Walden fires village manager amid housing program probe

Walden’s Board of Trustees unanimously fired Village Manager John Revella on Tuesday night, ending a 15-year run that had put him at the center of the village’s day-to-day administration and now leaves one of Orange County’s smallest governments under intense scrutiny.

Revella had already been on paid administrative leave since April 1, after a special meeting on March 31. His removal came as the Orange County District Attorney’s Office examined Walden’s housing rehabilitation program, a village lending effort that was originally funded by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and, by the village’s own account, had received five grants. Revella was paid about $120,000 a year.

Mayor Becky Pearson later said the leave decision had been made in executive session and declined to go further. In an April 14 public statement, the village said the board, with support from many trustees, was responding to questions from prosecutors about Walden’s small cities loan program and stressed that Revella’s private tax matters were separate from his village duties.

The housing program at the center of the inquiry was designed to improve housing conditions and the appearance of the village. A 2018 village packet said applicants had to show enough equity in their homes to qualify for a loan. By March 2021, Walden said the program had about $1 million available and roughly $600,000 in outstanding loans, a sign of how much public money was moving through the program and why its administration now matters.

Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler confirmed on April 10 that his office was in the “initial phases” of an investigation. Subpoenas reported in the case reach back several years, including loans issued before December 2025, and investigators are reviewing whether funds meant for homeowners were steered into rental properties or investment deals. The village’s handling of that lending system, and whether proper eligibility checks were followed, is now a central question.

The fallout is also political. Revella was appointed to the Orange County Legislature’s District 17 seat in April 2025 and won election to a full term in November 2025. County records show he represents Montgomery, New Windsor, Walden and the village of Montgomery. That dual role makes the firing more than a local personnel move; it ties village governance to county politics at a moment when public confidence is already under pressure.

Revella was also indicted in March 2026 on unrelated federal tax charges accusing him of hiding more than $1.1 million in income from his private law practice. The board’s unanimous vote now closes one chapter, but Walden still faces the harder test of restoring trust while the legal and political fallout continues.