Town Supervisor Lies to The Cops. Again

Sometimes when you lie to the police, Mr. Tony Cardone, you shouldn't do it in front of witnesses.

Aug 06, 2025

Well, I did promise you that the August 4th, 2025 Town of Monroe meeting was going to be a circus, right?

So, I’m probably going to have to do a whole bunch of posts about this meeting. Today we’re going to cover just two things:

My statement concerning the Quid Pro Quo from South Blooming Grove that Mr. Cardone very much doesn’t want Town of Monroe residents to hear. So much so that he cut me off just as I got to the good part.
The State Police were present at the Town Board meeting, but as far as I can tell, their presence has been almost completely wiped out from the actual meeting video. We’ll get to why in today’s post.

I promise the podcasts are forthcoming. As someone who deals with a chronic illness, sometimes it flares up, and I’m dealing with that right now. So everything is delayed slightly. Being an investigative reporter is a tough gig, being an investigative reporter when you have a disability just makes it way harder to stick to a schedule, despite your best efforts to do so.

Thanks as always for your patience.

South Blooming Grove’s Quid Pro Quo

What follows is my full statement that Monroe Town Supervisor Tony Cardone did not want me to read, and cut me off from doing so. You’ll note that, at a previous Town meeting, Tony Cardone also edited out a portion of a video where Councilwoman Maureen Richardson read a constitutent statement concerning South Blooming Grove.

Why Mr. Cardone is trying to cover up for South Blooming Grove’s un-elected co-mayors, Joel Stern and Yitzchok “Isaac” Ekstein is something you should be asking him.

Here’s The Statement as Written

(The following, when presented, omitted Mrs. Kiesel’s name. I did so because of the incident involving the State Police, which we’ll get to next.)

“I just want to point out that I asked for time on the agenda to respond to Peter Tuohy’s remarks.

As a disabled adult, the often arbitrarily enforced three minute time limit on public comment, implemented by Dorey Houle, Sal Scancarello, and Tony Cardone, is both ableist and discriminatory.

It would seem if you are, for example, Cristina Kiesel, a Town of Monroe Democratic Committee member — an individual currently under investigation by the New York State Attorney General’s office — you can speak as long as you want.

And I mention Mrs. Kiesel, specifically, because of her politically motivated attack on Councilwoman Richardson at a previous Town Board meeting. Something that is at the heart of the issues being discussed this evening involving the Ethics Board. So whether Mrs. Kiesel likes it or not, as both a former public official with the Village of Monroe, and candidate for the Town Clerk’s office, her behavior is inherently newsworthy for this reason.

I did not hear back from the Town Clerk about my request for time on the agenda.

So, if I’m cut off from speaking this evening, my attorney is here tonight, and I will take immediate legal action tomorrow.

That said, I’ll do my best to be brief.

On Orange County’s YouTube channel, under the Live tab, you can find meetings of the Orange County Sewer District 1 Advisory Committee.

Should you view any meeting since March of 2025, you’ll see Orange County Legislator, Peter Tuohy, repeatedly lie to the public.

(See above at 51:39)

I’d like to take a moment to address the most frequent lie he’s shared.

If you listen to the most recent meeting from July — and Councilwoman Bingham is an eye witness to this — you can hear Peter Tuohy state — about Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein in South Blooming Grove — “We can’t speak to their motives and intentions.”

(See above at 36:33)

This statement from Tuohy came in response to questions about Stern and Ekstein’s refusal to utilize the $360,000 they budgeted for, to purchase a sewer oxygenation system.

Despite Mr. Tuohy and Orange County’s frequent claims to the contrary, the primary culprit of the potentially dangerous hydrogen sulfide gas in the Village of Monroe is South Blooming Grove.

For those who don’t know, Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein serve as the two un-elected co-mayors of South Blooming Grove. This too, is a fact, because of the Village’s documented failure to appropriately file a local law change with the Department of State. One that would have extended the time in office for Mayor George Kalaj from a two year term to a four year term. So just so we’re clear: The Village of South Blooming Grove, legally speaking, does not have a legitimate Board of Trustees, making all decisions and promises, like the one we’ll get to, null and void.

The Village of South Blooming Grove is also currently being sued by Orange County. Over what the County alleges is illegal construction, done a the behest of Joel Stern, in County owned Gonzaga Park.

Like Dorey Houle, and Tony Cardone, Peter Tuohy has been aware of the hydrogen sulfide situation since 2021. This is according to documents obtained via a FOIL request.

In that time, Mr. Tuohy has met with Stern and Ekstein at least twice. Most recently this Spring.

Despite Mr. Tuohy claims to the contrary, Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein have told numerous elected officials, including in one recorded conversation, exactly what their motives and intentions are concerning activation of the ANUE Water Technologies hardware.

Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein have claimed, frequently and loudly, that they will activate the ANUE Water Technologies system only on two conditions. I believe Mr. Tuohy is very aware of these conditions, despite his refusal to publicly acknowledge them.

