Monday, April 7, 2025

In the Last 5 Years, State Aid for the Lodi Schools Has Increased from 20,787,810 to $43,199,877. Lodi Taxes Should Have Significantly Been Lowered. Instead, Nancy Cardone’s BOE Members Voted to Raise Taxes.

The numbers in my title were taken from the State Department of Education link below:

User-Friendly Budgets

Michael Rinderknecht and Nancy Cardone should explain to the public how much Lodi school taxes would have increased in the last 5 years if Lodi's aid remained flat while they increased their budget by $26,677,379 or 43% (61,582,255 to $88,259,634).

Phil Murphy took millions of dollars in aid away from towns that voted against him and transferred it to towns like Lodi.  Phil Murphy will be out of office next January.  If the Lodi BOE is raising taxes while receiving millions more in additional aid each year, what do you think is going to happen next year?

It is so insulting when people like Nancy Cardone and members of her political group tell others that their bloated budgets and tax increases are “for the children”.  Nobody has enriched themself and family more than Nancy Cardone. 

Nancy Cardone may say "it's for the children", but she has also spent your tax dollars quite lavishly on administrators that took care of her family.

She had no problem giving Doug Petty a $27,000 raise before his contract was up:

Lodi By The Numbers: Search results for doug petty pay raise

She had no problem giving Michael Rinderknecht a 36,670.08 raise:

Lodi By The Numbers: The Lodi Board of Education and its Business Administrator Have Not Been Honest or Transparent About the Business Administator’s Compensation…

These greedy, self-serving hypocrites can spare the lectures about who is for the children.  Because it clearly is not them.






Nancy Cardone is Listed as the Chairperson for the Cannizzaro Team. ELEC is Showing No Filings for Their Campaign Contributors, Contributions, and Expenditures.

After spending thousands of Lodi tax dollars on an attorney for herself, Nancy Cardone was still found guilty of ethics violations for her involvement in contract negotiations for her son.  

Lodi By The Numbers: The Lodi Board of Education Can Never Operate Honestly and Efficiently With Nancy Cardone as Its President. She Has the Worst Conflicts of Interest in the State of New Jersey.

Nancy Cardone should be extremely happy with just an ethics violation because things have taken place that appear criminal in nature.

Nancy Cardone is an extremely unethical person who has used our school system as a personal employment agency for herself and family.  

I received a mailer this week from the campaign chaired by Nancy Cardone.  ELEC is showing that Nancy Cardone has not listed any contributions, contributors, or expenditures.  The mailer didn’t pay for itself.

Nancy Cardone clearly thinks that she can skirt the law because she has gotten away with so much for 8 decades. Nancy Cardone has always taken money from people with business before the Board and she has always voted with conflicts of interest.  Since Nancy Cardone is not reporting (required by law), I will list some her political groups’ big donors in recent years in case anyone forgot.

A Partner in Matthew Giacobbe’s Firm

William Nunno

NJEA

Campaign Account of the Lodi Mayor and Council

The Lodi voters should be aware that when Nancy Cardone disclosed her contributors, the public was able to see the clear pay-to-play abuses, the conflicts of interest, and the ethics violations.  And that is why Nancy Cardone chooses to violate the law and not be open and transparent.  

Link to email sent to Laura Cima about the subject last year (no response was given):

Lodi By The Numbers: Email Just Submitted to Lodi Board of Education Vice President, Laura Cima: "Failure to Report Campaign Contributions/Expenditures; Failure to Disclose Conflicts of Interest"

Maybe Seton Hall should teach its PhDs how to file a campaign finance report.  Maybe Seton Hall should require its PhDs take a class on Ethics.  Maybe Seton Hall should teach its PhDs to be something more than a bump on a log.  It's very scary that someone that wants to be called "Dr." is led around by someone called Nepotism Nancy.



 

 

 



Recently, I Posted Factual Information About the Lodi BOE's Reckless Spending, Lavish Raises for Some, and Nancy Cardone (along her Board Puppets) Raising Taxes. I Also Called Low Life Karen Viscana Too "Toxic" for the Lodi Library Board. So, Karen Viscana Found Some Dummy to Call Me "Toxic" and Lie About Me.

Karen

I probably shouldn't even address Karen Viscana's stupidity and her dummy of the campaign, but I will point out their libelous statements about me:

1)  I was NEVER barred from holding any public office for "ethics violations".  I was successful in defending myself for 3 years against frivolous complaints against my blog.  I saved the Lodi taxpayers $15,000 dollars by refusing to use an attorney for the frivolous complaints against my blog.  Your welcome.
  
