GOP, DiCarlo Trade Barbs Over CPA License Claims
Republicans say Denice DiCarlo lied about being a CPA; she says the issue is a smear tactic and deflection.
A question West Deptford Republicans have pushed for months—did Committeewoman Denice DiCarlo lie about having a certified public accountant (CPA) license—has come to a head just before the township committee election.
Republicans say the issue speaks to DiCarlo’s character while the Democratic candidate says the ongoing question is an attack only meant to distort her credentials. Now, the issue is spilling over into the public eye. At a recent township committee meeting, the questions over DiCarlo’s assertion that she’s a CPA sparked a heated debate between her and her GOP opponent, Jeff Hansen.
Questions about DiCarlo’s professional background deepened recently when Republican Party chair Denny Forte questioned West Deptford’s school superintendent regarding the biography drafting policy for school board members. DiCarlo previously sat on the school board.
Her biography from that time states in part, “She is a CPA …”
Superintendent Kevin Kitchenman said school board candidates draft their own biographies, which are mailed out in a newsletter during election time. Elected candidates have that biography posted to the district’s website, and its accuracy is the responsibility of the board member, Kitchenman said.
Republicans pounced after the Oct. 23 school board meeting, sending out a release saying “DiCarlo lied to the residents of West Deptford about being a CPA.”
“Falsifying your credentials to the public when seeking an elected position is reprehensible. It speaks to the character of that candidate and their lack of honesty and integrity,” Forte said in a statement.
Patch sent DiCarlo a series of questions via email, and she did not respond to several, including the current status of her CPA application.
(Click the PDFs, above, to view the documents)
GOP follows paper trail
The CPA question has dogged DiCarlo for months. Resident Joe Rando first questioned DiCarlo’s CPA status at a township committee meeting on June 14, after hearing at a May meeting from DiCarlo that her license was inactive. At the time, DiCarlo maintained she was inactive as a CPA and that she would provide the specifics of her credentials to Anthony Ogozalek, the township solicitor.
In an interview during the summer, Rando said he did not want to see the CPA issue turn into a political witch hunt. But Rando said he was frustrated over the issue, particular evasion and unresponsiveness—attributes of the Democratic party, he charged.
“There are a lot of problems here and they need to be straightened out,” Rando said. “I want blood, and I don’t care whose blood it is.”
Members of the West Deptford Republican Party later obtained paperwork seeing DiCarlo’s certifications under the Right-to-Know law in Pennsylvania. Within the records is DiCarlo’s CPA application—filed July 30, 2012. Of the four questions posed to DiCarlo on the application, ones asks whether she holds a license in any other state or jurisdiction. She checked off “no.”
“The people of West Deptford shouldn’t be lied to—they deserve better,” Hansen told DiCarlo at an Oct. 18 township committee meeting, following the announcement of his findings.
During Hansen’s confrontation, DiCarlo maintained that she never said her license was active. She stated she has all of the credentials required of a CPA. DiCarlo passed the exam in May 2002, according to Pennsylvania records, but did not complete the steps to obtain a license.
DiCarlo is the vice president of finance and controller for PBS Kids Sprout, a position that doesn’t require a CPA license.
At the Oct.18 meeting, resident Brandon Umba challenged DiCarlo on her school board biography. DiCarlo replied that she was unaware of the school board biography’s contents and that none of her campaign literature states she is a CPA.
However, some residents, including Joe Holovachuk, said this sort of political back and forth has no place at township committee meetings.
“What was done here was an absolute disgrace,” he said, rebuking Mayor Raymond Chintall, a Republican, specifically for allowing it. “Political attacks should be done outside the meetings.”
But Republicans say it’s an issue voters should know about.
“It’s plain as day, she never had it,” Republican chair Forte said.
The party suspected something was amiss with the CPA license after DiCarlo “pounded her chest” over her professional background, he added. That’s when he and others decided to dig deeper.
Forte is convinced that DiCarlo knowingly lied about being a CPA. Furthermore, Forte points to discrepancies in DiCarlo’s educational background between her board of education biography and her current LinkedIn profile.
