Town of Wallkill comptroller allegedly resigns amid state probe

It’s been months since a bitter and public feud between town employees in Wallkill.

Blaise Gomez

Jul 14, 2022, 7:01 PM

Updated 819 days ago

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It’s been months since a bitter and public feud between town employees in Wallkill. 
That feud resulted in then-Supervisor Frank DenDanto being found guilty of workplace misconduct after he was heard screaming, and at times, cursing at Comptroller Toni Tracy during a leaked 10-minute audio recording obtained by News 12. 
He also lost re-election following the controversy. 
“It was a boondoggle specifically to shift focus off of my intention on the business that was happening in the comptroller’s office,” said DenDanto. 
DenDanto claims he was heard during a frustrating, hourslong work session with finance employees and admits it wasn’t his finest moment. 
He says he was poking around and making waves about alleged discrepancies in the books when Tracy accused him of a creating a hostile work environment.  
Fast forward to late last month – and Tracy has now resigned, allegedly during a state probe into the town’s finances. 
“That’s the exact opposite of how it happened,” said Tracy. “There’s been issues in that town in the accounting department. It’s been understaffed for a very long time.” 
The state comptroller confirms the probe, but Tracy says she resigned before auditors arrived to take a new job somewhere else. 
Wallkill Council Member Neil Meyer says town officials have known of the finance problems for years and that the disruption has left the town to clean up a mess. 
“It was very clear to me that there were irregularities in the books,” said Meyer. “Our bank recs were behind. We weren’t getting regular reporting.” 
No one has said what the exact problems were and if they were by mistake or on purpose. 
News 12 reached out to the new town supervisor, George Serrano, but hasn’t heard back. 
Tracy says she’s offered to help train her replacement.  
The town recently put an ad in the paper that it was hiring for the job.