The first condition is that Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein, according to witnesses interviewed by The Monroe Gazette, will only activate the ANUE Water Technologies Hardware if Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus drops the Gonzaga Park lawsuit.

The second condition is that they will only activate the hardware if County Executive Nehuas allows Stern and Ekstein to construct a road through County owned Gonzaga Park.

We can say factually that Mr. Stern and Ekstein have been loud and clear on this potentially illegal quid pro quo. Perhaps feeling emboldened because of Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler’s repeated failure to act against either of them.

Why Mr. Tuohy has not publicly denounced this potentially illegal quid pro quo, we can’t say. He refuses to answer any questions about it.

And why Mr. Tuohy has repeatedly covered for Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein is also something we can’t say.

But it’s something every Town and Village of Monroe resident, as well as our elected officials, should be asking him.

[Editor’s Note: At the 8/4/25 Town Board meeting, Mr. Tuohy also repeatedly attempted to downplay the severity of the hydrogen sulfide situation at Airplane Park.]

Pictured Above: Legally, if you are in a space like a Town Board meeting, you can have your picture taken. Above is a cropped version of a photo I took at the Town meeting of the audience in attendance. It was only after speaking to Village Police on August 5th that I realized Mrs. Kiesel, pictured above, was starring me down. Immediately after taking pictures of both the audience and the Town Board (see below), Mrs. Kiesel decided to get in my face and take my picture.

Above: Peter Tuohy continues to gaslight Town and Village of Monroe residents over the potentially dangerous hydrogen sulfide situation at Airplane Park.

Despite Mr. Tuohy’s donwplaying of the issue, Village residents, below, can be seen clearly reacting to the potentially dangerous odor.

(Note: We redacted the faces of the kids in the picture below to protect their privacy.)

You might be wondering why the State Police showed up to, and briefly interrupted, the Town of Monroe Board meeting on August 4th. The following will explain the situation. The only thing not mentioned is that I gave a statement to the Village of Monroe Police on August 5th, because I felt — and was proven correct — that the Town Supervisor Tony Cardone was going to manipulate the video, allowing for Mrs. Kiesel to continue gaslighting the public about her behavior. She even tried to gaslight me at the meeting, stating the State Police never spoke to her, and that the Attorney General’s investigation into her is fake.

Unfortunately for Cristina Kiesel, and some of our other Southern Orange County elected officials, or those who are former or current candidates for office such as Mrs. Kiesel, facts are facts. And the facts are laid out as follows in letter submitted to the Orange County Board of Ethics this afternoon.

Dear Orange County Board of Ethics Members,

According to Local Law No. 9 of 2018, the Orange County Ethics Board, the Orange County Ethics and Disclosure Law is meant to:

Promote public confidence and integrity in the agencies and administrative offices of our local government;
Facilitate the consideration of potential ethical problems before they arise, minimize unwarranted suspicion, and enhance the accountability of government to the people by requiring public disclosure of financial interests that may influence or be perceived to influence the actions of Orange County officers and employees; and Provide for the fair and effective administration of this Local Law

Below you will find my original ethics complaint, stamped as received by the Town of Monroe on August 6th, 2025, which raises the following issues:

That the Town of Monroe Ethics Board members, at least four of the nine, possess grave conflicts of interest that cast doubt on the Board’s ability to render adverse decisions concerning Town Supervisor, Tony Cardone.
That Town of Monroe Supervisor Tony Cardone acted improperly at the August 4th, 2025 Town of Monroe Board meeting, and my belief that due to the grave concerns involving the Town of Monroe’s Conflict of interest, that this body is incapable of reviewing the manner in a fair and objective way in compliance with Local Law No. 9 of 2018.

Below my Ethics Complaint, you will find a series of concerns about a recent letter from the Town Board of Ethics (seen here). This letter was submitted to Supervisor Cardone, concerning Councilwoman Maureen Richardson and her filing of Ethics Complaints, which the Town of Monroe Ethics Board seeks to block in what appears to be a politically motivated act to shield Supervisor Cardone from any bad publicity during his bid for re-election this November.

I am writing to request that the County of Board of Ethics reviews both the matter of the August 4th Incident at the Monroe Town meeting, described below, and the list of concerns raised specific to the behavior of the Monroe Town Ethics Board.

I am requesting as a remedy that the Town of Monroe Ethics Board be abolished and replaced by the Orange County Board of Ethics, and that Supervisor Tony Cardone be removed from office. While that may be within the power vested in the Orange County Board of Ethics, if you agree with my request that these steps be necessary, stating so in an advisory opinion would be a great help to Monroe Town residents who have witnessed, or been abused by, Supervisor Cardone since his time in office dating back to 2017; and the Town of Monroe Board of Ethics’s repeated and demonstrated inability to render adverse opinions concerning the Supervisor’s behavior.

