Tyler Etzel Jr. Literally Sold Shit For a Living (Part 2)
In Part 2 of our story, we're going to look into who possibly broke New York State Election Law, and the upcoming Sewer Moratorium that Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus wants to stop.
Above: Crooked County Executive Steve M. Neuhaus gives his 2024 Orange County Budget presentation. Listen carefully to how often he brags about cutting taxes while not mentioning Orange County Sewer District 1 at all.
Why?
International Man of Mystery Steve Neuhaus claims to have cut taxes, but he’s actually increased the cost of living for residents of Orange County Sewer District 1 (OCSD1) repeatedly since taking office.
Now, despite the objections of residents in OCSD1, Stefan “Steve” Neuhaus wants to ram through a significant Woodbury Common expansion without having any sewage capacity, and everyone in Orange County Sewer District 1 (Chester, Monroe, Woodbury, Blooming Grove) will pay for the privilege of a looming environmental disaster instead of a company, Simon, that had enough cash to run a $2B stock buyback program in February.
Howdy.
This has been a crazy week.
Many of you have already voted, and for those of you who haven’t, early voting begins this Saturday.
For those of you reading this in Southern Orange County, the closest location is Town Hall in the Town of Monroe, at 1465 Orange Turnpike. It’ll be open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for early voting through Election Day.
There is ZERO reason to wait to vote.
If you do go vote, remember to turn over your ballots and vote yes on Prop 1.
It’s a poorly worded amendment to the State Constitution that will protect every woman in this state should President JD Vance and the Far Right Christian Nationalists on the Supreme Court try to ram through a national abortion ban.
THAT is the entire purpose of the Prop 1 amendment (more details about it, from a factual non-partisan perspective, can be read here.)
I can't tell you why the State Democrats didn’t do a better job of explaining Prop 1.
As we’ve spent a lot of time documenting here at The Monroe Gazette, the New York State Democratic Party sucks.
Many of its members, including New York City Mayor (for now) Eric Adams, Governor Kathy Hochul, and our State Senator James G. Skoufis, are too busy counting the money they’re collecting from the real estate industry to be bothered to do much else, let alone present clear, easy-to-understand language for their proposed amendment.
But I can tell you that the Prop 1 amendment is necessary because if you think the Christian Nationalists want to stop at banning abortion, you’re not reading the fine print of Project 2025. Contraception is next.
There is a lot of bullshit surrounding Prop 1, with the MAGA Republicans telling people it’s somehow a back door for illegal immigration or trans kids playing sports, and none of that is true.
Anyway, bring yourself to the polls.
Bring your friends.
Bring your family.
Bring everyone.
Because you better believe your opposition, funded by the developers, will too.
I also think it’s fitting and proper that Monroe’s Town Hall is the Early Voting location, given that it’s been taken over by a bunch of washed-up fascist rodeo clowns.
And since (most) of the people living in Monroe are a little too quiet right now when it comes to the actions of Cardone, Houle, and Scancarello, just absolutely packing that Town Hall with voters is a nice way to send the rodeo clowns a message.
Remember: Mrs. Dorey Houle is on the ballot for this election.
And Mr. Tony Cardone and Slippery Sal are going to be on the ballot for the next election, which is 375 days from right now.
It’s time to tell all three of these dipshits that their days in office are numbered.
We’re going to kick all the fascists, and the wealthy real estate developers funding them, out of office.
But we also need to be vigilant about letting agents of wealthy real estate developers get elected in the first place, which brings us back to Woodbury and part two of yesterday’s story.
The Village Board of Trustees will be discussing the Sewer Moratorium. Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, and Woodbury Common General Manager David Mistretta absolutely DO NOT want the sewer moratorium to be passed.
Here’s the letter I submitted to the Village Trustees, which should more or less cover this issue, and explain why you should ignore Mr. Neuhaus and Mr. Mistretta’s quest for an exemption to any such sewer moratorium.
To the Woodbury Village Boad,
I understand you are considering a sewer moratorium, and that Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus is simultaneously pushing for Woodbury Common to be expanded and exempt from such a moratorium.
I suspect the County will inquire with you, if they have not already, about some kind of exemption or work around to any moratorium, so I'd like to flag a couple of things.
First, Monroe is OVER capacity. So no capacity is available there. South Blooming Grove is currently purchasing capacity from the sewage plant in New Windsor — and potentially purchasing it for themselves — because of the lack of capacity at Orange County Sewer District 1.
