2010-07-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

Aliases/Name Variations:

Lori Ann Hartmann, Lori A Hartmann, Lori Hartmann, Lori Bisciotti, Lori A Hartman, Lori A Silvestri, Lori Hartman, Lori Silvestri, Lori Sylvester, Lori Martin, Laurie Bisciotti, Lori Biscotti, Lori Hariman, Lori Silvestri-Bisciot, Lori Silvestri-Bisciotti, Lori A Bisciotti, Laurie Bisciott, Lori Bisciotti, Lori A Silvestri, Lori A Bischiotti, Lori Biscotti MS, Lori Larson

Criminal Records:

1. New Jersey Criminal Court, Case #92002270, Offender ID: 41MER92002270 1085929602
2. Florida Criminal Court, Case # 012009TR027659, Offender ID: 671713FUP2012009TR02765920090518
3. Florida Criminal Court, Offender ID: 697786653221964100619970906

Judgments and Liens
1. County Tax Lien, $200, 11/20/2009, Lori Hartmann and Jimmie Larson, County Of Brantley, Georgia
2. County Tax Lien, $203, 11/26/2008, Lori Hartmann and Jimmie Larson, County Of Brantley, Georgia
3. Judgment, $225, 3/21/2003, Lori Silvestri-Bisciot, Mei-Ying Liu
4. Civil Suit, $180, 2/4/2003, Lori Silvestri-Bisciot, Mei-Ying Liu
5. Public Defender Lien, $230, 6/15/2001, Lori Biscotti MS, Office Of The Public Defender
6. Judgment, $3,080, 4/19/2001, Lori Bisciotti aka Lori Hartman, Mercer County Board Social Services, New Jersey
7. Civil Suit, $2,957, 3/16/2001, Lori Bisciotti aka Lori Hartman, Mercer County Board Social Services, New Jersey
8. Judgment, $316, 2/13/2001, Lori Bisciotti, Capital City Bail Bonds
9. Judgment, $8,613, 5/25/1999, Lori Biscotti and Michael Biscotti, Commerce Bank
10. State Tax Lien, $2,821, 5/24/1999, Lori Silvestri-Bisciotti, State Of New Jersey

Current Business Affiliations:

Hartmann lists herself as the Director, President, and CEO of
Max's Animal Rescue Inc., 2320 Saddle Club Rd, Hoboken, GA 31542
Links for Max’s Animal Rescue:
http://maxsanimalrescue.blogspot.com/
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/GA513.html
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hoboken-GA/MAXS-ANIMAL-RESCUE/186141230921

Known Associates:
Jim Larson (AKA Jimmie Larson, Jimmy Larson)
Erica Hartmann (AKA Erica Hartmann-Grone, Erica Grone)
Paul Hartmann (AKA Pauly Hartmann)
Robert Hartmann (AKA Robert Hartman, Rob Hartmann, Rob Hartman)

News Articles Referencing Lori Hartmann:

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-10/story/okefenokee_humane_society_director_is_fired

Full Text:

Okefenokee Humane Society director is fired
She didn't perform her duties in an acceptable manner, the notice says.
Posted: October 10, 2009 - 12:00am

By Carole Hawkins

The Okefenokee Humane Society fired its executive director, Lori Hartmann, Thursday following a meeting of its governing board two days earlier.

The notice of termination said Hartmann was not performing her duties in a manner acceptable to the board, Humane Society lawyer Vincent Settle said.

Ware County pays the organization $144,000 a year for shelter services for strays in the county, including Waycross.

Hartmann said the decision came as a surprise and she does not understand why she was fired.
"I definitely want my job back. I thought I did an excellent job," said Hartmann, who was in the hospital receiving blood transfusions when she got the news.

Hartmann said before she became the director, the shelter euthanized around 90 percent of strays brought there. Using out-of-town animal rescue services, she said she has brought the euthanization rate down to 12 percent.

Hartmann was hired in July 2008 after the former shelter director resigned over complaints of arbitrary euthanizations and racial discrimination.

The Humane Society itself was under fire at the time for having a dysfunctional board that did not follow clear policies when addressing problems and for not following legal procedures required of non-profits. Several employees who complained about shelter operations last year were fired with little explanation.

Humane Society board member James Morton, who was appointed in January along with six other new board members, said Hartmann's termination was unrelated to last year's problems.
Morton said the reasons for termination are "legitimate concerns."

