assessor, Office of the Comptroller, Pat Linger, Patrick Linger, Ravena Coeymans Selkirk, Ravena Coeymans Selkirk Central School District, RCS Central School District, Ronna Smith, Scott Van Wormer, Scott VanWormer, Shelly van Etten, Smalbany, Sole Assessor, Stahlman, Tal Rappelea, Terry J. Wilhelm, Terry Wilhelm, Tom Meacham, Town and Village Courts, Town and Village Judge, Town Justice, Town Law, Town of Bethlehem, Town of New Baltimore, VanEtten, Zach Stahlman, Zachary Stahlman
The New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review met on Grievance Day, May 22, 2018, and the Final Tax Roll was published on July 1, 2018.
The Office of the Sole Assessor, currently occupied by Mr. Gordon Bennett (an employee of the Town), and the New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review (all appointees by the current Town board) is representative of the rest of New Baltimore's dog-and-pony act, their excuse for Town government: Complete Incompetence and Ignorance!!!
Grievance Day is also a dog-and-pony act, where a gang of five appointees sit and demonstrate how ignorant and poorly qualified they are for determining the quality of property assessments in the Town of New Baltimore. The assessor sits by and listens, not contributing much in the way of assisting the poor wretches or preventing them from making complete asses of themselves and taxpayers!
Here's this year's tally of stupidity based on documents provided by the Town of New Baltimore and the official taped recordings of the New Baltimore Board of Assessment Reveiw of hearings held on Grievance Day, May 22, 2018, at New Baltimore Town Hall:
Shyster Michael Biscone of Ravena, apparently a bosom buddy of Mr. Bennett, since they are on a first-name basis, even in an official proceeding like Grievance Day, represents two property owners before the Board of Assessment Review, and presents their cases in a rambling fashion, so you have to pay close attention to understand the bottom line on the tapes. [Editor's Note: For those of our readers, we are providing links to the Greene County online Property Tax Information website, where you can read everything about the properties we're discussing. It's all public access. Just click the links in the text below to go to the property information. The link to the main page, where you can search properties by municipality, tax map number, last name, first name, etc. is Greene County Search. ]
The first property is on Roberts Hill Road (565 Roberts Hill Rd, West Coxsackie NY 12192); it's actually two properties that were once one but was divided in order to sell them. One has a house on it sitting on three acres (Tax Map No. 28.00-2-31.2). The other portion is 37 acres of undeveloped property (Tax Map No. 28.00-2-31.1). Mr. Biscone, on behalf of David Hales, whom he refers to as a "fine young man," argues that the two properties should be assessed as one. He also admits that Grievance Day is not the place to argue his reasons but he does so anyway. Hales purchased the property in 2017 for $206,000. Bennett assessed the property for $210,000. The New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review, practically no questions asked, reduced Hales' assessment by $49,000. Why? You'll never know.
The second property is an interesting case. Again, it's presented by shyster Biscone and is a property owned by William Brant, who, by the way, gives his address as 72 Brownstone Way, Apt. 410, Englewood, New Jersey (!), and owns the property on US Rt. 9W, between the Best Western and New Baltimore Family Dentistry (Tax Map No. 40.00-4-2.111). He's had his plan for a for-profit senior living project that has been before the New Baltimore Planning Board for several years now, and has finally gotten approval. If you drive down US Route 9W going South, you'll come to the Best Western Hotel, and then New Baltimore Family Dentistry. The Brant property is between the hotel and the dentists there's a cute little cottage sitting in the middle of the field (that's the Brant property) . In fact, you can see the temporary road leading into the property, where construction preps are being done. Looking towards the back of the property is a small building, a "well house" that is discussed below.
The property is assessed at $120,000 land value, but Biscone somehow convinces the New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review that it's overassessed at $70,000 because of a "well house." Biscone argues on behalf of Brant that the "well house cost" Brant only $27,000 but Bennett has assessed it at $70,000. If you're lost here, don't worry, it doesn't make sense unless you listen to the tapes about 3 times. It's a smoke and mirrors act and works for Biscone and Brant because the BAR buys it and reduces Brant's assessment by $25,000. You'd think the members of the BAR would have the property tax reports in front of them to follow along but Hey! If they did that they might have smelled a rat and caught it. But that would be asking too much of a bunch of sillies trying to look important.