Thank you.

-BJ Mendelson

Ethics Complaint As Provided to the Town of Monroe

“No official or employee shall use or attempt to use his or her official position to, knowingly and willfully, harass or make false statements about a resident, applicant or entity doing business with the Town, official or employee.”

According to Tony Cardone in an email dated August 6th to Town Clerk Valerie Bitzer, the definition of harass is to “worry, annoy, harass, harry, plague, pester, tease mean to disturb or irritate by persistent acts.” I will use Mr. Cardone’s definition, and insist for consistency that the Town Ethics Board do the same.

I’m also going to go ahead and request that Mr. Tom Sullivan, who promoted Tony Cardone's candidacy during the recent conservative party primary — and wrote a politically motivated letter to shield Mr. Cardone from any criticism during the ongoing general election campaign by this Ethics Board — to recuse himself from involvement with this query.

Ditto with Mrs. Kathleen Aherne, who co-owns The Captain's Table. This establishment also held a fundraiser for Tony Cardone on 5/14/25 during the most recent campaign season, and she was one of only three Monroe residents to have a lawn sign promoting Mr. Cardone's candidacy. The other was Mr. Cardone's running mate, Steven Thau and Mr. Tom Sullivan.

We're also going to ask that Mr. Mike McGinn, Tony Cardone's former United Monroe running mate, and fellow Town Board member, also recuse himself because of the inherent nature of a conflict in him rendering decisions concerning Mr. Cardone, as a member of this Ethics Board. These concerns were brought up prior to McGinn’s appointment, but Mr. Cardone chose to ignore them and appoint him anyway.

Finally, I photographed Ethics Board member, Mr. Lawrence H. Lezak having an extensive conversation with Mr. Cardone following the 8/4 Board meeting where the following incident took place. (See below)

Given that Mr. Lezak is a life long friend of Tony Cardone’s, a friend of Mrs. Cristina Kiesel, Mr. Lezak's contributions to Mrs. Maureen Richardson's primary opponent, David Rabbitts, and his recorded verbal harassment of Town Councilwoman Maureen Richardson during Town Democratic Committee meetings, he too should recuse himself.

Above: Monroe Town Supervisor, Tony Cardone, has a lengthy conversation following the Town Board meeting with Monroe Ethics Board member, and lifelong pal, Larry Lezak. Steven Thau is standing to the left, partially blocked by the monitor.

Given their life long friendship, Mr. Lezak’s presence on the Ethics Board also raises grave concerns. Especially given that he has sometimes, but not always, recused himself from rendering decisions concerning the conduct of his childhood friend, Tony Cardone. For example, the 11/15/23 Ethics Board decision concerning an incident where Mr. Cardone made abusive comments toward Village Trustee John Karl. Mr Lezak did not recuse himself in the rendering of the Ethics Board decision to hold Mr. Cardone harmless. I do not believe Mr. Lezak recused himself either from my previous complaint, which we will get to at the end of this letter. If I am correct that Lezak did not recuse himself from my complaint, that should provide more than enough evidence to support the expulsion of Mr. Lezak from this Ethics Board, or at the very least, generate an inquiry by the Orange County Board of Ethics concerning decisions rendered by the Ethics Board concerning Tony Cardone that Mr. Lezak participated in.

The Orange County Board of Ethics has been advised of these issues with this Ethics Board and their relationship with Mr. Cardone, as well as my request that these individuals be recused concerning the following matter.

The Complaint

I believe Mr. Cardone’s conduct on August 4th at the Town Board meeting is a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D), a misuse of town resources in violation of Town Code § 4-5(M), and improper political coercion in violation of Town Code § 4-5(N). Given the repeated pattern of abuse exhibited by Mr. Cardone since January of 2024, I believe the only remedy is to remove him from office. While I cannot in this letter provide an exhaustive list, here are some highlights:

-The alleged abuse of Town resources to enrich himself — Ask Mr. Cardone about the Town work done concerning the Lake Sapphire property he owns, and the failure to recuse himself from the decisions involving that property.

-The potential PERB (Public Employment Relations Board) violation committed in retaliation against William Brown Jr. for running against Highway Superintendent Pat Patterson.

-The factual use of Town taxpayer money to reimburse himself for travel to WTBQ wherein the Supervisor has been alleged to make antisemitic remarks and boosting his political allies, such as fellow Town Board member, Dorey Houle, during her second failed bid for a State Senate Seat.

-Allegedly encouraging Pat Patterson to keep his job as Highway Superintendent while simultaneously working with a Town Contractor, Peckham Industries, in order to prevent the role of Highway Superintendent from appearing on the Fall 2025 ballot.

-The factual ongoing and consistent harassment of both Town Councilmembers Bingham and Richardson, some of which is observable in the August 4th, 2025 meeting video.

