Judge Orders 9/11 Theme Truck Operated By "Charity" Impounded

The Attorney General's Office of New Jersey is going after a pair of scammers who were busying themselves by going around Lower Manhattan in a pickup truck decked out in 9/11 themes and the names of hundreds of responders who were killed in the terror attacks.

They put themselves out there as a charity, but now one of the two men being investigated claims that they were never a charity; they were simply seeking donations for the costs for parading around in their 9/11 themed truck. That's such a transparent and flimsy excuse that it wont keep them from getting hit with fraud and other charges.

A judge ordered Mark Niemczyk and Thomas Scalgione’s red truck, which bears the names of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, be impounded.

The judge also ordered that the men’s assets be frozen after the state alleged the two failed to register as a charity, collected money and kept it for themselves.

But speaking exclusively to CBS 2 on Friday, Niemczyk said he’s innocent.

“Please believe me that I didn’t do anything wrong, from the bottom of my heart,” Niemczyk told CBS 2′s Christine Sloan.

The two men are accused of using donations for their personal gain.

“We weren’t a charity, that was never a charity. I never said we were a charity,” Niemczyk said.

Niemczyk said the two drove the red truck around to 9/11 events and collected money only for the operation of the vehicle. He claimed Scalgione was in charge of the money.

“We had a jug on the table and it said on the jug ‘please help keep the 9/11 truck on the road — all donations are greatly appreciated,’” Niemczyk said. “People put money in the jug and that went for our gas and tolls and stuff like that.”

Their problems are only beginning. They weren't registered as a charity and they don't appear to have any paperwork backing up any of their claims that they were acting within the law. What we're also seeing is that one of the two scammers is more than willing to try and throw the other under the bus.

New Jersey Goes After 9/11 Scammers Who Fooled Everyone, Including Gov. Christie

I've got to go back through my catalog of photos taken in and around Ground Zero, because I recall seeing these guys out there on a semi-regular basis. They have a very distinctive 9/11 themed pickup truck, and onlookers would frequently pose with the drivers near the WTC Memorial Preview Center on Vesey as well as on Dey Street and other locations surrounding Ground Zero.

They managed to fool lots of folks, including Governor Chris Christie, who posed with one of the pair of scammers, Anthony Niemczyk. Niemcyzk claimed that he was a Vietnam veteran and was a member of the Navy SEALs. None of that was true.

He was a scammer, as was his cohort Thomas J. Scalgioneo:

State officials have asked that a judge impound the truck and order Mark Anthony Niemczyk and Thomas J. Scalgione to stop scamming the public with their unregistered charity.

One cause the defendants the duo claimed to support, the Cain Foundation, doesn't even exist, New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said.

Rosemary Cain, whose firefighter son died on 9-11, said she was never contacted by the pair and has no connection to them.

Chiesa called the case "an affront to everyone who remembers the fallen and to the family members who continue to endure pain from the lives that were lost among the first responders at the World Trade Center. It is beyond comprehension that anyone would try to profit themselves under the guise of collecting donations to help the surviving family members of the fallen emergency responders."
Niemczyk, r., with Pastor Terry Jones in "The National 9/11 Memorial Truck"


Both men "used a national tragedy to dupe the public," the attorney general said. "Rather than aiding the families of first responders who perished, [they] are causing additional emotion distress through their alleged avarice and greed."

State authorities "are the ones trying to run a scam," Scalgione countered, after being contacted by the Asbury Park Press this afternoon. “We are prepared to fight to clear our names. We are running a legitimate group."

The National 9/11 Memorial Truck, as it is called, bears the names of the more than 400 first responders who died when the Twin Towers collapsed.

The duo made money off the 9/11 attacks and benefited from a bogus charity that wasn't registered. Both have a long criminal record to boot:

Niemczyk apparently lied about being a graduate of the Naval Academy and having done three Vietnam tours as a Navy SEAL. He also pleaded guilty to welfare fraud in 1989. Scalgione, who said he handled PR for the truck's appearance, has criminal convictions, "including theft, forgery, fraudulent use of credit cards and possession of an emergency communications receiver during the commission of a crime," according to the NJ AG's office.

Expect additional charges to be forthcoming for both.

First Hand View From Ground In Syria of Assad's Atrocities

A doctor who is among the founders of the group Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), Dr. Jacques Bérès, managed to get himself smuggled into Syria so that he could help those suffering from Bashar al Assad's assault on those opposed to his regime.

He's treated hundreds of patients in the short time he's been in Syria, and his report is a sad commentary on the ongoing deprivations by the Assad regime. Far from specifically targeting terrorists or rebel forces, Assad's forces indiscriminately fire on civilians causing all manner of grievous injury and death to women and children.

His journey into Syria began in early February when he crossed the Lebanese border with the help of smugglers, carrying luggage filled with medical equipment. He then traveled by car and motorbike to Al Qusayr, another besieged city that is part of Homs Province, where he worked for a few days with a Syrian doctor. When he finally made it to Homs, he spent about two weeks there.