Kiryas Joel / Palm Tree, Blooming Grove, Chester, and Woodbury (the remaining municipalities in OCSD1) are at capacity. As you know, Chester and Woodbury also both currently have building moratoriums.
[Note to readers: The New Windsor Supervisor Town Supervisor, Stephen A. Bedetti, denies this claim about South Blooming Grove and the sewage. I haven’t been able to verify the claim independently via the FOILs listed below. So, for now, I’ve removed it from the letter’s republication here and am taking the Supervisor at his word.]
There is no way to "create" capacity at this time unless South Blooming Grove purchases the plant in New Windsor.
If Orange County would like to fund that purchase and remove SBG's sewage capacity from OCSD1 entirely — at the expense of the developers and not area residents — by all means, the County Executive should feel free to do that and then request an exemption for the Commons expansion from Woodbury.
For the record, I'm one of very few area residents who support the Common expanding, but ONLY with the conditions that it:
1. Only be expanded with a train station to alleviate traffic.
2. That Simon agrees to no longer issue Stock Buybacks to their executives, instead increasing the pay of their employees at the mall to a minimum of $25 an hour with full time benefits (including adequate medical coverage)
3. And adding a pedestrian bridge over 32 to safely allow students from the Monroe-Woodbury academic complex to access the Common safely.
Of the three conditions, two of them will likely never happen, and until they do, I'll encourage you to ignore the request from the County, and Simon Properties, to grant an exemption to any forthcoming Sewer Moratoirum.
Second, below is a list of open FOIL requests concerning Orange County Sewer District 1. I am sharing these and requesting they are made part of the public record, so Woodbury residents can understand that Orange County is currently doing its best not to provide any information to them about the state, condition, and operations of OCSD1.
Until Orange County wants to be forthcoming in providing this information, no exemption should be granted to any sewer moratorium if and when you approve one.
Thank you for your time and attention, and I encourage you to fully support a sewer moratorium with NO exemption for Woodbury Common until answers are provided to the public by Orange County, and Simon Properties commits to an expansion of the Common that do not further tax our roads, and promotes safe, and smart, accessibility options for the shopping center, such as the train station.
-BJ Mendelson
Open FOIL Requests
[Note to readers: I sent this letter to the Woodbury Board a couple of weeks ago. As of this writing, two weeks later, NO progress has been made from Steve Neuahus and Orange County in answering them]
R002089-100324 (Opened 10/3)
Records (emails) concerning: - Replacement of the "drop" manhole in Village of Monroe's Airplane Park due to hydrogen sulfide and related costs to OCSD1 rate payers for these replacements.
-2006/2007 relining of Milpond Parkway Pipe due to hydrogen sulfide eating away at it and cost of replacement to OCSD1 Rate Payers. -Emails from former Village Mayor, Jon Karl, to OCSD1 and OC EFS about relining of the Milpond Parkway Pipe -Current, 2023 & 2024 status of the Milpond Parkway Pipe
-Emails concerning discussions and deliberations from OC EFC, County Executive's Office, Orange County Department of Health concerning South Blooming Grove and hydrogen sulfide damage being caused in Village of Monroe involving the pipe and drop manhole at Airplane Park.
-Discussions and deliberations by the above-identified parties concerning going after responsible parties (such as South Blooming Grove) to pay any damages caused by their negligence to OCSD1 infrastructure and related sewer infrastructure in the Village of Monroe.
R002081-093024 (Opened 9/30/24)
Emails between Legislator Tuohy and Monroe Town Supervisor, Tony Cardone, concerning the hydrogen sulfide release in the Village of Monroe and the current status of untreated sewer coming through the village which has created the smell. Emails between Tuohy and Dorey Houle, if any, as Mrs. Houle is the designated Liaison for the Village of Monroe.
R002080-093024 (Opened Yesterday, 9/30/24)
1. Meeting notes, emails, and other records created by Legislator Katie Bonelli concerning the 8/22/22 meeting also attended by Legislator Peter Tuohy with Mr. Joel Stern. Records should also include emails sent by and between Mrs. Bonelli to Mr. Tuohy, and by both parties to Mr. Joel Stern of South Blooming Grove, Mr. Erik Denga, and Mr. Robert Gray of Orange County. 2. Emails sent between Mrs. Bonelli and Mr. Joel Stern from 1/1/23 to 9/30/24 concerning South Blooming Grove.