One tidbit that Biscone drops is that he will "drop off a number of receipts" that would prove what he was saying (not that Michael Biscone was ever concerned with the truth). But he never had to do that because the BAR made their decision to reduce the assessment that evening, on May 22, 2018, without the benefit of any proof or documentation.
What's even more interesting is the fact that Biscone mentions that one of the contractors, whose receipts he was going to produce, is none other than Robert van Etten, New Baltimore Town Board member Shelly van Etten's husband. What's even more interesting is that van Etten, who owns an excavation-construction business located in Ravena, New York (only per the address), is the chairman of the New Baltimore Planning Board (and of the New Baltimore Town Committee on Agriculture)!!! Yes, readers, that's the same Planning Board that kept Brant's application in Limbo for several years and only just approved it! Does anyone smell something like conflict of interest here? Corruption? Stupidity?
Does anyone wonder Why? Mr. Brant got his Planning Board approval for his project after so many years of hassle? Just saying …
Case No. 3 is a property owner whose primary residence is in Long Island and who owns a property on North Ridge Road in Hannacroix. 2 acres with a 1 family house on it. Mr. Crimeni, whose primary address is 48 Lace Lane, Westbury, NY, is crying poverty. You see, he thinks his assessment is too high and he's paying too much in taxes for his weekend country estate, comparing his New Baltimore taxes to his $8,000 Long Island taxes. Crimeni's property (Tax Map No. 4.00-3-20) full market value is $195,000 and is assessed at $145,000 but Crimeni is still not satisfied. (There seems to be some confusion also in the tax records because on one page for the same property we find the full market value to be $195,000 and on another page we find that value to be $116,000. It also shows it to be a 1-family house but the house has 0 living space! Maybe there's an explanation for this?) Anyway, Rocco Crimeni co-owns the property with Nicola Crimeni (apparently his brother) and to listen to their story and compare it to the tax records is like, well, it's like pure steaming bullshit. The original assessment was on a full market value of $195,000 which was assessed by Bennett at $145,000 for the 2 acres and the house. After the BAR heard Mr. Crimeni's sad story we find that the assessment for the 2 acres and the house was reduced to a full market value of $119,298, and an assessed value for 2018 of $85,000, total tax bill of $ ??? The final assessment is $85,000, a total reduction of $60,000 !!! Great job, Ms Degnen and company!
Just for kicks and giggles, here are a couple of excerpts from the Crimeni hearing:
Crimeni: There was a trailer on the property and it burned down because of a wood stove we had there.
Crimeni: We purchased an Amish house for $38,000…the Amish people built it…it's a shell…We're finishing it ourselves.
Crimeni: We're not rich people … the disparity in Mr. Bennett's assessment is tremendous…We have a house on Long Island…and the taxes are $8000…
Degnen: You said it was a shed…[Editor's Note: Crimeni did not say it was a "shed", he said it was a "shell"! Degnan makes many such mistakes throughout the hearings. Is she hard of hearing or just demented?]…What are the dimensions?
Crimeni: 26 x 28, 2-story…We don't have the money to finish it.
Degnen: Are you living there now? [Editor's Note: Apparently Degnen missed the part where Crimeni says he lives on Long Island. She also hasn't done her homework or she would know that Crimeni's primary address is on Lace Lane, Westbury, NY!!!] … Do you have water and electricity? [Again, Degnen, homework? Familiarity with properties?]
BAR Member: Do you have the amounts of houses near you…did you bring the houses near you? [Editor's Note: Apparently the BAR member is asking if Crimeni has any comparables, that is, information on similar properties in New Baltimore. The BAR member should know she should have these or could get them online in a couple of seconds. We did! In fact, if you go to the Greene County link we provided, enter the tax map number and go to the property page, you'll be able to see the comparables for the property. Here's the page for the Crimeni property: Comparables.]
