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Tax payers dollars used to defraud charity and the public.

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Posted by Mark on May 10, 2003 at 09:35:55:

STATE ORDERS AUDIT OF CONCERT MONEY

Were federal funds spent improperly for LaBelle tickets?

Saturday, May 10, 2003

By Jason Fink
Journal staff writer

The state Department of Labor is conducting an audit into the use of federal funds it disbursed that were spent by the Jersey City Board of Education on tickets to a controversial benefit concert held earlier this year.

The Jan. 24 Patti LaBelle show, billed as a fund-raiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, has also caught the attention of Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio, who said his office may issue subpoenas for the concert financial records.

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As first reported in The Jersey Journal, the autonomous Jersey City Employment and Training Program, which is funded by the state with money allocated by the federal Department of Labor, wrote a check for $126,000 to the Board of Education, which then used $58,820 of that money to buy 692 tickets to the Patti LaBelle show the day before the concert.

The show, which contributed $5,000 to the Diabetes Foundation out of the $169,405 it raised - roughly 3 percent - was sponsored by a joint entity made up of programs within the Housing Authority and the Board of Education.

Peter Saharko, a spokesman for the state Department of Labor, said the state is auditing the use of the federal funds. "We are auditing the expenses," he said.

Saharko said the department is trying to determine whether the expenditure met the standard of a "necessary and reasonable cost" that the state applies to the use of the federal funds, which are earmarked for youth services.

Three school board members - Chairman William DeRosa, former Mayor Anthony Cucci and Terrence Curran - objected to buying the tickets, as well as to the fact that they weren't asked to vote on the expenditure until a month after the show.

The executive director of the Employment and Training Program, Edward Santiago, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

He said last week that his organization allocated the money to the Board of Education and that the board decided on its own to buy the tickets.

Patti LaBelle's representatives have not responded to requests for comment.

The concert's organizer, Arthur Williams, is the chairman of the board of the Housing Authority and the supervisor of two programs - Fifteen Together and the PACE Parent Advisory - that were co-sponsors of the event.

Saharko said that if an audit found the funds to have been improperly spent, the state would ask that the money be paid back. If such a request were made and the money was not paid back, he said, further funding could be cut off.

Also seeking information about the concert is investment firm Goldman Sachs, which donated $3,250 to the JDRF with the intention of buying tickets for 50 senior citizens.

The check that Goldman Sachs wrote was made out to the Diabetes Foundation and sent to the concert's sponsor - a joint entity called "Jersey City Housing Authority/Tenant Affairs Board/"fifteen together"/PACE Parent Advisory" - but it was deposited into the account of the joint entity, which Williams has called a "clerical error."

On Tuesday, a volunteer for the JDRF who works for the Board of Education delivered a check for $5,000 to an official from the charity, which Williams said Tuesday included the Goldman Sachs donation.

But the fact that the Goldman Sachs check was deposited in the joint entity's account and, according to Williams, endorsed with the name of the joint entity, has raised questions.

"We're in the process of trying to get information on the finances and accounts right now," said DeFazio.

DeFazio said his office is focusing now on the deposit of the check into the joint entity's account.

Williams has declined to provide the name of the bank with which the joint entity had its account and which accepted the Goldman Sachs check made out to the Diabetes Foundation.

A spokesman for the charity, Bill Ahern, said his organization is trying to find out if any other individuals or corporations wrote checks to the JDRF that ended up in that account.

Williams could not be reached yesterday for comment.

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: STATE ORDERS AUDIT OF CONCERT MONEY

: Were federal funds spent improperly for LaBelle tickets?

:
: Saturday, May 10, 2003

:
: By Jason Fink
: Journal staff writer

: The state Department of Labor is conducting an audit into the use of federal funds it disbursed that were spent by the Jersey City Board of Education on tickets to a controversial benefit concert held earlier this year.

: The Jan. 24 Patti LaBelle show, billed as a fund-raiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, has also caught the attention of Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio, who said his office may issue subpoenas for the concert financial records.

:
: Information from our Advertisers
:

:
:
: As first reported in The Jersey Journal, the autonomous Jersey City Employment and Training Program, which is funded by the state with money allocated by the federal Department of Labor, wrote a check for $126,000 to the Board of Education, which then used $58,820 of that money to buy 692 tickets to the Patti LaBelle show the day before the concert.

: The show, which contributed $5,000 to the Diabetes Foundation out of the $169,405 it raised - roughly 3 percent - was sponsored by a joint entity made up of programs within the Housing Authority and the Board of Education.

: Peter Saharko, a spokesman for the state Department of Labor, said the state is auditing the use of the federal funds. "We are auditing the expenses," he said.

: Saharko said the department is trying to determine whether the expenditure met the standard of a "necessary and reasonable cost" that the state applies to the use of the federal funds, which are earmarked for youth services.

: Three school board members - Chairman William DeRosa, former Mayor Anthony Cucci and Terrence Curran - objected to buying the tickets, as well as to the fact that they weren't asked to vote on the expenditure until a month after the show.

: The executive director of the Employment and Training Program, Edward Santiago, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

: He said last week that his organization allocated the money to the Board of Education and that the board decided on its own to buy the tickets.

: Patti LaBelle's representatives have not responded to requests for comment.

: The concert's organizer, Arthur Williams, is the chairman of the board of the Housing Authority and the supervisor of two programs - Fifteen Together and the PACE Parent Advisory - that were co-sponsors of the event.

: Saharko said that if an audit found the funds to have been improperly spent, the state would ask that the money be paid back. If such a request were made and the money was not paid back, he said, further funding could be cut off.

: Also seeking information about the concert is investment firm Goldman Sachs, which donated $3,250 to the JDRF with the intention of buying tickets for 50 senior citizens.

: The check that Goldman Sachs wrote was made out to the Diabetes Foundation and sent to the concert's sponsor - a joint entity called "Jersey City Housing Authority/Tenant Affairs Board/"fifteen together"/PACE Parent Advisory" - but it was deposited into the account of the joint entity, which Williams has called a "clerical error."

: On Tuesday, a volunteer for the JDRF who works for the Board of Education delivered a check for $5,000 to an official from the charity, which Williams said Tuesday included the Goldman Sachs donation.

: But the fact that the Goldman Sachs check was deposited in the joint entity's account and, according to Williams, endorsed with the name of the joint entity, has raised questions.

: "We're in the process of trying to get information on the finances and accounts right now," said DeFazio.

: DeFazio said his office is focusing now on the deposit of the check into the joint entity's account.

: Williams has declined to provide the name of the bank with which the joint entity had its account and which accepted the Goldman Sachs check made out to the Diabetes Foundation.

: A spokesman for the charity, Bill Ahern, said his organization is trying to find out if any other individuals or corporations wrote checks to the JDRF that ended up in that account.

: Williams could not be reached yesterday for comment.

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