In Homs, he was forced to move once — “I sensed that the building had become a target for government forces” — and conditions were far from ideal. “The place was so crowded that we had to walk between the stretchers,” Dr. Bérès said in an interview late last month in his Paris apartment, just days after returning.

“I treated all kinds of wounds, from heavy mortars, shots from long-range sniper rifles, high-velocity rounds, shrapnel,” he said. His makeshift hospital was only a few minutes from Baba Amr, the neighborhood that saw some of the heaviest shelling and fighting.

One day, he said, 11 people died in his hospital, some before he could even begin to treat them. “Some of them had brain damage and arrived already dead,” Dr. Bérès said. “Others were so severely injured that they could not be saved.”

Many of his patients were minors, he said. At least 400 children have died since the beginning of the uprising, according to Unicef.

He was clearly affected by the death of a teenage boy, “who had pale skin, handsome features, a slightly mischievous look and a cap on his head which made him look like Gavroche in Victor Hugo’s ‘Misérables.’ ” The boy, Dr. Bérès said, “had almost been cut into two.”

Dr. Bérès left Syria before the government began its all-out assault on Homs in late February. “I was sad,” he told the French radio network RTL after his return to Paris. “I saw useless suffering, cruelty, meanness, the suffering of children, of families.”

But those who worked with him described Dr. Bérès as a remarkable man, and praised his composure and quiet energy in the face of suffering and death.

As an aside, this is one of the reasons that I've repeatedly donated to MSF/DWB over the past couple of years - they manage to do amazing things under incredible circumstances and at great risk to themselves and those they help.

The ongoing atrocities in Syria increase the butcher's bill for Assad, and there's still little movement on the diplomatic front to bring more pressure to bear against Assad.



Assad's security forces have mined the border with Turkey to prevent the rebel groups from reinforcing their forces from across the border and to limit refugees from crossing to safety.

On the Destruction of the Susan G. Komen Brand Over Pulling Planned Parenthood Funding

There was no reason that the Susan G. Komen charitable foundation should ever have waded into the mess that it is now in. I'm heartened by the fact that some of the Komen affiliates are rebelling against the central organization's directives:

Komen has said the decision stemmed from newly adopted criteria barring grants to organizations under investigation — affecting Planned Parenthood because of an inquiry by a Republican congressman acting with encouragement from anti-abortion activists.

A source with direct knowledge of decision-making at Komen's headquarters gave a different account, saying the grant-making criteria were adopted with the deliberate intention of targeting Planned Parenthood. The criteria's impact on Planned Parenthood and its status as the focus of government investigations were highlighted in a memo distributed to Komen affiliates in December.

According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, a driving force behind the move was Karen Handel, who was hired by Komen last year as vice president for public policy after losing a campaign for governor in Georgia in which she stressed her anti-abortion views and frequently denounced Planned Parenthood.

Karen Handel is said to be a driving force behind Komen's decision this week to cut breast-screening grants to Planned Parenthood.

Brinker, in an interview with MSNBC, said Handel didn't have a significant role in the policy change.

Among Komen's affiliates, there were clear signs of discomfort with the decision. All seven Komen affiliates in California, in a joint letter to their congressional delegation, said they were "strongly opposed" to the policy change and were working to overturn it.

"Our commitment to our mission is unwavering," the letter said. "This is a misstep in that journey and ... we will do whatever it takes to do what is right for the health of women and men in California."

Philanthropy experts said it will be difficult for Komen to convince people it wasn't playing politics.

The charity has destroyed its brand all over an attempt by anti-abortion advocates to politicize where funding goes.

A Connecticut chapter has also said that it wont pull funding from Planned Parenthood in that state.

They've alienated half (or more) of the country that supports abortion rights and Planned Parenthood all to cater to the vocal anti-abortion advocates who have joined the ranks of the Komen leadership.

The timeline bears out the politicization of the process within the organization.

Komen changes its policy, claiming that it will no longer fund entities that are under investigation.

That change came after a known anti-abortion activist, Karen Handel, joined Komen in a key leadership role.

Komen announces end of funding to Planned Parenthood affiliates over an ongoing Congressional investigation.

That Congressional investigation is being conducted by a member of Congress whose anti-abortion views are known, and who was doing the investigation at the behest, and on behalf, of other anti-abortion groups.

As a result of the change in policy, Komen will withhold $600k+ in funding from Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood cries foul and a massive fundraising effort ensues to make up shortfall. More than $400,000 is raised within 24 hours, and that doesn't include up to $250,000 in matching donations by New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Komen plays defensive (late at that) claiming that the decision wasn't politically motivated or motivated by anti-abortion views, but insiders claim a different story - that this was motivated by the new hire (Handel).

That you're now seeing other Komen affiliates rebelling against the directive suggests that they see politics in the matter and it undermines their ability to raise funds to ... you know... fight breast cancer.