-The alleged failure to properly warn residents of the potential for ignition of fire along the Town of Monroe and Town of Tuxedo border during the ongoing Jennings Creek Fire.

-Having, factually, full and direct knowledge of the potentially dangerous hydrogen sulfide situation near a children’s playground in the Village of Monroe since 2021 that he has repeatedly failed to notify the public about (which can be verified because both the DEC and Orange County Environmental Services and Facilities has no record of any communications with Mr. Cardone on the matter according to a FOIL request wherein Mr. Cardone reported the problem. The only emails that exist with Orange County are Mr. Cardone being made aware of the issue.)

-And I also haven’t even begun to speak on the restrictions and improper processing of FOIL requests.

For simplicity’s sake, I am only requesting we discuss the following issues in the context of the August 4th meeting, and I encourage the Orange County Board of Ethics to review the rest.

I am writing an Ethics complaint concerning the behavior of Mr. Cardone during the 8/4 Town Board Meeting.

The Incident

Prior to the meeting's start at 6:50pm, I was verbally accosted by Mrs. Cristina Kiesel, a long time associate and friend of Mr. Cardone and Mr. McGinn going back to their days with the political organization known as United Monroe. Mrs. Kiesel is a former candidate for Town Clerk, someone who held a position with the Village of Monroe, albeit briefly, and was accused by people close to the Village government of starting a fake charity — The Monroe Downtown Revitalization Committee — and collecting money from unsuspecting Town and Village residents. Given Mrs. Kiesel’s status as a public figure within the community, The Monroe Gazette publication covered her behavior. Mrs. Kiesel responded to our coverage of this and other concerns — such as the frequent gaslighting attempts and bullying by her, former Town Board Candidate Bill Kazdan, and his wife Margaret “Peggy” Kazadan, of Councilwoman Maureen Richardson, by attempting to dox me. The Kazdans and Mrs. Kiesel maintained numerous fake profiles and pages to do this, including Mrs. Kiesel’s use of the name Preserve Hudson Valley. A not-for-profit organization that I confirmed Mrs. Kiesel has no role with. Mr. Lezak is the next door neighbor of the Kazdans.

Doxxing here is defined as the intentional release of the specific location of my residence with the intent to cause harm or to enable another to cause harm, which I reported to the State Police on or about June 27th, and Village of Monroe Police on August 5th. I am the caretaker of three disabled adults when I am here in the Town of Monroe, and Mrs. Kiesel’s actions — all of which were screenshot and provided to the State Police and Village Police— placed these adults in potential danger.

State Trooper Habacuc Toupuissant informed me that he spoke with Mrs. Kiesel on or about June 27th, 2025, and that she was instructed not to have any contact with me. On the evening of August 4th, while speaking to me at Town Hall — despite the Trooper’s directive, and my request that she not do so — Mrs. Kiesel denied ever speaking to the State Police. Despite the existence of a police report to confirm otherwise. (She also stated the Attorney General’s investigation concerning the allegations of operating a fake charity wasn’t real either. This too, is false, and can be verified by calling the AG’s Charity Bureau Office and providing them with the intake #1-1080199512. If this investigation was false, one should ask Mrs. Kiesel why, after it started, she changed the name of the Monroe Downtown Revitalization Committee Facebook Page to something else.)

After I again instructed Mrs. Kiesel that I did not wish to speak with her, she proceeded to do so anyway in a loud and aggressive manner, repeatedly threatening to sue me. That’s fine. I get that threat a lot. However, this threatening behavior happened in full view of Tony Cardone, My Attorney, Liam Wisehart, and Councilwoman Maureen Richardson. I also attempted to record Mrs. Kiesel, but stopped recording after my attorney, Amy Lavine, arrived and I directed her attention to Mrs. Kiesel.

While photographing the Town Board meeting, Mrs. Kiesel decided to get in my face and take my picture, which she is certainly allowed to do in a public space. However, Mrs. Kiesel did so in a manner that my attorney flagged as concerning and threatening, stating in an email to State Trooper Toupuissant that she too felt uncomfortable with Mrs. Kiesel's demeanor and actions. Given that Mrs. Kiesel has attempted to put my family in harm’s way, my attorney asked me if I felt unsafe. I stated that I did. I asked if I should call the police, and she indicated I should. So I did. The State Police arrived at Town Hall and interviewed me. I said Mrs. Kiesel was asked not to speak with me by the State Police. They then attempted to extract Mrs. Kiesel from the meeting with minimal disruption.

This is all edited out of the 8/4 Meeting Video. According to the New York State Committee on Open Government, the Open Meetings Law does not address whether or not selective edits can be made to a Town Board video, although the original un-edited video must be maintained and accessible. However, the selective editing done by the Town of Monroe to prevent Mr. Cardone and his political allies and friends, such as Mrs. Kiesel, from being embarrassed on video does constitute a potential ethics code violation. The absence of the any video of the State Trooper presence serves as evidence of Mr. Cardone abusing his Town authority to keep from the public anything that may make him or his political allies on the Town Democratic Committee — which includes Mr. Lezak and Mrs. Kiesel — from looking bad.