People can read what happened as I was leaving the Board:


2) I never "lost" a teaching job.  I didn't realize that I had to teach 5 sessions of the same Algebra Class each day for 40 years or Karen Viscana would make up lies about me if I ever decided to run for any Lodi office or expose waste and abuse on this blog.

To Karen Viscana and her dummy of the campaign, you are lazy and ignorant.  Smart people can bash people that they oppose politically, but they can base their attacks on some truth.  


Sunday, March 30, 2025

The Lodi Board of Education and its Business Administrator Have Not Been Honest or Transparent About the Business Administator’s Compensation…


Michael Rinderknecht sent a 2024-25 user friendly budget to the State showing his annual base salary to be $173,250 (he listed a contract ending June 30, 2024).

UFB25_2740.pdf

Monthly payroll for this school year shows Michal Rinderknecht’s salary was $209,920.08.  

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BttO6iKdLpEClnUR1yq4OdDmMBg1gU7q/view?usp=sharing

The Lodi BOE is showing that it gave Michael Rinderknecht a 36,670.08 pay raise for this current school year.

It is being reported that the Lodi Board of Education awarded a new contract to Michael Rinderknecht at this weeks’ BOE meeting without posting it on any meeting agenda.  It is being reported that his new salary is $213,000.

This is excessive for an interim that is only required to show up to work 4 days a week. 

This is a public body using public funds.  The lack of honesty and transparency from this Board of Education and its administration is unacceptable.  


With all the Millions More in Additional State Pouring into Lodi in Recent Years, the Lodi Board of Education is Still Showing a 2% Tax Increase.

 


2024-25 Tax Levy: $39,060,220

2025-26 Tax Levy: $39,841,244

Increase: $781,024; 2% Tax Increase


Link to 2025-26 User Friendly Budget Posted to the district website:

2025-26 User Friendly Budget.pdf

Link to 2024-25 User Friendly Budget:

UFB25_2740.pdf


Thursday, March 27, 2025

The New Contract for Lodi Board of Education "Interim" Business Administration, Micheal Rinderknech, Exemplifies the Excesses and Abuse at 8 Hunter Street...

Everyone that negotiated and approved the new contract should be thrown out of office.

They represent the excesses and abuse in government that disgusts most people.

A lesson should have been learned a few years ago with Frank Quatrone and Robert Brown. The BOE received a huge stack of resumes for a highly advertised open position for BA. Many resumes were great. Quatrone refused to interview one person. He said he wanted Robert Brown as interim BA and nobody else. Robert Brown was sleeping at his desk and forging vouchers for additional pay.

These interim BAs that Lodi has been using for too long are not impressive. They are not special. They are extremely overpaid and  greedy. They are overly political. They grab as much as they can while providing no long term plans or vision. They are reckless with our tax dollars.

Who should be BA? Any honest, fiscally conservative person that can use a software program. They exist but the people running our Board wouldn't want that. Because they have too much to hide.

If the Board Office and BOE members are proud of awarding the new contract, why isn't it posted on our district website? They all went out of their way to undo every transparency measure that existed until 2019.





Sunday, March 16, 2025

Once Again, OFAC Was Very Late to the Game in Addressing Lakewood's Attorney Pay Abuses. Lodi Was Committing the Same Violations for Decades (At a Smaller Cost Scale Compared to Lakewood). OFAC Doesn't Do Its Job Until it is Publicly Shamed into Doing Something.

 

Link to recent article about Lakewood:

Lakewood board attorney Michael Inzelbuch new pact blocked by monitor

Link to OFAC report about Lakewood:

OFACReport-RELegalServicesContract-February252025.pdf

The Lodi Board of Education was committing the same violations (at as smaller cost scale compared to Lakewood) until I shamed OFAC into taking some action.


Link to 2017 article from northjersey.com:

Lodi: School board working on legal contract corrective action plan

Link to 2017 OFAC report and corrective action plan for the Lodi Board of Education:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5rsibgv_9q_dG1RX3ViY3NiWjA/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-D_RW1_FMi3WFg0XURx-Yzg

I had told the Record reporter at the time that I had flagged Anthony Scirarrillo's billing which initiated the investigation.  The truth is I outlined all of the violations that Lodi was committing with legal billing and based it on a 2013 report from the New Jersey Comptroller's Office.  I did all the work for OFAC.  I shamed OFAC into doing something after I called out its double standard for addressing something in Bogota and ignoring the same for Lodi.

