Al, Al, Al,....
City funds yanked
2 programs called 'nonresponsible'
BY BOB KAPPSTATTER
DAILY NEWS BRONX BUREAU CHIEF
Two affiliated Bronx community programs serving thousands of youths and seniors have had their city funding yanked and their records reportedly seized amid an ongoing investigation.
Officials confirmed yesterday that the nonprofit Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club Inc., and its affiliate, Pathways for Youth Boys & Girls Club, have been determined to be "nonresponsible city contractors" in connection with several recently submitted contract proposals.
The city Department of Youth and Community Development said in a press release issued by Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn that its determinations were based on an ongoing DOI probe. The probe is investigating allegations that officials of the long-established community programs "approved significant inappropriate transactions and falsified documents that were submitted to various city agencies."
Last week, DOI investigators reportedly seized records from the two programs' offices at Co-op City.
DOI spokeswoman Emily Gest issued a terse "no comment" yesterday when asked if records had been seized and whether the probe rose to the level of a criminal investigation.
Local city, state and federal legislators involved in funding the programs met Sunday at the offices of Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley to discuss the situation, said Assemblyman Michael Benedetto (D-East Bronx).
He said it was his understanding that the city has brought in other nonprofit agencies, such as the Police Athletic League, to take over the various programs run by the two suspect groups, which have received $9.7 million in 19 contracts and one outright grant.
Benedetto said that workers at Gloria Wise have already been notified their last official day of work will be Thursday.
Besides the city Education Department and the Youth and Community Development Department, the DOI release stated that the Department for the Aging is terminating its contracts with Gloria Wise, and the city Housing Authority is terminating a grant agreement with Pathways for Youth. The Department for the Aging, according to a source, has contracted with the Jewish Association for the Aged to take over the senior center programs, starting July 5.
Calls yesterday to Charles Rosen, executive director of the organization, were not returned as of deadline.
Originally published on June 28, 2005
Youth funds diverted to liberal radio station
by Michael Horowitz
July 5, 2005
Bronx News
The Bronx News has learned, through informed sources, that the diversion of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club in Co-op City to the liberal Air America Radio is at the center of the city’s probe of corruption at the local club.
The money, which was reportedly paid to Air America as a loan, was supposed to be paid back with interest, two unidentified informed sources told the News. One source added that Air America officials, led by an official of the Gloria Wise Club, agreed to help the local club by publicizing its activities.
To date, no indictments have been handed down in the New York City Department of Investigation’s ongoing probe of the Gloria Wise Club’s reported transfer of funds to Air America.
Most of the Gloria Wise Club’s programs are for the Co-op City community, but the club also runs after-school programs in the Baychester/Edenwald and Soundview areas.
At the center of the investigation, in addition to Charles Rosen, the charismatic leader of the local club for the last 15 years, is Evan Cohen, who resigned, under fire, as chairman of Air America Radio shortly after its start as an alternative to conservative talk radio.
Cohen, at the time the alleged transfers of funds from the Gloria Wise Club to Air America took place, was also the director of Development for the local boys’ and girls’ club, the News has learned.
One source told the News that $480,000 in funds from the Gloria Wise Club is involved in the city’s investigation of illegal transfer of funds from the local club.
A second unidentified source stressed that Rosen never sought to profit personally from the reported loan that the Gloria Wise Club gave to Air America. The source emphasized that Rosen’s sole motive, even if it was a bit naïve, was to benefit the Gloria Wise Club with the interest that Air America would pay for its loan from the local club.
The city’s DOI is pursuing the probe because the Gloria Wise Club depends heavily on city funding for its operations. These funds are subject to extensive audits, as are funds received through the state and federal governments.
The Co-op City-based club, which Rosen has built into an empire in the Co-op City community, reportedly has 19 contracts and at least one grant with the city, worth a total of $9.7 million.
Over the last year, Rep. Joseph Crowley has secured two major federal grants for the Gloria Wise Club, one for a day-care program for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers and the other for the community’s NORC program for senior citizens. The grant for the program for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers was for $250,000, while the grant for the NORC program was for $99,410.
In 2003, Crowley secured a $218,500 grant for a mentoring program that the Gloria Wise Club runs.
Cohen, who is reportedly at the center of the Gloria Wise probe, is a Guam-based investors who was reportedly a key principal in the start-up of Air America, which has been billed as the liberals’ answer to conservative talk-show hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Shaun Hannity, Bob Grant, Michael Savage, and G. Gordon Liddy.
Well I guess now we know how they were about to pay their bills
Why don't they just take money from chinese communists like other liberals.
* United States Code
o TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
+ PART I - CRIMES
# CHAPTER 31 - EMBEZZLEMENT AND THEFT
U.S. Code as of: 01/06/03
Section 648. Custodians, generally, misusing public funds
Whoever, being an officer or other person charged by any Act of
Congress with the safe-keeping of the public moneys, loans, uses,
or converts to his own use, or deposits in any bank, including any
branch or agency of a foreign bank (as such terms are defined in
paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 1(b) of the International Banking
Act of 1978), or exchanges for other funds, except as specially
allowed by law, any portion of the public moneys intrusted to him
for safe-keeping, is guilty of embezzlement of the money so loaned,
used, converted, deposited, or exchanged, and shall be fined under
this title or in a sum equal to the amount of money so embezzled,
whichever is greater, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or
both; but if the amount embezzled does not exceed $1,000, he shall
be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or
both.
Nothing will happen to them. They won't even have to pay the money back at all. Rats don't get prosecuted.
bttt
WOW!!
It would not surprise me to see this story on the front page of the NY Post tomorrow. I will be looking for it.
Brian Maloney? Think he was the 'No Baloney' talk host and got dumped by KIRO radio in San Francisco-lite Seattle.
Bush does it again. He creates this problem for them and is able to keep Rove off the news.
How can we mean old conservatives deny them that privilege?
sarcasm off
Looks like Al Franken et all really do believe that the rich steal from the poor.
Al Franken: #37 with a....well, he's rising quickly.