"I suspect the board hasn't been hands-on enough up to this point. But some things have been brought to our attention that we're having to investigate."

But Hartmann said the board still makes decisions arbitrarily, as it did a year ago. The board did not follow its own grievance procedure prior to her termination. She should have gotten a copy of the complaint against her, and the board should have held two meetings and spent a month investigating first.

"I know because I wrote the grievance procedure," she said.

Settle said her argument does not apply.

"This is not about a personnel that had a grievance with Ms. Hartman." he said. "This was about Ms. Hartmann not performing her duties. She is not a contract employee. She is an employee at will."

***

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-31/story/okefenokee_humane_society_asks_sheriff_to_investigate_fired_director

Full Text:

Okefenokee Humane Society asks sheriff to investigate fired director
The Humane Society board wants former shelter director investigated.
Posted: October 31, 2009 - 12:00am Updated: October 31, 2009 - 12:49am

By Carole Hawkins

WAYCROSS - The Okefenokee Humane Society board wants the Ware County sheriff to investigate former shelter director Lori Hartmann's use of shelter funds.

Since firing Hartmann three weeks ago, the board has discovered past due bills totaling $8,500, treasurer Sirena Cady said Thursday at a specially called meeting. Cady said it appears Hartmann also made personal purchases on the shelter's Lowe's account and wrote herself and family members checks that the board had not authorized.

Board members voted unanimously to ask the county sheriff to conduct a criminal investigation.
During a telephone interview Friday, Hartmann called the assertions ridiculous. She said she has not hidden purchases or paychecks and had already informed the board that shelter finances were falling behind.

She said she believed she was fired for personal reasons and was being discredited.
In an Oct. 10 termination notice, Hartmann was told she was being discharged for failing to perform her duties in a manner acceptable to the board.

Cady said over the last three weeks she has uncovered multiple unpaid bills, which were unknown to the board.

She also detailed the following financial issues:
- Internet services were discontinued for non-payment.
- Hartmann had purchased a more expensive cell phone service a few months ago.
- Late payments to the IRS and Georgia Department of Labor for payroll taxes had incurred penalties.
- The county paid an overdue fuel bill for Humane Society vehicles and docked its monthly check to the shelter.
- A worker's compensation insurance payment of $754 is past due.
- Hartmann had opened a Lowe's account for the corporation in December that the board, which was seated in January, knew nothing about. Monthly bills were being sent to Hartmann's home address. The account balance is $3,194.

"There are purchases here that don't appear to be items that were used at the Humane Society," Cady said.

That includes two charges for carpet installation, which were made in December at a total cost of around $2,000.

"There is no carpet at the shelter," Cady said.

Numerous payments had been made to Hartmann's husband and daughter, Cady said.

Hartmann also wrote herself checks for bookkeeping services and paid herself overtime, even though she was a salaried employee, Cady said.

Hartmann admitted she made some personal purchases on the Humane Society's account but said she paid for them when she did so. She admitted part of the outstanding balance was hers and said she would pay it.

Hartmann said the first time she made a personal purchase on the Lowe's account, it was a mistake and former board president Millie Hopkins had told her to "just work it out."
Hopkins couldn't be reached for commentl.

As for overdue bills, Hartmann said she had kept the board informed. She said she had told the board about the overdue second- and third-quarter payroll taxes and submitted regular financial reports to the board.

"I didn't do anything wrong. They knew about everything," she said. "They've been in financial despair. I've been telling them that for months,"

Hartmann said the board knew both her husband and daughter had worked there and said she paid them as contractors when they did. She said over a year ago Hopkins suggested she hire her daughter.

Her husband performed maintenance work for the shelter on an as-needed basis.

"Millie knew he was there. And [board member] Jim Morton talked to him last June about building decks for the dogs and fixing fences," said Hartmann. "He was doing it in front of them and they knew he was getting paid to do it."

Hartmann agreed she had written herself checks for bookkeeping services but said former shelter director Kaye Thompson had also done so.

Rather than paying a more expensive accountant, the Humane Society paid the director to prepare the agency's tax documents, Hartmann said.

Hartmann acknowledged charging the Humane Society overtime, but only as an accounting technique to increase her tax withholding. Her take-home pay, including both regular and overtime hours, totaled her agreed-upon salary.

The Humane Society board voted to reaffirm Hartmann's dismissal Thursday.

The organization has been working to negotiate terms of payment with its creditors.

The Truth About Lori Hartmann