R002079-093024 (Opened Yesterday, 9/30/24)
Emails sent from Monroe Mayor Neil Dwyer to Mr. Erik Denga and Mr. Anthony Griffin concerning sewage infrastructure and resulting issues related to hydrogen sulfide and "rotten egg smell" within the Village of Monroe
R002077-093024 (Opened Yesterday, 9/30/24)
Anthony R. Griffin, P.E., Principal Sanitary Engineer's reports provided to Village of Monroe officials providing data of Hydrogen Sulfide at the combined force main discharge MH M8 located in Airplane Park. Records should include 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 (if available) reports containing this data.
R001982-090324 (Opened 1 month ago)
Emails between County Executive Neuhaus and Orange County Department of Environmental Health concerning capacity issues and related problems due to exceeding capacity at Orange County Sewer District 1. Emails between County Executive Neuhaus and Orange County Department of Health concerning South Blooming Grove and ongoing failures of South Blooming Grove municipal water system. Emails between County Executive Neuhaus and Gedalya Segedin concerning Orange County Sewer District 1 and related capacity issues.
R001980-090324 (Opened 1 month ago)
-Records concerning The Hydrogen Sulfide System that South Blooming Grove is refusing to put online because of a fight with Orange County. Village Trustee in Monroe, John Karl, reports the Hydrogen Sulfide is now polluting Crane Park. -Records request pertains to emails between Orange County EFS and related services to the Village of South Blooming Grove (Joel Stern, Isaac Ekstein, Al Fusco Jr, Tom Shepstone, Mayor George Kalaj) concerning the The Hydrogen Sulfide System. Additionally, I am requesting emails between OC EFS and the Village of Monroe (Mayor Dwyer, Trustee Jon Karl III) concerning the The Hydrogen Sulfide System in South Blooming Grove and the release of this chemical's impact on Crane Park and other locations that border South Blooming Grove in the Village of Monroe.
R001887-073024 (Opened 2 months ago)
Emails from Kiryas Joel Village Administrator, Gedalya Segedin, to Environmental Services Commissioner and team concerning Orange County Sewer District 1 capacity issues and facility upgrades / expansion.
R001862-072224 (Opened 2 months ago)
January 2023 Sewage Capacity Report for Harriman Treatment Center January 2024 Sewage Capacity Report. Current Capacity Report for Orange County Sewer District 1 (Summer 2024)
Completed FOIL Requests
R001981-090324 (Completed)
-Emails sent between Peter Tuohy and Village of Monroe officials (Jon Karl III and Mayor Neil Dwyer) concerning hyrdogen sulfide released from the Village of South Blooming Grove and its impacts on the Village including Crane Park and other locations in the Village of Monroe. -Emails sent from Peter Tuohy to Village of South Blooming Grove officials (Joel Stern, Isaac Ekstein, Mayor George Kalaj, Tom Shepstone, Al Fusco JR.) concerning the release of hyrdogen sulfide from the Village of South Blooming Grove.
Two Other Items Woodbury & Southern Orange County Residents Should Know
There’s A LOT going on in Woodbury.
In the interest of time, I’d like to get this article out so that people can see it before the meeting, we’re going to go through the rest of these issues as quickly as we can. I’ll revisit some of them as more information becomes available.
Town Board Bullshit & The IMA
If you ever wanted to teach a course in Cognitive Dissonance, I don’t think there’s a better example than Woodbury Town Supervisor Kathryn Luciani announcing that there will now be a five-minute time limit for public comment while sitting in an almost empty room. (She announces it at the start of the meeting below.)
Also, given her history of sudden, violent outbursts, I don’t think Chief Kevin Watson should allow Mrs. Cathy Schmidt, Woodbury Public Library Board President, to sit so close to the podium (she’s on the left, as is the Chief).
But that’s just me.
Maybe if the Chief wants to justify his $200,000+ annual salary — making him one of the highest-paid public officials in Southern Orange County — he could ask Mrs. Schmidt to move.
Why is there suddenly a time limit for public comment?
Because Kathryn Luciani took money from Keen Equities (Ziggy Brach) and doesn’t want to have to explain why she’s taking money from a developer that poses a clear and present environmental danger to every resident in Southern Orange County.
Because Wannabe Town Supervisor, Brandon Calore, Deputy Supervisor Theresa Luongo, and (Still) Unelected Councilwoman Sandra Caprligone refuse to explain why there’s a hold-up with the Intermunicipal Agreement. It’s not the Village, it’s that the Town holding it up. Why? Because the Town doesn’t want to look into the credible accusations of overtime abuse and pension fraud at the Woodbury Police department, and they don’t want to look into the gross neglect and mismanagement going on at the Animal Shelter. Both are fair, and reasonable concerns raised by Woodbury residents about the Town’s management of the Police and Animal Shelter. Concerns that this Town Board continues to ignore. All while demanding the Village give them everything they want. That’s not how you negotiate. That’s how fascists act.
