Highmount, NY – Tony Lanza, the Superintendent of New York’s Belleayre Mountain Ski Center for more than a decade, is out of a job.

A spokesperson for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) confirmed that Lanza was dismissed on Tuesday for what was indicated to be just cause, but refused to elaborate, citing confidentiality in personnel matters. Lanza could not be reached for comment.

Lanza joined Belleayre Mountain Ski Center in 1999 as Assistant Superintendent, and was promoted to the Superintendent’s role in 2001. In 2007, an investigation by New York State Inspector General Kristine Hamann concluded that Lanza engaged in conduct that constituted a conflict of interest by renting a home co-owned with a personal friend to the Boston Concession Group (BCG), which at the time was under contract with Belleayre to operate the ski shop and food concessions at the ski area. The investigation also determined that the “Belleayre Trolley,” a state-owned shuttle bus used to transport skiers from Fleishmanns to Belleayre and between the ski resort and outlying parking lots, made trips solely for the purpose of carrying the BCG employees residing in Lanza’s house to and from work, and found irregularities in checking accounts and vehicle records. Hamann’s office reported its findings to both the DEC and the New York State Ethics Commission. It’s unclear whether or not any disciplinary action was taken by the DEC at that time.

While the DEC currently operates Belleayre, the state is in the process of shifting that responsibility to the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), which operates Whiteface Mountain and Gore Mountain ski areas in the Adirondacks.