Mr. Cardone spoke briefly to the State Police as I was standing there. The State Police said to Mr. Cardone that I stated Mrs. Kiesel was harassing me, Mr. Cardone said "she wasn't doing anything" despite Mrs. Kiesel's behavior being observed by multiple parties and my attorney. Mr. Cardone was also unaware of the State Police directive for Mrs. Kiesel to not have any contact with me, meaning that Mr. Cardone opined in his official capacity as Town Supervisor on a matter he knew nothing about. This, if you watch any Town Board meeting, should not come as a shock to anyone.

However, here is the second documented instance of Supervisor Cardone lying to the police. The first came in a previous Ethics Complaint I filed in 2024 wherein the Village Police were called to the Town Hall following a disagreement between Councilmembers Dorey Houle and Maureen Richardson. In a recorded conversation with Village Police, Mr. Cardone can be heard saying to the Village Police "Nothing was happening." I have included portions of that original Ethics Complaint below to demonstrate that Tony Cardone has a history of lying to the police in his capacity as Town Supervisor.

Mr. Cardone then proceeded to speak with the State Police without me, and I have requested these documents via FOIL to capture what he said. Mr. Cardone then stopped the meeting to escort out Mrs. Kiesel out of the room. Mrs. Kiesel was then temporarily removed from the meeting.

[For Monroe Gazette readers, what follows is Mrs. Kiesel being removed from the 8/4/25 Town Board meeting by Tony Cardone to speak to the State Police. You can hear myself and my attorney discussing Mr. Cardone’s abuse of Town authority, and me stating that I witnessed Mr. Cardone lie to the State Police.]

The Town Ethics Code states that No official or employee shall use or attempt to use his or her official position to, knowingly and willfully, harass or make false statements about a resident, applicant or entity doing business with the Town, official or employee.

I believe Mr. Cardone made false statements to the State Police, including at least one that I am a witness to concerning Mrs. Kiesel's behavior. While also opining on a situation he knew nothing about, concerning the State Police directive for Mrs. Kiesel to not speak with me at all. So regardless of anything else Mr. Cardone said to the State Police outside of my view, in this specific instance, Tony Cardone made a false statement about a resident in his comment that Mrs. Kiesel was doing nothing wrong. It can be factually stated that she was.

The selective editing of the Town Video, Mr. Cardone personally escorting his political ally Mrs. Kiesel to speak to the police, and any discussion they had with the State Police warrants charges of the violation of Town Code § 4-5(D), a misuse of town resources in violation of Town Code § 4-5(M), and improper political coercion in violation of Town Code § 4-5(N).

It should be noted here that at a previous 2025 Town of Monroe Board meeting, Mrs. Kiesel was allowed to make a political speech and attack, without facts or evidence, Monroe Town Councilwoman Maureen Richardson far in excess of the Standard Three Minutes for Public Comment. In fact, at the 8/4 Board meeting, I notified Mr. Cardone first about his misuse of Town Authority which I witnessed that evening, and then as a disabled adult that I believe the 3 minute limitation is discriminatory and ableist. I also, as I have previously, requested time to speak concerning an agenda item, and this request was ignored by both the Town Clerk and the Supervisor. So unlike Mrs. Kiesel, after I reached three minutes, Mr. Cardone interrupted me numerous times, which further warrants these charges concerning his use of the role as Town Supervisor to bolster his political career and quiet any sort of dissent by residents, of which there is much. This behavior by Mr. Cardone meets his own definition of harassment. Something that dates back to my time as a freelance reporter for The Photo-News, wherein Mr. Cardone factually abused his Town authority by threatening to withhold all Town advertising if I was allowed to continue to write for them.

I am writing to ask this Ethics Board to do something it has not done since Mr. Cardone became Supervisor, and that is to take corrective action against him for making a false statement to the State Police about the situation involving Mrs. Kiesel, and for abusing his position as Supervisor to stop the meeting and escort her out, as well as selectively edit the footage of Mrs. Kiesel's removal from the Town Board meeting.

I am additionally requesting an investigation given Cardone’s abuse of Town authority in limiting my time to speak during public comment, despite a formal request for time on the agenda due to a disability, while allowing Mrs. Kiesel as much as she wanted to attack Cardone’s political enemies. I believe this was a politically motivated action given the Town Democratic Committee's support of Mr. Cardone's candidacy this Fall, of which Mrs. Kiesel is a member.

[Note to Monroe Gazette readers: Following the meeting, Mr. Cardone held what appeared to be an impromptu meeting of the Monroe Town Democratic Committee members in attendance at this meeting.]

