omments A A Purchase Image The Landis Theatre marquee is seen on April 14, 2010. / Staff photo/Charles J. Olson Written by Joseph P. Smith | jsmith@thedailyjournal FILED UNDER News Local News Landis Theater Anthony Fanucci Robert Romano Key questions A report sent to Vineland’s mayor in October from the accounting firm co-leading an investigation into finances of the Landis Theater redevelopment project listed several questions it said need answers, including: Was an unexplained $400,000 change order by the developer “inflated” and “questionable”? Why did the developer seek a second audit of the project’s construction costs, which was $400,000 less than the original? Was it related to the change order? What impact did this have? Why did unnamed Vineland officials want US Bank, the city’s partner in the deal, to not know about the theater investigation? Did the nonprofit Landis Theater Foundation misspend $500,000 from the city Urban Enterprise Zone? Were UEZ funds used to pay a $30,000 loan origination fee? Why? VINELAND Accounting and legal firms hired to sift the Landis Theater redevelopment project for alleged shady practices are blaming city officials for their decisions to quit without having delivered to the city a definitive answer to a single key question. Accounting firm Holman Frenia Allison P.C. and law firm Ambrosio & Tomczak give several excuses for quitting in a joint, three-page letter dated Feb. 11 that was sent to Mayor Ruben Bermudez. The letter was shared with most City Council members last month but official possession remains with the mayor’s office. City Council members last month confirmed the withdrawal of the two firms, saying that neither appeared to have done any work under their contracts. There never has been evidence put forth of any wrongdoing on the part of developer Hans Lampart in the nearly two years since it became a controversy. The Daily Journal recently obtained the Feb. 11 withdrawal letter. The newspaper also obtained a related letter, sent in October 2013 from Holman Frenia Allison to the mayor, that discusses what information the firm already had collected and listing at least 40 questions it thought needed exploration. The mayor has refused to release the October letter, despite requests under New Jersey law. The newspaper continues to seek the official release of both documents through normal channels. On Wednesday, Bermudez took questions about the situation. He did not comment, or commit to commenting later, on the withdrawals or the future of the theater investigation, however. Also on Wednesday, City Council President Anthony Fanucci and Vice President Paul Spinelli characterized the withdrawal letter as a thin attempt by the firms to blame others for their performance. None of the reasons cited by the firms in the letter make sense and at least one accusation is a lie, the council members said. “I think they thought they were going to milk the city for $50,000,” Fanucci said. He added that, when the compensation didn’t appear, “then they looked for any excuses to run for the hills.”
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 12:11:33 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015