Because Supervisor Luciani wants to build a road through Town Owned property, currently designated as green space, surrounding Woodbury Junction, that was meant to be a buffer between the Town of Woodbury and City of Kiryas Joel. She denies this, but there’s multiple sources confirming Mrs. Luciani is working with Monroe Town Supervisor Tony Cardone, and Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, to benefit the Monroe Commons project, and its developer representative, Lipa Deutsch, by creating this road.
There is no negotiation, there’s no good faith discussion with residents. It’s all just demands, and when they don’t get what they want, grievance and bullshit.
P.S. The Woodbury Public Library is dragging its feet on these FOIL requests concerning their budget expenditures. I won’t have any information on it until December.
So, it’s not currently part of the IMA negotiations, but I sure feel like Woodbury residents could speak up about this and ask that the library be handed over to the Village, since that sort of bullshit obstruction of public information doesn’t fly with our village officials.
Unless you’re Trustee Fabbro and Trustee Freiband. Speaking of which …
Did Someone Violate NYS Election Law?
This is the bigger story.
I’ll explain it as quick as I can, since it’ll probably become a much longer post later.
In New York State, if you make a campaign contribution, it has to be provided along with the true name of the person making that contribution.
Specifically, the law (NYS Election Law 14-120, found here on Page 537, says …)
No person shall in any name except his own, directly or indirectly, make a payment or a promise of payment to a candidate or political committee or to any officer or member thereof, or to any person acting under its authority or in its behalf or on behalf of any candidate, nor shall any such committee or any such person or candidate knowingly receive a payment or promise of payment, or enter or cause the same to be entered in the accounts or records of such committee, in any name other than that of the person or persons by whom it is made (emphaiss added.)
There are some exceptions. For example, remember how I pointed out Attorney General Letitia James took in a whole lotta cash, and didn’t identify where that cash came from?
One loophole in New York State Campaign Finance is that you can receive a large number of cash donations at an event, and then bundle them together for reporting purposes.
We don’t know if that’s what Mrs. James did.
What we do know is that Mrs. James reported large, anonymous campaign contributions like the ones I just mentioned on at least two different occasions. Within a few months, legal letters seemingly sent on behalf of my Satmar brothers and sisters, from the Attorney General’s office, arrived in the Village of Monroe and Forestburgh.
I’m sure that’s just a coincidence, though.
Anyway, you can’t, and this is hypothetical of course, give a large amount of cash to someone, and then have that someone make a contribution pretending the cash came from them. Not you.
It’s your money and your name that has to go with it.
Make sense?
Good. Because if you were to do what I just described in the hypothetical, you would be breaking New York State Election Law.
That is, allegedly, what happened with Comittee to Elect Woodbury Democrats and the $1,500 campaign contribution that was made to Tyler Etzel Jr. and John U. Keleman’s One Wodbury Pac last month.
Here are the facts:
1. There is an organization known as Committee to Elect Woodbury Democrats
2. Until July of 2020, this organization used a PO BOX. PO Box 672 Central Valley NY 10917 United States and, later on, PO Box 466 Highland Mills, NY 10930, United States).
Note: There are no rules, according to New York State’s Board of Elections, that prohibit Committee to Elect Woodbury Democrats from using a PO BOX. So, why the organization stopped using one after 2022 is not clear. After this story is published, I have no doubt they’ll register one immediately.
3. In 2022, the Committee to Elect Woodbury Democrats began using the home address of 33 Schunnemunk Road Highland Mills NY 10930 United States.
4. 33 Schunnemunk Road, Highland Mills, is the home address of Rhonda and James Fabbro, the mother and father of Village Trustee, Matthew Fabbro.
It's not clear if Mr. Fabbro lives with his mother and father at this address.
There’s no shame in doing so, because if you’re not a Baby Boomer, good luck buying a fucking house these days.
But …
That aside, since the Fabbro address is also the address of this committee, we have to talk about whether or not Trustee Fabbro lives there. He indicated to New York State’s Board of Elections that he does.
On the form pictured below, using the Schunnemunk address, Mr. Fabbro also indicated that for 2024, he was acting as an authorized party for the committee that can sign checks at this address.
