CALLICOON – At 11:30 Monday morning, NYSEG trucks descended on the Villa Roma Resort and Conference Center–not to repair a line–but to cut service to the 56-year-old resort for unpaid electric bills.

The move stunned employees and guests alike, who had to leave the building because state law requires all public buildings to have running water.

Local and state officials have been working for weeks to try and help the Villa Roma negotiate a deal, and NYSEG officials were also working hard to try and come to a reasonable solution, according to local reports. According to Villa Roma management, the Villa Roma owed NYSEG $400,000 for six months of service.

“We wanted to pay them half last week and half on Monday. But they [NYSEG] wanted the entire payment,” Sandeep Wadhwa, Chairman of Fay Hospitality Catskills LLC, owner of the Villa Roma, said. “We couldn’t pay the entire thing at once.

“We will be making a payment in full on Monday, September 28,” Wadhwa said. “Our financial condition is fine, there’s nothing to worry about.”

NYSEG officials said, “Service disconnection for non-payment is always a last resort. Over an extended period, we have worked with this customer through multiple outreach efforts, payment arrangements, deadline extensions and other opportunities to resolve the outstanding balance. Despite those efforts, the account remains unresolved. While it is unfortunate that this situation has reached this point, NYSEG must apply its collection policies consistently and fairly to all customers. We remain willing to work with the customer on a resolution and to restore service once the account has been brought current.”

Wadhwa said the entire staff was paid on time but “we needed working capital.”

Wadhwa said he spoke with the president of NYSEG but could not reach an agreement before the electric was shut off. He said the Villa Roma will be back in business on Monday, September 28. “Everything will be back to normal on Monday,” he said.

The Villa Roma was purchased by Fay Entertainment on September 6, 2024 for $17.15 million from long-time owners Marty Passante and Paul Carlucci, who owned the resort for 54 years.

The 139-room resort also includes many entities, including the 18-hole Championship Golf Course, The Club at Villa Roma, 230 2-bedroom timeshare units, 68 full ownership condos, a ski chalet and five outdoor pools. Power was cut to all the entities at the resort.

In addition to having to cancel hotel and timeshare reservations for the week, the Sullivan County Volunteer Firefighters Assn. Awards Brunch scheduled for Sunday, September 27 at The Club at Villa Roma also had to be canceled.