The Original 2024 Complaint & Request to Re-Visit

Below is a portion of the original Ethics Complaint concerning Mr. Cardone lying to the Village Police:

“2. No Official or Employee shall use or attempt to use his or her official position to, knowingly and willfully, harass or make false statements about a resident, applicant or entity doing business with the Town, Official or Employee.”

1. According to eyewitness accounts from the incident on February 5th, 2024, following the Town Board meeting, Town Supervisor Cardone was said to have hurled insults and accusations at Councilwoman Richardson. The Supervisor’s disdain for the Councilwoman is evident from the video of each board meeting held since her appointment. The Supervisor can often be seen making faces, cutting off the councilwoman, speaking over her; and in the case of February 5th, shouting over her and attempting to limit her speech when replying to comments made by a member of the public during public comment. Supervisor Cardone can be seen abruptly cutting off the Councilwoman and immediately moving to close the meeting as she is still speaking.

2. As freelance writer for The Photo-News, Mr. Cardone has made efforts to get me fired from my position by complaining to employees of the paper, as recently as this week, using his authority as Town Supervisor to apply pressure for that action to take place. He has also made knowingly and intentionally false statements concerning the accuracy of my reporting in The Photo-News. At the December 4th, Town of Monroe Board Meeting, Supervisor Cardone shared with the public that he felt the accuracy of the recent reporting in The Photo News was “poor at best.” He then said that The Photo-News claimed, “through an attorney” that the Monroe Town Board was responsible for the Walmart Parking lot and the unhoused who live there.

This statement is knowingly false and willfully being shared with the public to discredit my reporting. Here are the facts:

-The Photo-News published a recap of the October 26th Village of Woodbury Board Meeting on November 10th. During that meeting, the Woodbury Village Attorney Kelly Naughton was quoted as stating she checked and found the vast majority of the Walmart property falls under the jurisdiction of the town of Monroe.

-On November 5th, we emailed Supervisor Cardone for comment concerning Mrs. Naughton’s statement. We said: “The Village of Woodbury attorney informed this resident that the majority of the Walmart property falls under the Town of Monroe's jurisdiction and that they couldn't do anything further. I'd like to ask for a comment concerning the homeless in the Walmart lot and what, if any, plans currently exist on the part of the Town of Monroe to help these individuals get the assistance they need.”

Supervisor Cardone replied, stating “The question you are asking me should be answered by Woodbury. I am not trying to pass the buck but I believe Kelly Naughton Woodbury's attorney was provided with incorrect information. The Majority of the Wal-Mart Parking lot, including the Taco Bell are in Woodbury's Borders.”

-On November 7th, we published an article where Woodbury Town Council Member Tyler Etzel Jr. had also said the Walmart Parking lot falls under the Town of Monroe’s jurisdiction. We mentioned this statement from Etzel was incorrect.

-Finally, on November 15th, we quoted Orange County Tax Map coordinator Michael Breitenfeld who confirmed that the lots belonged to Woodbury, not Monroe. In that time, not once has Supervisor Cardone corrected the record publicly.

“No Official or Employee shall knowingly request or threaten or knowingly authorize anyone else to request or threaten any subordinate of the Town Official or Employee inorder to induce them to participate in an election campaign, undertake political activity, or contribute to a political committee or campaign.”

On the evening of February 5th, Supervisor Cardone instructed Town Clerk Valerie Bitzer to call the Village Police. The purpose of this call was to harass Councilwoman Richardson, whom Supervisor Cardone had previously been seen yelling at her and shouting insults following the Town Board meeting. The supervisor knowingly requested and induced a Town employee to call the police on a political opponent simply because she was voicing her opinion.

Grave Concerns About The Town of Monroe Ethics Board

This section of my complaint deals with a letter submitted to the Town Board on July 23, 2025 that expressed the Board of Ethics' "grave concerns" over Councilmember Richardson's recent submission of several ethics complaints.

[Note to readers: The following section was written with assistance from my attorney, so some of the language is going to be the same from a letter submitted to the Town of Monroe Board on the matter.]

The request by the Board of Ethics ("BOE") that the Town Board should consider barring Councilmember Richardson from filing these or any other ethics complaints is patently unlawful and unconstitutional. It reflects not only a gross misunderstanding of the BOE's jurisdiction and its legal obligations and responsibilities under the Town Code Ethics and Article 18 of the General Municipal Law, but also reflects a disturbing double standard that raises serious doubts as to the BOE's competence, impartiality, and its fitness to adjudicate matters involving Councilmember Richardson or any other ethics issues that might be brought before it. (See: The above two ethics complaints.) For this reason, I am sharing these concerns with the Orange County Board of Ethics for investigation.

The Town BOE concedes in its letter that it has not reviewed any of the complaints filed by Councilmember Richardson. Despite this, it claims that Councilmember Richardson's complaints are "frivolous," "retaliatory," and "malicious," and it asserts—without even pretending to give Councilmember Richardson due process—that her complaints lack merit. The BOE's conclusory allegations are not a legal decision or even a plausible assertion of any genuine ethical "concern"; they are clear and blatant evidence of the BOE's bias and prejudgment, seemingly at the behest of Town Supervisor Tony Cardone, Mrs. Richardson’s political opponent this Fall for the role of Supervisor.