5. Matthew Fabbro was elected in the Fall of 2023 to the Woodbury Village Board on the Democratic Party line.
6. Since his election, he has also been seen receiving instructions from his mother, who is present at the meetings, on what to do and say during meetings. (Fellow Trustees and Woodbury residents have witnessed this behavior.) So, one could argue, Mrs. Fabbro is directing Mr. Fabbro (her son) in his capacity as Village Trustee. That would be the first, of two, Village of Woodbury Ethics Code violations.
"No board member, Village employee, or Village consultant shall by his conduct [create a] reasonable basis for the impression that another can improperly influence him or unduly enjoy his favor in the performance of his official duties or that he is affected by kinship, rank, position, or influence of any party or person."
7. The Woodbury Code of Ethics also says the following: "No board member, Village employee or Village consultant shall have any interest, financial or otherwise, direct or indirect, or engage in any business or transaction or professional activity or incur any obligation of any nature, which is in conflict with or might reasonably tend to conflict with the proper discharge of his duties in the public interest."
This is where things get a little complicated, so stay with me here:
8. On May 16th, 2024, Committee to Elect Woodbury Democrats, using the home address of Trustee Mathew Fabbro, contributed $1,860.78 to the Orange County Democratic Committee (ID# 21638) and on September 15th, 2024, it donated $1,500 to One Woodbury - ID# 425304
We do not know who wrote these checks on behalf of Committee to Elect Woodbury Democrats, but there are only two people in 2024 legally allowed to do so: Mr. Stephen Hunter and Village Trustee Matthew Fabbro.
(Mr. Stephen Hunter can often be found in the Woodbury United Facebook group loudly defending Freiband and Fabbro to anyone who will listen. Now you know why.)
9. One Woodbury PAC is a fundraising organization for John U. Keleman and Mr. Tyler Etzel Jr.
Both men are running to join the Village Board of Trustees in Woodbury, along with Mr. Fabbro, on the Democratic Party ticket.
Woodbury residents, since the 2023 election, have seen Trustee James Freiband repeat the same BS, and false, information Mr. Etzel and Mr. Keleman have in their 2024 campaign. So, it’s no surprise to see their PAC get funding from Committee to Elect Woodbury Democrats.
Mainly because In 2015 and 2017, the Committee to Elect Woodbury Democrats supported Frieband’s failed run for Trustee. It also endorsed Etzel during his failed run for mayor in the Fall of 2023.
Here’s the part about the alleged crime …
10. John U. Keleman’s wife, Charlene Keleman, is the registered treasurer for the One Woodbury Pac. When Mrs. Keleman received the $1,500 check from the Committee to Elect Woodbury Democrats, she provided the committee's name and the Fabbros' address when registering the contribution with New York State’s Board of Elections.
11. When asked about the nature of this $1,500 donation to Mr. Etzel, Mrs. Fabbro allegedly said to the people asking, that the committee only uses her home address since they did not renew its PO BOX. This seemed a bit odd, given that PO BOXES are inexpensive in our area. But sure. Ok.
12. But Mrs. Fabbro then also suggested that the $1,500 was not originating from the Committee to Elect Woodbury Democats, but being passed through the committee by other parties (not identified) to Mr. Tyler Etzel JR.
And that, my friends, if true, is a crime that New York State Board of Elections Election Law Division should investigate.
Because now you have one of two people, one of whom is a sitting Woodbury Village Trustee, signing a check for $1,500, to a guy running for the same office as the sitting Trustee, with unknown origins regarding where the money came from.
At the very least, I’ll refer you back to that other Village Ethics Code section, which said …
"No board member […] shall have any interest, financial or otherwise, direct or indirect, or engage in any business or transaction or professional activity or incur any obligation of any nature, which is in conflict with or might reasonably tend to conflict with the proper discharge of his duties in the public interest."
That definitely sounds like the situation Trustee Matthew Fabbro finds himself in. And one he should explain at tonight’s meeting.
Otherwise, New York State’s Division of Election Law Enforcement is going to want to have a word with him.
P.S. Don’t forget to ask Trustee Fabbro and Trustee Freiband if they hold any shares in High Mount LLC, the new Falkirk Golf Course owners.
P.P.S. If any of the gaslighting narcissists from the Town Board are at this meeting, feel free to ask them to explain the complete and total lack of negotiation with the Village on key concerns involving the IMA. It’s easy for them to sit at their meeting and cry about the IMA not being passed. It’s a whole other thing to actually have to explain their refusal to even discuss or negotiate the IMA itself.