Another Local Government Official's Charity Mess. And Why Golf?
Once again, a local government official's attempt to use a charity to
get around campaign finance laws has blown up in his face. According to
<a href="http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/fulton-county-court-…
article</b></a> in the Atlanta <i>Journal-Constitution</i>, an Atlanta council
member was fined $25,000 by a state court for failing to register a
foundation (named after himself) and failing to maintain financial
records for it.<br>
<br>
The decision is the result of an action brought by the Secretary of
State, who oversees charities in Georgia. The foundation was not
registered as a charity or nonprofit and never filed a financial
report. The council member, who claimed the foundation was federally
registered, solicited hundreds of thousands of dollars from area
businesses and individuals, for the purpose of giving scholarships.<br>
<br>
After the <i>Journal-Constitution</i> broke the story in 2007, the council
member promised to make the foundation's finances public, but still has
not. The council member also owes back taxes for the foundation as well
as for himself.<br>
<br>
According to another J-C <a href="http://www.ajc.com/news/councilman-willis-issues-statement-157926.html"…;,
the council member, in a statement, "declared the scandal regarding the
now defunct charity over. The
ruling, he said, 'represents the conclusion of a legal and public
odyssey that my family and I have been on for over two years.'"<br>
<br>
He says it's over despite the fact that no financial reports have been filed, and there
are taxes outstanding, as well as a current ethics commission
investigation into the council member's use, with respect to the
foundation, of city equipment,
employees, and website (see another J-C <a href="http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/ethics-office-lacks-staff-138090.html">…;).
Despite the fact that no one knows how the contributions
were spent. And despite the fact that all those contributors
who took a tax deduction did so illegally, based on the council member's
misrepresentations. That sounds like tax fraud, but that's an area I
know little about.<br>
<br>
If the council
member isn't supplying the information even when an election is close
at hand, it's likely that the information would not be favorable to
him. Saying that the scandal is over appears to be wishful thinking.<br>
<br>
On a related note: much of this charity's funds were obtained via
golf tournaments. Besides the long, isolated intimacy of the foursome,
what is it about golf tournaments that cause them to be employed by so
many charities closely associated with government officials? Is it
just a lack of imagination? Or do these officials have a problem with
teamwork? Wouldn't soccer, basketball, or football better reflect the
values and ways of government? Even tennis doubles requires at least
two people to get along and strategize, and there isn't even any
physical contact.<br>
<br>
Maybe it's just that, in golf, no one can be accused of dropping the
ball.<br>
<br>
Other posts on charities:<br>
<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/239" target="”_blank”">1</a>, <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/568" target="”_blank”">2</a>, <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/536" target="”_blank”">3</a>, <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/349" target="”_blank”">4</a>, <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/443" target="”_blank”">5</a><span>,
</span><a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/588" target="”_blank”">6</a>,
<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/701">7</a><br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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