January 2001
Updating a report previously published in this newsletter, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled that United Way of America is entitled to withhold federal and state income taxes from certain pension benefits owed to its former president, William Aramony, under a previous court ruling, since $1,872,143 in pension benefits awarded to Aramony in that ruling constituted remuneration for services he performed as an employee. However, the court also found that Aramony was entitled to a reduction in the amount withheld because his taxable income subject to withholding, as a result of the pension benefit payments, should be reduced by an amount of salary previously paid to Aramony that was required to be repaid by him under the prior court ruling.
Other issues presented to the district court involved withholding of taxes on amounts to be paid to Aramony's attorneys by United Way under the prior court decision and the question of whether United Way's obligations to Aramony should be offset by the amount of a judgment previously obtained against Aramony by the New York Attorney General, which, by its terms, was assignable to United Way as an offset against its liabilities to Aramony. The court found that after income taxes were withheld on pension benefits owed to Aramony, less the amount of Aramony's salary to be repaid by him, United Way should pay Aramony's attorney's fees under the prior court decision without further withholding. Additionally, the court found that the judgment obtained by the Attorney General could not be used by United Way to reduce its liability to Aramony in this case because there was no proof that the Attorney General's judgment had been assigned to United Way.
June 22, 2001
Washington Post
United Way Wins Appeal On Pension of Ex-President
By Leef Smith
The United Way does not have to pay $2 million in pension benefits to its former president, William Aramony, who is serving a prison sentence for fraud, the U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled.
The decision Wednesday reverses a lower court's ruling last year and effectively cuts Aramony's retirement award to just under $7,800.
Aramony, 73, was sent to prison in 1995 for defrauding the Alexandria-based charity and is scheduled to be released Sept. 30. Shortly after his conviction, he sued the United Way for pension benefits and was awarded about $4.4 million. The United Way also filed suit against Aramony, and a judge ruled that Aramony owed the organization $2.02 million to cover the salary and other funds he received while he was stealing contributor money. Continued...
I wonder how much UW spent fighting off this scumbag?