Walden appoints Tony Cardone interim village manager amid turmoil

Walden turned to a familiar Orange County political figure Tuesday night, naming former Town of Monroe Supervisor Tony Cardone as interim village manager as the village tries to steady itself after weeks of upheaval at Village Hall.

Cardone, 64, replaces John Revella, who was fired by the Village Board of Trustees in early May after 16 years as manager. The move gives Walden a temporary, part-time administrator with municipal experience while the board searches for a more permanent solution and works through a transition that has become as much about accountability as staffing.

Cardone said he is eager to help stabilize daily operations and work with village staff. His appointment also signals that the board may want him involved in identifying Revella’s successor, making this more than a short stopgap. The village had already posted a solicitation for an interim manager on its website in spring 2026, suggesting officials were preparing for a temporary handoff before Cardone was chosen.

The change at the top comes against a backdrop that has made Walden government unusually fragile. Revella was first appointed village manager in 2010, and he was placed on paid administrative leave on April 3 from a job described as paying about $120,000 a year after his March 25 federal indictment. Federal prosecutors said he was charged with four counts of subscribing to false tax returns for tax years 2019 through 2022.

Revella is also at the center of a separate Orange County District Attorney’s Office investigation into Walden’s Residential Housing Rehabilitation Program. District Attorney David Hoovler said on April 10 that his office was in the initial phases of the inquiry, and reporting on the probe said multiple subpoenas had been issued. The program was created after the village received federal funding and was intended to improve housing conditions and the overall appearance of the community.

The investigation has focused attention on how the program was overseen and approved, including questions about whether some participating properties were rental or investment units rather than owner-occupied homes. One key figure in the matter has publicly denied wrongdoing. Against that backdrop, Cardone’s arrival gives Walden a politically connected local hand with prior administrative experience as the village tries to restore routine operations and map out what comes next.