“If you’re lying about yourself, what else are you lying about?” Forte asked.
DiCarlo fires back at ‘smear tactics’
DiCarlo called the GOP’s investigation nothing more than an attempt by the Republican Party to paint her as something she is not. She says the “attack” is an attempt to deflect West Deptford residents from seeing that she is an asset to the committee. DiCarlo points her successes, including saving the town’s taxpayers close to $1 million dollars in Sunoco litigation, she told Patch.
“If you don’t have a resume or record you can be proud of, ...you lie to try to tear down your opponent,” DiCarlo said.
DiCarlo maintains that she did not inflate her credentials, which have landed her executive positions at Comcast Corporation and PBS Sprout.
“I’m qualified to hold responsible positions in a Fortune 100 company, but yet I’m not qualified to hold the position of a West Deptford Township Committee member?” DiCarlo said.
The incumbent said she does value honesty and integrity, and added it is upsetting to be called a liar. But, she said, this is “just typical Republican smear tactics.” DiCarlo fired back at attacks on her character, saying the charges made against her are are “despicable and show poor character.”
“These constant lies and continuation of relentlessly running down running down West Deptford must stop,” DiCarlo said. “I offer a positive vision for the future, and the Republicans will stop at nothing to distort my credentials.”
Mike Monostra and Bryan Littel contributed to this report.
J Santino
8:55 am on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Come on Denise fess up YOU LIED.
LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE.
if you were such an asset to the community why weren't you elected last year.
the dem machine are hanging by a thread and if you don't get elected,the walls of the regime will come tumbling down.
A few days away and we will have a majority that will eventually get rid of some more trash that is cluttering the confines of the halls of political justice.
Robert Batstow
8:55 am on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Rando wants blood? What is wrong with these people. I am a retired marine and this is despicable language coming from the republican party trying to smear a woman's reputation.She said the license was inactive so move on. Do you really want soemebody harmed or injured over this Rando? When will Chintall start to govern instead of politicizing every meaningless item he can by sending up his henchman like Umba, Rando, and Matlosz at every single meeting. This is ridiculous. And by the way, where is Committeeman Cianfarini's Master's Degree that he claimed he had. I will be asking him this at the next meeting and I have the literature from the republican primary where he made this claim. Sean Kilpatrick will confirm.
J F Rando
9:40 am on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Mr Batstow get with it. Mrs DiCarlo could not have had an inactive license if she was
never never a CPA to begin with. Also, I used a figure of speech which I believe is
quite appropriate. The meaning is someone should go to jail to let this Twp fall into
the financial fiasco that the previous administrations have gotten us into. The term I used was in reference to the Audit Report and not Mrs DiCarlos claim to being a CPA. As for MrCianfarini's claim to having a Master's Degree please produce the supporting documentation at the meeting tonite. As for your being a retired I want to
thank you for serving our country. I only served in the US Army in the 9th Infantry Division from 1948 to 1950.
redneckwillie3
10:41 am on Thursday, November 1, 2012
denise's has a good reputation.foul langauge,liar,can't think on her own,puppet of white,cost taxpayers 2.5 mil on schoolboard the list is endless.she shouldn't even now be representing our township because she lost the election.
it's all dem machine controlling her what to do THE DEMS ARE SCARED.
Madeline Fucci
11:40 am on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Denice DiCarlo's self-inflated ego and arrogance are demonstrated in her statement "I'm qualified to hold a responsible position in a Fortune 100 company, but yet I'm not qualified to hold the position of a West Deptford Township Committee member". This quote says a lot about her character and how she thinks less of WD and more about her job. She is not qualified to hold an elected position because she is a person without character and integrity. Her job is with a small unit of Comcast and positions such as hers come and go without causing any damage. however, her actions on the township committee impact the lives and pocketbooks of 22,000 residents. Comcast employs thousands of people and let's face it, she is nowhere near the C-Suite. She is a legend in her own mind believing her own hype. If she had agreed last winter on Sunoco instead of holding the community hostage to promote her own importance and involvement , we would have been better off financially. Hopefully, the voters in this town are becoming more informed and don't want a return to the destructive policies of the past which have financially strangled this town. The only people Denice appeals to are the ignorant, the ill-informed and those who have benefitted financially by bleeding this town dry.