The BOE's letter is also a remarkable demonstration of its hypocrisy and its apparent ignorance or disregard for the law, given its recent decision to censure Councilmember Richardson for seeking a point of order to restrain a public commenter, Cristina Kiesel, from disparaging Richardson and using both the BOE and this Board as a bully pulpit under the guise of other vaporous "grave concerns" about the Councilmember's character for ethics and integrity. The ethics complaint filed by Kiesel and the entirety of her comments made to the Town Board were plainly unrelated to any Town business and were rather intended as a political attack against Councilmember Richardson—and it was so obviously the case that even the BOE recognized that it was an ethical sham and denied Kiesel’s complaint. And, as mentioned, Mrs. Kiesel was given plenty of time at the podium, while I was not despite the request for additional time, which the Town ignored.

When another politically motivated member of the public dare said that Councilmember Richardson's request for a point of order was tantamount to an ethics violation and was "harassment" of the public commenter, the BOE heedlessly declared that the Councilmember's temerity in raising an objection under this Board's rules for Town meetings was a "misuse of authority" demanding of public censure, and this Town Board, with no genuine deliberation or reflection, adopted the BOE's effectively standardless new precedent, under which speech and debate can now be prosecuted as ethics violations—at least during an election year and at least for a complainant with the right political affiliations such as Mrs. Kiesel.

Councilmember Richardson was rightfully appalled and incensed by the decisions of the BOE and this Board to find her guilty of a violation under the Town Code of Ethics for exercising her First Amendment rights, both as a citizen and as an elected member of the Town legislature, and for using her voice in an attempt to uphold this Board's duly adopted rules and prevent this Board from becoming a bully pulpit for petty partisan politics. In response to this affront, and in light of the BOE's adoption of these new and arbitrarily low standards for ethical compliance, Councilmember Richardson filed several new complaints with the BOE to alert it to other ongoing ethics matters in the Town that fall within its jurisdiction and which are far more well-founded than the public comment period violation she was accused and found guilty of.

The complaints submitted by Councilmember Richardson concern serious, ongoing abuses of authority, violations of transparency obligations, and conduct that has harmed not only herself but the citizens and taxpayers of the Town of Monroe. These include:

• Complaint against Supervisor Cardone for failing to enforce the Town's duly adopted rules for public meetings. Rule 13 specifically states that "Members of the Town Board, speakers and audience members must observe proper decorum at all times. Any statements made during any part of the meeting or during a public hearing by the Supervisor, members of the Town Board, town officials or employees, or members of the general public shall not involve personal, impertinent, or slanderous attacks on individuals, regardless of whether the individual so attacked is an elected official, a town official or employee, or a member of the general public." The Supervisor's conduct in failing to address Councilmember Richardson's point of order and allowing or encouraging a public commenter, a long time political ally, to slander and disparage Richardson for political purposes is a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D) and political coercion in violation of Town Code § 4-5(N).

• Complaint against Supervisor Cardone for creating and maintaining the email address b-guidos@monroeny.org, which does not appear to serve any lawful Town purpose and which promotes an ethnic slur that Councilmember Richardson and many others find offensive and inappropriate. I'm not even Italian and I find this name personally offensive. This conduct also promotes discrimination in violation of Town Code § 4-5(J) and is a misuse of town resources in violation of Town Code § 4-5(M).

• Complaint against Supervisor Cardone for obstructing and unlawfully refusing to answer or process FOIL requests and appeals submitted by Councilmember Richardson and myself. This conduct is a violation of the FOIL and the First Amendment, and a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D).

• Complaint against Supervisor Cardone for verbally harassing Village of Monroe Trustee John Karl and making inappropriate comments directed at Trustee Karl during Town Board meetings. This conduct is a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D). And as mentioned, childhood friend and Ethics Board member, Larry Lezak, did not recuse himself from this decision rendered by the Ethics Board concerning Mr. Karl.

• Complaint against Supervisor Cardone and Councilmember Houle for citing a fabricated policy during the January 22, 2024 Town Board meeting in an unlawful attempt to prevent Councilmember Richardson from using social media. This conduct is a violation of the First Amendment and a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D).

• Complaint against the Town Board for adopting a formal censure resolution against Councilmember Richardson without prior notice, hearing, or opportunity to respond. This conduct is a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D), and a misuse of town resources in violation of Town Code § 4-5(M).

• Complaint against the Town Board for issuing a censure resolution based on an HR report that was finalized after the resolution was adopted and then backdating the resolution. This conduct is a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D), and a misuse of town resources in violation of Town Code § 4-5(M).