Crimeni: We ran out of money…We don't have no money … We can't afford this … [Editor's Note: Here comes the best one: ] … We don't live up here!
Hi, I'm the village crazy lady, and I'm on the Board of Assessment Review.
Now don't you just have to sit down and cry hearing a story like Crimeni's? Well, he apparently tugged at the heart-strings of the BAR because they allowed him a $60,000 reduction in his assessment, no questions asked!!!
For your information, you can find out any information you want on Greene County properties on the Greene County online property tax site, SDG Mate Online, and can search by property tax map number, owner's name, etc. It's all public access and available to anyone who is interested. Here's the site link: Greene County Property Tax Info .
We could go on with the remaining 6 properties that received similar reductions but we've made our point. There's something really wrong in the New Baltimore Assessor's Office and on the New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review and it needs fixing. We think it's corruption and collusion because there's no rhyme, reason, or fair play in these determinations. Here's why:
Two properties on New Street in the Hamlet have been the subject of a great deal of anxiety and discussion because since late 2016, severe damage was identified. In the one case, runoff from the street caused the collapse of the building foundation, making it unusable. Then Town supervisor Nick Dellisanti (now Deputy Town Supervisor) and then Deputy Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso (now Town Supervisor), together with Town Board member Shelly van Etten, personally inspected the site and identified a number of problems. Two days later Dellisanti, Ruso, and then Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan and Deputy Highway Superintendent Scott van Wormer visited the site and confirmed the same problems. After that the New Baltimore Highway Department created new problems and the Town was served with a number of Notices of Claim for the damage. In 2017, the Highway Department and Callanan paved New Street and created a mess. We won't go into details here but if you want details go to our article: "New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways and Board to be Sued – AGAIN!"
Dellisanti and Ruso's game was "deny and hide," handing the matter over to the town's insurance company and their lawyers. Town Law would allow the town to make out-of-court compensation to the owner subject to the approval of a NYS Supreme Court judge but NO! they'd rather force the already traumatized owner to have to go to court and then to the poorhouse. That's Republican fair play, apparently. No one in Town Hall wants to admit the wrong done. In fact, Dellisanti's personal notes of a discussion with then Superintendent Jordan records that Jordan's response to the resident's request for a meeting was, "Let them sue us!" Apparently Dellisanti and Ruso agreed.
The owner of the property continued paying his taxes like a good citizen even though he couldn't use the property and the damage was continuing because the Highway Department didn't know what they were doing and Dellisanti and Ruso didn't either – or they didn't have the balls to go after Jordan directly. So the property owner requested a reduction in taxes on the collapsing building and the other impaired property, and appeared before the New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review with a complete written history of the case and numerous photographs showing the damage.
The problems first began when New Baltimore Sole Assessor refused to provide the members of the Board of Assessment Review with copies of the property owners request saying, "It's not our responsibility." But it is his responsibility to provide the BAR with copies of all complaints, it's in the Real Property Tax Law!!! At the Grievance Day hearing, Gordan handed the four members present ONE copy, his file copy, of the requests for reduction of assessment on two properties. The hearing was a complete mess, confusion, the BAR couldn't follow the conversation and Degnen kept on saying, "That's not our problem. You have to go to the Highway Department," and had to be repeatedly reminded that the information was being provided for background only, so the Board would understand the history of the problem. Degnen just couldn't get it. The rest of the Board had no idea what the property was. By the way, New York Real Property Tax Law requires the Board of Assessment Review to be familiar with the properties they are considering. They were not, which was obvious already in the Hales, Brant and Crimeni cases.
The bottom line: The New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review made all their decisions that evening, during the 4 hours they were hearing 11 case presentations, and did not adjourn to reconsider additional information, did not go into executive session to discuss any details of any property, as they should have done, did not request additional information, and refused to inspect the property. They approved 9 out of the 11 cases for reductions of between $12,000-$60,000, properties whose owners simply thought they were being taxed (Hales, Brant, Crimini) but the properties that were damaged and destroyed because of Town of New Baltimore negligence got NO CHANGE!!!