Rena Visalli
4:54 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
I resent your comment: The only people Denice appeals to are the ignorant, the ill-informed and those who have benefitted financially by bleeding this town dry. I am 64 year olds and retired from ExxonMobil after 42 years of service. I definitely am not ignorant, ill-informed nor have I benefitted financially from this town. Denice is an intelligent, compassionate, caring individual. She has what it takes to be a Township official and I will be voting for her on November 6th. I am sure you will come back with negatative comments about me and you don't even know me. One more thing, The Sunoco deal, Denise was very instrumental in getting a million dollars taken off the bill, how is that not helping the residents fo WD.
Michael DeWince
11:40 am on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Did Jeff Hansen tell yet another lie? When was Jeff Hansen ever the President of the West Deptford Wrestling Association as he claims in his literature? Not one person involved with midget wrestling can confirm that he was ever the President. Just another fabrication from the republicans like Sam's Masters Degree. Past presidents include David Shields, Bob DeAngelo, Ray Sherman, Bill Fetty, Scott Rollins, Matt Moore, Bill Reichart, Joe Palese, Steve Brittingham, Jason Jones, Tom Lyons, and J Ficara. When were you President Jeff?
marianne folsom
4:54 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Another democratic lie.Jeff Hansen was president 23 years ago.
all names mentioned are all democrat.
being a parent of 2 of my boys that were involved in the youth wrestling program from 1986 to 1990 So your information is incorrect.
Samantha McCall
4:05 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
What I find interesting about some of these posts, "how dare we question the credentials of Denice DiCarlo?", especially after she made the claims. I personally do not care if she holds a CPA license. However, she could have cleared the whole thing up right from the beginning, and this would not have been an issue. I have more respect for someone that just comes clean right from the start. Let's be honest people, if this were reversed, the democratic party would be all over this. From the start, Mr. Cianfarini and Mr. Chintall had to deal with the constant badgering that Jerry White instigated by sending up his people at every township meeting trying to discredit them. So, the democratic PARTY, come down off of your throne, They have done everything that is politically low, from spreading rumors to township employees about their jobs, to filing stupid lawsuits. They have done everything that they can to make the republicans look bad. Sadly people, this is not republican or democrat, it boils down to right and wrong. And the people of this township have been wronged for 2 decades.
Madeline Fucci
4:54 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
I couldn't agree more with Samantha. I first questioned her qualifications and credentials because of her propensity to interrogate and challenge decisions made by our professionals. When asked if she was a CPA, she could have replied a simple "no" or I passed the test but didn't follow thru to obtain my license. Instead she chose to tap dance around the issue by stating it wasn't required for her job. She made it an issue by obfuscating. In the words of Walter Scott: "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive".
Madeline Fucci
6:46 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Engaging in conversation with Rena is an exercise in futility. Excusing the abuses that have been perpetrated against this town and its hardworking taxpayers by corruption, fraud, cronyism and the poor business practices of the previous regime defies reality. A vote for Denice, who is supported and financed by the democrat party machine and their sycophants, is rewarding someone who is part of the problem not the solution.
Rena Visalli
8:46 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
In order for me to excuse the abuses that have been perpetrated against this town and its hardworking taxpayers which by the way includes me, there has to be proof of fraud and corruption and I haven't seen any yet. If and when you have proof , I will be the first one to say they should be punished. Until that happens I support Denise DiCarlo. Your continued character assignation of Denise is horrific. She after all is a human being, a mother, wife and daughter. No one should be crucified like she has been. I hope you can sleep at night .
