Did Judith Dale -- ousted former manager of the posh Parkway Condominiums -- have access to a company credit card or did she not?
In a Jan. 14 letter, Seneca Niagara Casino kingpin and then-president of the Parkway's homeowners association, G. Michael "Mickey" Brown, states emphatically that she didn't.
But a review of records provided by the condominium's bankers, HSBC, shows that they, at least, believed she did.
The question will likely be resolved by a Niagara County grand jury expected to be impaneled sometime in the next few months, law enforcement sources told the Reporter. Dale, who has been linked romantically with Brown by both Parkway residents and casino employees, will be at the center of the investigation.
The investigation, now being conducted by District Attorney Matthew J. Murphy, is also looking into the relationship between Dale and Chris Kudela, a former "handyman" at the building who has a police record for drug-related offenses.
In just 10 months, between June 2003 and April 2004, Dale racked up well over $100,000 worth of charges on a MasterCard business card issued to Judy Dale/Parkway Condominiums, records show. The records were obtained from HSBC following a tenant revolt in the building that saw Brown and other board members lose their positions and led to the outright firing of Dale earlier this year.
When the incoming board requested all financial documents related to the Parkway, HSBC provided an 86-page printout of the Dale/Parkway transactions. A copy of that report was made available to the Reporter last week.
The credit card was authorized by a series of former condominium board members, including James DiCamillo, William Fox and Elizabeth Plfager, who is also Dale's aunt.
Some of the charges could plausibly be explained, such as those to Home Depot, Office Max, Buffalo Chair and Wal-Mart, where a building manager might go to buy items for maintenance and upkeep. But there are many more transactions that would seem harder to justify.
Like scores of meals at the Red Coach Inn, the Como, Hardings, John's Flaming Hearth, Apple Granny's, Gagsters, the Jade Garden, Tin Pan Alley, the Brownstone Bistro, Macri's, the Olympia, Molinare's Holy Cannoli, Harry's Harbour Place Grille, the Harbor Club and numerous other eateries in the Niagara-Buffalo area where Dale's tabs often came to more than $250 a pop.
The Maidenform Outlet, Victoria's Secret, Wilson's Leather and Kaufman's Men's Fragrance Department sent bills, as did the Ambulatory Surgery Center in Amherst, where nearly $2,000 bought Dale a procedure apparently not covered by her health insurance.
Beauty needs were attended to by the Ciao Hair Salon and Total Tan Niagara, and she had her nails done at Pham's.
Where clothes were concerned, money was apparently no object for Dale. Charges to department stores and boutiques such as Bon Ton, Kaufman's, Sport Chek Women's and Juniors and Eddie Bauer in Toronto, Liz Claiborne, Pacific Swimwear, the Casual Corner, J. Crew, the Deb Shop, Alloy, Abercrombie & Fitch and the Fashion Bug clutter the records like so many wire hangers in the closet of a movie star's daughter.
The records also show Dale enjoyed traveling. Two trips to the Caribbean -- on Costa Cruise Lines and Carnival Cruise Lines -- resulted in nearly $3,000 worth of charges on the card. Another trip, to the Sherkston Resorts in Canada, where she didn't stay long, resulted in charges of more than $500 U.S.
Dale also had an affinity for destinations closer to home. Stays at the Holiday Valley Resort in Ellicottville and the Dudley Motor Hotel in Salamanca -- both located near the Seneca Reservations -- resulted in bills of over $1,000. And Dale was no stranger to New York City, where she flew on JetBlue and stayed at the swank Omni Berkshire hotel, shopped at Macy's and saw a show at the Palace Theater.
Like many of us, Dale did her shopping at Tops, Wegman's, Latina and Supermarket Liquors and Wines. Unlike most of us, though, she did her shopping on a credit card that has now become the focus of a criminal investigation.
All of the above listed charges and many more were racked up over a period of just 10 months, bank records show. Despite the fact that three different Parkway board members signed to endorse Dale's credit card, no record can be found authorizing its use in any of the minutes of board meetings.
Because Dale is the target of a criminal probe that will likely soon result in a grand jury investigation, she has refused to be deposed in the civil litigation pending against her by the building's owners.
Attorney Joseph Carosella, who owns several units at the Parkway and is representing a number of the tenants in a suit against Dale, Brown, and other former board members, said the situation has been difficult.
"They're not telling us anything," he said. "It's frustrating."
Another, perhaps darker side to the current criminal investigation concerns the more than $38,000 paid by Dale out of condominium funds over a period of five months to Chris Kudela. In a slander suit filed earlier this year against two Parkway owners, Dale alleges that the pair spread rumors throughout the building that she was a "drug addict."
Kudela's problems with substance abuse are well known. Most recently, he found himself in the Lewiston lockup last month following a motorcycle accident. Police responding to the scene discovered what they believed to be six grams of cocaine, although Kudela has yet to be charged. Law enforcement sources told the Reporter that Kudela had been arrested on at least two previous occasions.
At the Parkway, Kudela was employed as a "handyman" by Dale, although residents say he did very little during his time there. And his official work record raises more questions than it answers, sources say.
"There's a charge of thousands of dollars for him to clean the carpets in the common areas of the building," one source said. "And then, a month later, Judy brought a professional carpet cleaner in from Buffalo to do the same thing."
In any event, many of those now looking at the records -- including the district attorney's office and Norman Schechter, the forensic accountant retained by the owners to go over the Parkway's books -- are questioning why an entry-level worker who was only briefly employed would earn upwards of $7,500 a month at a condominium described as cash-strapped by management.
An $865,000 window replacement project overseen by Dale and alarmingly high cell phone bills charged to condominium owners are also under investigation.
Dale, reportedly now living in Youngstown, stopped talking to the press months ago. Her attorney, Joseph LaTona, was unavailable for comment at press time.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Aug. 3 2004 |