Is Lodi better off today with its handling of legal costs and practices? No. Matthew Giacobbe engages in very dishonest practices as outlined on this blog over the years.  He bills worse than other firms.  He is retained without any competitive procurement processes.  He illegally redacts invoices and other public records that other firms would never attempt to redact.  He engages in bad pay-to-play for his contracts.  And he gets away with it by making members of the legislature Partners in his firm.  There is no accountability from the State or from the Board of Education with regards to his billing and practices.








Sunday, March 9, 2025

The Lodi-Paramus Town Job for Town Job Tradeoff...

 The Boro of Paramus employs Lodi Mayor Scott Luna’s Sister:

The Boro of Paramus employs Lodi Mayor Scott Luna’s Son:

The Boro of Lodi Employs Paramus Councilman Robert Kaiser’s Wife in Sheryl Luna’s department:


Scott Luna and Vinny Martin who run the Lodi Democrat Committee fund the “Republican” campaign of Robert Kaiser in Paramus so there appears to be some special friendship/relationship:

Lodi By The Numbers: Campaign Contributions by Lodi PRIDE and Joe Leto Reported on ELEC for October...

Tony Luna long engaged in the town job for town job tradeoff and it continues today.



All Resolutions of the Lodi Mayor and Council for the Month of February 2025...

 Please download these attachments from the links below:


Sunday, March 2, 2025

Lodi Deputy Mayor Vinny Martin Should Explain this Public Notice from Last March Involving the Strip Club that He So Proudly Called Himself the "Owner"...

Lodi Deputy Mayor, Vinny Martin, proudly called himself the owner of “AJ’s” in Secaucus.  The business was busted multiple times for prostitution, cocaine sales, etc.


Link to background:

https://hudsonreporter.com/news/secaucus/go-go-bar-closure/

Vinny Martin’s name never appeared in any news articles or Channel 12 News segments as all news reports omitted the mention of any owner.  Vinny Martin has been given special treatment and a free pass. 

The notice above states that the Plenary Retail Consumption License was transferred to Geoffrey Santini. A person with that name was receiving contracts from the Lodi Mayor and Council when Tony Luna was Borough Manager. He was also featured on an NBC I-Team investigation in 2018.


Link to video:

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/new-jersey-housing-authority-north-bergen-geoffrey-santini-fired-nj/459963/

Vinny Martin is voting on matters that affect the public as Lodi Deputy Mayor and as a member of the Lodi Planning Board.  The public should demand that the town of Secaucus and the State release all records pertaining to  Lodi's Deputy Mayor and what has transpired with his business. 









Matt Platkin is An Overpaid Woke Activist With Quite a Losing Streak...

Link to past posts on Platkin:

http://lodioverhaul.blogspot.com/search?q=Platkin&max-results=20&by-date=true

With Platkin's political connections and losing record, he has a good resume to become partner at Matthew Giacobbe's firm. Maybe he can apply there in a few months when he is out of a job.



Recently, Many on Social Media Have Been Questioning Why Matt Platkin Had Participated in NJEA "Screenings" with Sean Spiller and Why Sean Spiller Was Never Charged with Stealing Benefits and Stipends as Montclair Mayor.

 

Matt Platkin charged part-time Wildwood officials with fraudulently attaining benefits but protected Sean Spiller for doing the same:

Lodi By The Numbers: Search results for Platkin wildwood

The NJEA link being shared with Spiller next to Platkin lists Debra Kwapniewski as participating (observer for Bergen County) in the “screening” to endorse Phil Murphy in 2021:

NJEA PAC endorses Gov. Phil Murphy in 2021 Democratic Primary - New Jersey Education Association

At the time that Kwapniewski was participating in these NJEA activities, she was being paid by the Lodi taxpayers for the entire school year for some medical leave.  During that fully paid “leave”, she sold her house in Lodi and purchased a home in Ontario County, New York.  She was able to sell her house in Lodi and relocate to Ontario County.  She was able to participate in NJEA meetings.  And she was paid by the Lodi taxpayers for an entire school year not to work. Debra Kwapniewski's brother, August Defalco, was BOE President Nancy Cardone's campaign treasurer at the time of this arrangement. The NJEA funded their campaigns.

NJEA corruption costs New Jersey taxpayers' big money and it has destroyed public education.