ThomasJefferson
8:45 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
The Republican committee persons have spent the entire 10 months in office tearing down every good and respectable thing of our town. We are a laughing stock in Gloucester County, We used to have a close knit community environment that happily encouraged our kids to achieve. The R's find fault with everything and disparage our residents. Mr. Rando "wants blood" , well that is a despicable comment. Mr Chintall and Cianfrani are lining Cimino's pockets with taxpayer money and his is lining their campaign coffers with cash. The made a pledge that they wouldn't accept money from professionals.. Now that;s a LIE.
Samantha McCall
8:37 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
Keeping it Real, I beg to differ with you. I have been going to the township meetings for almost 2 years now, and that is why I became involved. I watched Mr. Cianfarini and Mr. Chintall challenge the previous administration as to the goings on in this town. They went for 2 years, out of their own time, to try and figure out where our taxpaying dollars were going. There were not too many people at those meetings, the previous administration was rude to them, and the department heads had their backs to the people. The taxpayers were insignificant, how dare we question them. The meetings were over in 20 minutes, and when I left I had no idea what they voted on. You were given 5 minutes to speak. These two men have dealt with constant attacks from Jerry White's people from the beginning. And they deal with this aggravation with no PAY! That to me speaks volumes of someone's character. Would any of the people that go and harass do this for no pay?? The previous administration helped themselves to the taxpayers money, voting themselves life time benefits, free memberships to Riverwinds, and plush county jobs when they were finished with the township, thanks to Jerry White. I do not get life time benefits, nor do I vote myself any benefits, why are these people so special that they felt that they deserved this, while the township is in deep debt?
Wayne Klotz
8:47 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Old news again by rando and nitwits who claim that Denice is scared Madeline and gang !! Please read the news from patch about the debate! Who's scared now Madeline!!!
canodit
10:10 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
The undeniable, and undisputed, facts surrounding this matter are that Ms Dicarlo completed her degree program as an accountant, completed her experience requirements to sit for the exam for Certified Public Accountant certification/designation and passed the exam which is on a difficulty level at least equivalent to any professional testing for certification given anywhere. She stated numerous times that she only said that she passed the test for CPA. I have known Ms Dicarlo for some time and am only now aware of this extraordinary accomplishment due to the ranting and angry questioning by Mr Rando. If this occured in a court room, his efforts at inquisition would be objected to by any reasonable attorney and would certainly be sustained by most judges as the way he circumlocutiously frames his questions would easily be deemed leading, and yet all current republican efforts at disparagement hinge on Mr. Rando's unethical conduct. The fact that Mr. Hansen has now aligned himself with the unethical Mr. Rando in his quest for blood is evidence of a desperate man with nothing to offer the people of West Deptford. As a life long resident of West Deptford Township, I am urging everyone to come out next Tuesday and cast your vote for Denice Dicarlo. Stand with Denice Dicarlo against bullies like Mr. Rando and cowards like Mr. Hansen.
canodit
10:09 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
P.S. Has everyone heard how Hansen bailed on the debate? Earlier today I offered a bet to a friend of mine who is also a WD resident and registered republican. I bet him with 100:1 odds that Jeff would not debate Denice. With this bet, my friend needed only to put down one dollar to have a chance at 100 bucks as long as Jeff didn't weasel out, and he refused the bet, knowing it was a bad bet and that it would make him a dollar poorer. What a shame, I could have made a dollar.
Wayne Klotz
10:27 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Good one,canodit! The truth is Jeff is like a rat!! Scared of the truth!!
Sunny & Share
12:49 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
This goes out to all of Dicarlo's relatives and the 3 friends she has in the entire township that are pushing for your vote on here.
only a handful of people read patch they can care less about this propagand media source.
Let's get one thing straigh as far as the lying,foul mouth I don't care about you people in this township Dicarlo goes,she will bring many tears to all her supporters which is very few,come November the 6th V-Day again for the Republicans.
And let the games begin,which one won't have a position on the township come January.
Wayne Klotz
8:36 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
Sunny and share, donot cry yo hard come Tuesday nite.
Robert Bastow
8:36 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
Why dont you try to come get some of my blood Rando? Us Devil Dogs were storming the beaches why you army brats were home sipping coffee.