To: Superintendent Jerry Cespuglio and All Employees of Commack Cemetery Inc., Commack Cemetery Board Regarding: Formal Demand for Immediate Resignation and Surrender of All Corporate Assets, Financial Accounts, and PropertyThis correspondence serves as an official and final demand for the immediate, unconditional resignation of the President, Vice President, all complicit trustees of the Commack Cemetery Board, the Superintendent, and all current employees. This demand explicitly excludes Active Secretary Julia Minerva and Trustee Parliamentarian John E. Donegan, who continue to act in complete compliance with their fiduciary duties to protect the lot owners and the Commack community.The grounds for this demand are severe financial non-compliance, alleged fraud, and an absolute breach of fiduciary duties currently under active investigation by the New York State Division of Cemeteries and the Office of the Attorney General. Specifically, this demand is predicated on the following established facts:
Total Absence of Fiscal Oversight: The Commack Cemetery currently operates with no Treasurer in place, completely eliminating mandatory internal financial controls. Instead, Vice President Hirsch holds unmonitored access to the cemetery checkbook, and President James Walker maintains exclusive access to the wealth management account.
Board-Wide Complicity and Misappropriation: The members of the board are all complicit in these structural and financial failures. It has been admitted that $40,000 plus of Commack Cemetery public funds has been unlawfully diverted from the operational costs of the Commack Cemetery to pay for private legal defense fees for individual board members.
Absence of Liability Insurance: The board is operating entirely without Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance coverage. This lack of coverage removes all liability shields, leaving individual board members and their personal assets directly exposed to impending civil and criminal judgments.
Theft of Public and Trust Funds: Whistleblower complaints brought before Assistant Deputy Attorney General Jill F. Faber allege the illegal conversion of permanent maintenance funds into fraudulent "emeritus" pensions, alongside the falsification of federal tax records.
Direct Legal Accountability and Notice: Be advised that the evidence currently in hand holds President James Walker fully accountable and legally responsible for all organizational wrongdoing under his administration, regardless of whether he possessed direct knowledge of these actions or not, due to his absolute failure of executive oversight. Furthermore, Vice President Mitchel Hirsch will face the Tenth District Grievance Committee through the Attorney General's office currently handling these complaints. The severe legal exposure and potential felonies this entire board now faces are profoundly detrimental and entirely contrary to the best interests of the Commack Cemetery and its lot owners. Due to the total fracture of the current administration and the severe legal and personal liabilities established by these actions, each member of the fractured board and all employees must take the following steps within a strict and reasonable timeframe of forty-eight (48) hours from the delivery of this notice:
Immediate Resignation of All Personnel: Execute and submit formal, written resignations from your respective positions as board officers, trustees, and employees of Commack Cemetery Inc. effective immediately. This directive applies unconditionally to all staff and personnel under the current compromised administration.
Contact and Surrender to the Secretary: You must immediately contact Commack Cemetery Secretary Julia Minerva within this 48-hour window to coordinate the formal surrender of the Board and all cemetery operations directly to her.
Cessation of Financial Access: Cease all access to, and use of, any and all cemetery operational accounts, trust funds, wealth management accounts, bank accounts, and financial records.
Surrender of Property and Checkbooks: Immediately turn over the cemetery checkbook, all facility master keys, office keys, vehicle keys, office equipment, official corporate books, and all operational materials directly to Julia Minerva, Secretary of the Commack Cemetery. This transfer of operational assets is required immediately to ensure the cemetery can move forward in proper compliance with the New York State Division of Cemeteries.
Failure to comply with this demand and surrender control within the specified 48-hour window will result in immediate further escalation within the ongoing state court proceedings, including the pending request for a state-mandated receivership to strip the current administration of all authority by judicial order. Additionally, take formal notice that all public information regarding this matter has been immediately provided to the press due to Mitchell Hirsch admitting to all of the above. Delivered on this day, Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
Guide yourself accordingly, John E. Donegan, Lot Owner and Trustee Parliamentarian Concerned Stakeholders of the Commack CommunityAttachment / Public Announcement Context: For reference, the following public statement regarding today's actions is simultaneously being distributed to the community:"Commack Cemetery lot owners and the Commack community. I am posting to share a major breaking update regarding the ongoing state investigation into the historic Commack Cemetery. Today, Tuesday, August 11, 2026, at the New York State Division of Cemeteries office in White Plains, a critical turning point occurred. During the official New York State Cemetery Board meeting, lot owner and Trustee Parliamentarian, I John E. Donegan formally requested an immediate, state-mandated receivership over the cemetery due to severe financial non-compliance and alleged fraud. In a profound breakdown of the current administration, the request was immediately seconded and officially supported by Julia Minerva, the active Secretary of the Commack Cemetery. The details show the unprecedented alliance between lot owners and internal cemetery leadership as they seek independent court intervention to protect the trust funds and burial grounds of the Commack community. Whistleblower complaints brought before Assistant Deputy Attorney General Jill F. Faber allege the unlawful diversion of permanent maintenance funds into fraudulent "emeritus" pensions, falsified federal tax records, and a total lack of fiscal transparency. Given the deep local roots of the Commack Cemetery and the families impacted in our area, this development is of significant public interest to our Nextdoor community."
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