Anyone still scratching their heads over the case of the toxic pizzas can be forgiven for being puzzled. On the face of it, the whole affair may seem like something out of a movie, but the burns in Patti Brown's mouth were real enough, as was the malicious intent behind the creation and delivery of those pizzas.

Connie Squillace, to whom the pizzas were addressed, and Roseanne Sullivan, longtime member of the Pine Bush School Board, spoke with the Journal to offer up some background information for this bizarre case. Joe Zankl, the man arrested for allegedly ordering and organizing the crime, declined to speak with us on the advice of his attorney.

Squillace points out that she is hardly a newcomer to the district. "I've lived in Scotchtown for 28 years. All my kids went through the Pine Bush Schools. So I had a natural interest in the School Board and the District's affairs."

Squillace discusses her decision to begin videotaping the school board meetings, the videotaping apparently being one of the root causes for this chain of events. "I just thought that it was a good idea," she says. "I first brought it up when Dominic Leone was Superintendant of Schools, and I continued to bring it up every year at budget sessions thereafter.

"Taping the meetings and putting them out on a public access channel makes it possible for the wider public to see what goes on at the meetings. It's an exercise in participatory democracy, letting the taxpayers see their representatives at work."

Despite her good intentions and reasoning for wanting to tape the proceedings, there seemed to be a measure of resistance to the idea on the part of the Pine Bush school board, she says.

"I kept bringing it up, and when Wallkill started filming their Town Board meetings, that was a spur to the whole idea. However, the Pine Bush Board of Education was very reluctant. Rosemary Stark, who had become Superintendant of Schools by then, said it would cost $9,000. She stated that, in addition to the camera equipment, microphones would be needed as well as additional lighting, and that someone would have to be paid approximately $1,500 to tape the meetings, and then edit the film, and so on. She said that it was just not feasible."

In other words, it seems like they wanted her to just go away.

"So, Patti Brown and myself started a petition on this, and we got 1650 signatures, which proved that the community was actually very interested in seeing the school board at work. However, there was a majority on the board that were opposed to the idea. Joe Zankl was among them, along with Bill McGillicuddy and Virginia Esposito. "Joe Zankl said he had quite a few petitions against video taping, signed by senior citizens, that he submitted to the board after our petitions were submitted," continues Squillace. "However, he would not let us see these petitions.

At that point, Squillace and Brown decided to pursue the idea on their own, and in August of 2006, they raised some money, bought the video camera, and set up the deal with Time Warner Cable. Altogether, it cost $500, and they began filming.

"The community at large was able to see what was going on at the school board meetings," she says. "They could see the mannerisms of those on the board. They could see certain levels of hostility and so on. Some members of the board had no tolerance for either the public or fellow board members, and this showed through very clearly to the public on TV."

Twelve-year school board veteran Roseanne Sullivan clarifies this point, describing the sentiments of the board majority as led by Superintendent Rosemary Stark. "There was an attitude from this majority that didn't brook any dissent," says Sullivan.

"Now, don't get me wrong, there is usually disagreement in any group like a school board�Unfortunately, during the time of this majority group [consisting of Esposito, Zankl, Stark, McGillicuddy and Mark Mitchell], there was a different attitude, and it led to animosity on the board around a number of issues."

So what was the effect of the videotaping by Squillace and Brown?

"Pretty dramatic, I'd say," reveals Sullivan. "I had never seen such interest in the school board before the meetings were filmed. And, I have to say, that the persona of that majority became kind of obvious to people, and that had an effect in the next round of elections."

Squillace offers her take on that election, which took place in May 2007, which saw McGillicuddy choosing not to run, and the defeat of both Zankl and Esposito. Squillace describes Zankl's reaction after his defeat.

"He claimed I sabotaged the election," says Squillace. "How was I supposed to do that? There is no way that I could have." She points out that she didn't campaign against Zankl, either. When asked what she thought led to his defeat, Sullivan has a simple answer.

"The public was able to see exactly how he behaved as a board member."

Following these events, a new board took shape, and the old majority was gone. Within six months, Rosemary Stark resigned as Superintendant of Schools. It was at her retirement reception that the extremely hot pizzas were delivered, addressed to Squillace.

Frank Guardio, the proprietor of Village Guaridio, has been charged in this case with providing the pizzas. When asked if either she or Brown had ever eaten at the pizzeria, Squillace responds saying that she'd eaten there occasionally, but that "Patti Brown was a regular there."

As to whether or not she and Guardio had any kind of relationship, Squillace reveals an interesting facet to the whole case.

"I knew him but that was it," she says. "Our sons went to school together. They were good friends, they roomed at college together. So our kids were friends, but we were not."

Squillace says she wasn't surprised upon learning of the alleged source of the pizza boxes which delivered the offending pies.

"As soon as I realized what had happened, I instinctively felt that Joe Zankl was involved, and I knew that he and Frank Guardio were friends."

Squillace immediately went to the state police over the Town of Crawford Police Department because she says she and Brown "felt that [the state police] were better equipped to perform an in depth investigation."

Roseanne Sullivan says of the incident, "It was a calculated, sophomorish [sic] act, and we shall see how it turns out in court.

"I'm looking forward to the court date," she adds."

A hearing is scheduled for July 7 at Town of Crawford Court.

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