The Town of New Baltimore, the Office of the Assessor, and the Board of Assessment Review refuse to respond to inquiries or to answer communications on the subject. New Baltimore public servants at work, it seems. Any questions? You won't get answers from Town Supervisor Mr. Jeff Ruso, Deputy Supervisor Nick Dellisanti, Highway Committee member Shelly van Etten, Sole Assessor Mr. Bennett, or Board of Assessment Review Chairperson, Donna Degnen.
The board is made up of five appointees including: Donna Degnan, Linda LeClair, Ronna Smith, Lynn Taylor, and This year, the members of the Board of Assessment Review, chose Donna Degnen to be the chair. The fifth member, Bernard "Bernie" Jones was absent on Grievance Day.
The members of the BAR receive $200 each, and the chair, Ms Degnen, $250, with an additional $50 per meeting for meetings beyond two meetings. So that came out to about $50.00/hr for each of the members of the BAR for the 4-hour Grievance Day hearings. Degnen received an additional $50.00. Total for Grievance Day circus appearances: at least $1050.00 to give away almost $300,000 in property tax reductions, the majority of which were totally unsubstantiated if you listen to the tapes!
The Board of Assessment Review and the Office of the Sole Assessor are just as indifferent and incompetent as the Office of the Supervisor and the New Baltimore Town Board.
We have obtained the taped recordings of the proceedings of the Grievance Day hearings before the Board and can only say that the bowel sounds in a special ed class would make more sense than what we had to listen to in the tapes. Degnen was dithering and the rest seemed intent on making their presence and importance known by asking irrelevant and generally uninformed questions. None of the four Board members were familiar with any of the properties presented. Just a minute, one member, Linda LeClair, was the only member who showed any interest in the properties and the only member who had personal knowledge of a property. That's a very poor showing.
But the Board did hear presentations on a total of 11 properties and granted reductions in 9 of them. Two properties, one literally collapsing and unusable and the other defaced by former Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan's incompetence, were left unchanged, despite comprehensive exhibits and a clearly well-founded presentation. We think that there's some collusion/conspiracy with the Town of New Baltimore and the BAR to avoid admitting any damage to the two properties, since, if any department or agency of the Town of New Baltimore admits the severe damage to the properties, it will cause havoc in Town Hall. Town Hall has been ignoring the damage and trying to discourage the owner from demanding compensation in their usual way, that is, let their insurance company lawyers make any court case impossibly expensive. That's New Baltimore Town Hall at work. They ask for residents' votes and then send them to the poorhouse when something goes wrong and the resident asks the Town to be fair and evenhanded. It's a lousy system.
Several of the 9 reductions stand out as particularly loathsome and examples of the corruption in small town appointed committees. But first of all, let's look at some general facts:
The assessments in New Baltimore are done on the basis of the Full Market Value and an Equalization Rate is applied. The Equalization Rate is a percentage that is applied to the Full Market Value to arrive at the assessed value. In New Baltimore this year the ER is 71.25% which means that the assessed value of properties this year is 71.25% of the Full Market Value. That's legit in our estimation. But that's were the legitimacy stops cold.
The total value of the properties is divided into two items: the land value and the property value (living area, etc.). The problems start with the Sole Assessor's, Mr. Bennett's method for determining the land value, which has absolutely no rhyme or reason and, in Bennett's own words, the basis for determining the land value is, "Because it's easier." "Easier?" Yes, it's easier to just apply a random value per acre than doing an actual calculation. It's easier for Bennett.
In the Town of New Baltimore, Bennett has assigned land values to comparable properties as shown in the examples below:
The wide discrepancy in the Sole Assessor's land values is one example of a huge irregularity.
The chart shows properties that are in the same area of the town, actually the Hamlet, but if you look at the land assessment, compare it to the acreage, and then to the per acre assessment, you'll see why we are so up in arms about Bennett's crazy assessments! They just don't make sense! How can the land value of a property of 0.18 acre be assessed the same amount as a property of 1.03 acres, that is, a land value of $11,000??? Then have a look at the difference in the proportional value (last column) per acre!