• Complaint against the Town Board for adopting a blanket 90-day response rule for all FOIL requests following investigation by The Monroe Gazette concerning Supervisor Cardone’s Lake Sapphire property. Councilmember Richardson also alleges this illegal rule was adopted in retaliation for her oversight efforts. This conduct is a violation of FOIL and the First Amendment, a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D), and a misuse of town resources in violation of Town Code § 4-5(M).

• Complaint against Councilmember Houle for refusing to allow Councilmember Richardson to participate in Conservation Commission matters due to her personal hostility against Councilmember Richardson. This conduct is a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D) and a misuse of town resources in violation of Town Code § 4-5(M).

• Complaint against the Town Board for staging a vote to remove Councilmember Richardson as Conservation Commission liaison without prior notice or legitimate basis. This conduct is a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D), and a misuse of town resources in violation of Town Code § 4-5(M).

• Complaint against Supervisor Cardone for submitting mileage vouchers for travel to and from regular radio appearances hosted by a private commercial radio station and which Supervisor Cardone uses for political solicitation and not for any lawful Town purposes. This conduct is a misuse of town resources in violation of Town Code § 4-5(M) and improper political solicitation in violation of Town Code § 4-5(N).

• Complaint against Supervisor Cardone for enforcing an unlawful policy that prohibits Councilmember Richardson from communicating with Town consultants, including threatening those consultants with repercussions if they did not comply. This conduct is a violation of the First Amendment, a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D), and a misuse of town resources in violation of Town Code § 4-5(M).

• Complaint against Supervisor Cardone for playing a voicemail sent by Councilmember Richardson to a Town consultants at a public meeting to disparage and harass her. This conduct is an unlawful disclosure of confidential information in violation of Town Code § 4-5(C) and a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D). This is the situation involving Mr. Cardone potentially opening the Town to a PERB complaint while simultaneously telling the public, falsely, that it was Councilwoman Richardson who did so.

• Complaint against Orange County Legislator Peter Tuohy for unlawfully obstructing Councilmember Richardson’s efforts to access hydrogen sulfide test results by claiming they were “proprietary” and confidential information not available for disclosure (under FOIL or otherwise). This conduct is a violation of FOIL and the First Amendment and a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D). County Attorney Rick Golden is alleged to have been the attorney that informed Mr. Tuohy, falsely, of this phantom exemption.

• Complaint against Supervisor Cardone and the Town Board for unlawfully "redacting" the portion of the video recording of the Town Board's October 7, 2024 meeting during which Councilmember Richardson read a constituent letter that raised concerns about Town governance. This conduct is a violation of the Open Meetings Law and the First Amendment, a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D), and a misuse of town resources in violation of Town Code § 4-5(M). As already noted, Mr. Cardone also altered the 8/4/25 meeting video as well.

• Complaint against the BOE for disparaging and defaming Councilmember Richardson in its "grave concerns" letter, which demonstrates its clear bias against her and its unlawful predetermination to dismiss or deny her complaints, and for requesting that the Town Board prohibit her from submitting any future ethics complaints in retaliation for her criticism of the BOE's decisions and for submitting the above ethics complaints. This conduct is a violation of the First Amendment, a misuse of authority in violation of Town Code § 4-5(D), and a misuse of town resources in violation of Town Code § 4-5(M).

Each of the complaints submitted by Councilmember Richardson raises specific, well-founded, and serious allegations of unethical and unlawful conduct that fall within the BOE's jurisdiction under the Town Code of Ethics. Moreover, unlike the complaint filed against Councilmember Richardson for raising a point of order at a Town Board meeting, her complaints are not politically motivated, based on personal animus, or otherwise intended for improper purposes, and they instead allege serious matters of official misconduct, repeated and unjustified misuses of Town resources, and violations of core constitutional rights that harm Councilmember Richardson as well as all the citizens and taxpayers who she represents.

There is no legal authority under the Town Code of Ethics, Article 18 of the General Municipal Law, or any applicable law or regulation for the Board of Ethics to prohibit anyone from submitting complaints—including elected officials and candidates running for Town office. Any official action or policy taken by the BOE to prevent Councilmember Richardson from submitting ethics complaints to the BOE would unquestionably be an unconstitutional prior restraint on her rights to free speech and to petition government under the First Amendment and would also constitute unlawful First Amendment retaliation as well as violations of her rights under the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.

The Town's ethics regulations exist to promote public integrity, not to insulate incumbents, punish dissent, or to be used for political maneuvering. The BOE's communication of its "grave concerns" about Councilmember Richardson and its attempt to arbitrarily prevent her from reporting violations is, in itself, a violation of the very standards the BOE purports to enforce.

For these reasons, as well as what's already been stated, I request that if you agree with my suggestion that this Ethics Board be disbanded, that you say so in your advisory opinion on the matter. Ditto on our request to have Mr. Cardone removed from office for the above listed actions.