The burgeoning scandal at the city's poshest condominiums took a bizarre turn last week when the building's embattled manager filed a lawsuit of her own against two prominent members of the owners' association.
On March 5, Judith Dale -- whose management of the Parkway Condominiums building and its finances has touched off a firestorm of controversy -- filed the lawsuit in state Supreme Court charging owners Henry Borgese and Muriel White with circulating unfounded rumors in an attempt to interfere with her employment contract.
The controversial contract is at the center of an earlier lawsuit filed by Borgese. The unusual document, signed in December 2000, virtually guarantees Dale employment for life, with a 10-year term followed by a 10-year extension she may exercise at her discretion.
At least two of the four condo board members who signed the contract, Orlando Marra and Elizabeth Pfleger, are related to Dale by blood.
According to Dale's suit, the defendants circulated rumors throughout the building with the goal of undermining her position. The suit alleges the rumors concerned Dale's being "on drugs," having "had an abortion," that she was "embezzling money" and that she is "irresponsible, immoral and/or criminal."
The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages.
While the Borgese suit doesn't mention anything about drugs or abortion, it does accuse Dale of dozens of instances of financial shenanigans.
Among the most serious allegations in the suit are that Dale paid back money she borrowed from a building employee simply by increasing the individual's paycheck, that she wrote checks to herself on the condominium's account in excess of her salary, that she "advanced" herself several months of salary without authorization and that she referred prospective tenants to condo owners willing to compensate her with money and gifts.
The Borgese suit also seeks to find out why there hasn't been an outside audit of the Parkway's finances, despite a requirement for one contained in the condo charter. Records show that there was a budget surplus at the end of 2002, a surplus that had turned into a $155,000 deficit a year later.
In addition to Dale, the Borgese suit names the entire Parkway Board of Directors as defendants, including board President Mickey Brown.
Brown and Dale have long been considered an "item" by both Parkway residents and employees of the Seneca Niagara Casino, where Brown serves as chief executive officer. Last December, despite admitting that the "financial status of the Parkway condominium is in extremely poor condition," Brown solicited some tenants of the building for donations in order to provide Dale with a year-end bonus.
When no donations were forthcoming, Brown and the board simply approved a $10,000 bonus from the building's general fund.
But the straw that broke the camel's back was a window replacement project Dale oversaw at the 144-unit building during the summer of 2002. In a letter announcing the project, Dale told residents that the work would be done at no cost to the owners.
"The common charges and assessment will not be increased," she wrote. "We are able to finance this project without passing the cost on to you."
The letter goes on to say a state grant, a large operating fund surplus and other factors allowed Dale to put the $667,258 deal together in such a way that no additional money would be needed.
In January, residents received a letter from Brown informing them they'd have to pay for the windows after all. Additionally, the project had mushroomed from the $667,258 cited by Dale to $843,000.
Residents began a drive to oust the board and terminate Dale's contract. Because many condo owners live out of state or go south in the winter, an effort was made to collect proxy votes.
New horror stories surfaced.
According to a letter received from owner Tony Grizanti, he was stunned at the condition of his unit when he returned unexpectedly from North Carolina several months ago.
"When I walked into my apartment I found the bed had been slept in, beer cans, champagne bottles (and) Christmas wrappings all over the floor," he wrote. "Dishes and glasses in the sink unwashed, condoms (and) Kleenex swatches throughout the apartment. The bathroom had men's cologne and body rub and erotic paraphernalia."
Grizanti said he cleaned his apartment and waited. At 11 p.m., Dale's sister Joanne Moll, who was employed as the building's night security officer, unlocked the door and let herself in.
Grizanti reported the matter to Dale, but no action was taken and Moll continued her employment at the Parkway, he said.
"I want you to know that I am giving you my full support in getting rid of the present board and general manager," Grizanti wrote.
As the Borgese and Dale suits move their way through the courts, more revelations can be expected. Dale will have to prove that any statements made by Borgese and White were not only false, but were made in the knowledge they were false. For his part, Borgese must prove that Dale did indeed misuse condominium funds, and that the condo board facilitated her actions.
The Parkway is the home of numerous attorneys, at least one judge and dozens of prominent Niagara Falls businesspeople. The discovery process should prove interesting.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | March 16 2004 |