A property on S. Main Street in New Baltimore of 0.05 acre (Total assessment: $56,700, Land assessment: $9,600) has a proportional price per acre of $192,000!!! WTF?!?!
We've written to Mr. Bennett several times and he refuses to answer. We've also complained to New Baltimore Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso about the fact that his employees and appointees refuse to answer inquiries but he's refused to respond as well. It appears that when New Baltimore officials feel the heat of unpleasant questions, they tend to hide or ignore questions. (See Ruso's comments regarding the resident's letter, above.)
What's even worse is the fact that the Board of Assessment Review was very generous in granting their friends handsome reductions, while denying reductions to touchy properties, like ones that are impaired because of Town incompetence. Here are the results of the Board's "deliberations":
The Board's reductions ranged from $0 – $120,000 but there's no logic; the stories behind the reductions are, however, very troubling. For example:
Brant is the developer who has the property on 9W, just behind the New Baltimore Family Dentistry buildings. Brant is a developer and has been planning to develop the property to put in some sort of housing project. He's complaining because he feels his property is being overassessed. So, moneybags Brant pulls on the heart strings of the Board and they give him a reduction in assessment of $25,000.
Another property owner, Spence, is apparently interested in selling the property but wants a reduction in assessment for some reason. So the board hands Spence a reduction of $12,000.
But the worst example we have to offer from our investigations, listening to the hearing tapes, and reviewing the documents produced by the New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review and their determinations is a property owned by a downstater, Mr. Cremini and his partner:
Cremini owns a primary residence in Long Island and 2 acres in New Baltimore, where he and his partner a building a weekend home, which is livable and has electricity and water. Cremini is crying the blues because his assessment is "too" high. He pays about $8,000 in property tax on hi primary residence in Long Island and, convinced the Board that he can't afford the taxes on his New Baltimore property. So the board reduces his assessment by $60,000!!!! Cremini lives in a primary residence on Long Island, can afford to own more than 2 acres and a house in New Baltimore, cries poverty and the Board reduces his assessment by $60,000!!! Of course, Mr. Bennett agrees.
Another property got a $12,000 reduction. Go figure.
Of course, the Board of Assessment Review doesn't response to our inquiries regarding the reasoning behind these reductions. But our information comes from the actual tape recordings of the hearings made by the Board, and from the official Order for Change in Assessments and the so-called "minutes" of the Board's meeting.
Got questions? New Baltimore's got secrets and no one is talking. But these are the facts, people.
Posted by Principal Editor on August 4, 2018 in 19th Congressional District, 20th Congressional District, Accountability, Assessment, Assessment Review, BAR, Bernie Jones, Board of Assessment Review, Civil Rights, Collusion, Complaint, Conspiracy, Corruption, Department of Taxation and Finance, Discrimination, Donna Degnen, Freedom of Information Law, Gordon Bennett, Government, Greene County, Greene County District Attorney, Grievance Day, Hudson Valley, Ignorance, Incompetence, Jeff Ruso, Joe Stanzione, Joseph Stanzione, Lawsuit, Linda LeClair, Lynn Taylor, Marshall & Sterling, Marshall Sterling Insurance, Michael Biscone, Michael J. Biscone, Misconduct, Nepotism, New Baltimore, New Baltimore Assessor, New Baltimore Highway Superintendent, New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways, New Baltimore Town Board, New Baltimore Town Board Member, New York, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New York State Highway Law, New York State Supreme Court, New York State Town Law, Nick Delisanti, Nick Dellisanti, Notice of Claim, NYS Assembly, NYS Comptroller Audit, NYS Senate, Office of the Assessor, Office of the Comptroller, Pat Linger, Patrick Linger, Protected Rights, Ravena Coeymans Selkirk, Ravena Coeymans Selkirk Central School District, RCS Central School District, Real Property Tax Law, Retaliation, Rob van Etten, Robert van Etten, RPTL, Shelly van Etten, Smalbany, Small Town, Sole Assessor, Tits on a Bull, Tooher & Barone