No matter how you look at this, this whole mess undermines that core mission. Komen has made such a mess of this situation that they can't be trusted on their statements and they will be sure to alienate a significant portion of potential donors no matter what decision they take now (keep the PP funding frozen out, restore it, or some combination of the above). It's a permanent blight on their ability to remain credible.

The charity has taken a word, "investigation", and applied it to political witch-hunts in Congress, and not law enforcement investigations, which is really what Komen ought to be worried about if they're dealing with integrity issues. Congressional investigations are as much about political witch hunts and campaigning as they are about legitimately looking at issues requiring Congressional attention. Planned Parenthood is among the most scrutinized charities in the nation because of the kinds of services they provide, and this is just another excuse to stick it to them.

What really strikes me as particularly galling is that Komen is ignoring actual criminal investigations ongoing at Penn State University, but they continue funding operations there. If this were really about curtailing financing to those entities under investigation, the Penn State funding would have been first up on the chopping block. To me, that says that this was politically motivated, and not merely an attempt to improve Komen's integrity.

Moreover, I have to wonder what would happen if Komen itself came under investigation by Congress for how it spends its money. Would that mean that it would have to divest itself from its monies in the same way that they're acting towards Planned Parenthood?

UPDATE:
In a surprising turn of events, Komen has announced that they will reverse course and will amend their policy to exclude political investigations, which is good news for Planned Parenthood. The whole reason that they sought to exclude Planned Parenthood was precisely because it was the target of a political investigation. Yet, it doesn't mean the end of the mess for Komen though. The fallout will continue for some time to come.

Sandusky's Strange Interview and More Potential Victims Step Forward

As I noted yesterday, former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky gave a bizarre interview to Bob Costas, in which he admitted to certain acts as alleged in the grand jury testimony/evidence. He admitted to taking showers with underage boys, but claimed that he was not a pedophile or otherwise attracted to children.

BOB COSTAS: Mr. Sandusky, there's a 40-count indictment. The grand jury report contains specific detail. There are multiple accusers, multiple eyewitnesses to various aspects of the abuse. A reasonable person says where there's this much smoke, there must be plenty of fire. What do you say?

JERRY SANDUSKY: I say that I am innocent of those charges.

BOB COSTAS: Innocent? Completely innocent and falsely accused in every aspect?

JERRY SANDUSKY: Well I could say that, you know, I have done some of those things. I have horsed around with kids. I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them and I have touched their leg. Without intent of sexual contact. But - so if you look at it that way - there are things that wouldn't - you know, would be accurate.

BOB COSTAS: Are you denying that you had any inappropriate sexual contact with any of these underage boys?

JERRY SANDUSKY: Yes, I -- yes I am.

BOB COSTAS: Never touched their genitals? Never engaged in oral sex?

JERRY SANDUSKY: Right.

BOB COSTAS: What about Mike McQueary, the grad assistant who in 2002 walked into the shower where he says in specific detail that you were forcibly raping a boy who appeared to be ten or 11 years old? That his hands were up against the shower wall and he heard rhythmic slap, slap, slapping sounds and he described that as a rape?

JERRY SANDUSKY: I would say that that's false.

BOB COSTAS: What would be his motive to lie?

JERRY SANDUSKY: You'd have to ask him that.

He also didn't exactly give the most strenuous denial of the charges of sodomizing one child in the Penn State athletic facility that was seen by Mike McQueary, who was a graduate assistant at the time, but is now a coach with the football team.

From a legal perspective, this interview presents all kinds of problems for any kind of legal defense. Not only does it make it more difficult to believe that Sandusky didn't carry out the acts alleged, but he doesn't come across as a sympathetic figure. His attorney is trying to spin things claiming that showering with the children doesn't mean that there's criminality involved, but it certainly raises suspicions of improper conduct. It also doesn't address the eyewitness testimony of McQueary.

His problems are also multiplying as about 10 other people have come forward claiming that they too were abused.

Close to 10 additional suspected victims of the former Penn State assistant football coach at the heart of a massive sex scandal have come forward to authorities since his arrest, people close to the investigation told The New York Times.

The paper said Monday night that police were working to confirm the new allegations.

The new accusations come as Jerry Sandusky said he showered with young boys and hugged them but called the allegedly criminal contact "horseplay."

Sandusky has been formally accused of sexually assaulting eight boys over a 15-year span, with some of the alleged crimes happening at Penn State, where he had access to campus as an emeritus professor following his 1999 retirement as coaching legend Joe Paterno's top defensive assistant.

Also, the Fresh Air Fund, a New York City based charity, is investigating whether it sent children to participate in Sandusky's charity or to stay with Sandusky.

Light The Night Kickoff

This weekend, I had the honor to attend the 2011 Light The Night Walk kickoff event for Red Bank, New Jersey. The Red Bank walk in the newest location in New Jersey to host a Light the Night Walk -- this is the third year for this location. As I explained in an earlier post, Light the Night is the oldest walk to raise money for cancer research.

At the kickoff event, we heard some additional information regarding the new treatment breakthrough for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL. Lawhawk posted about this last week. This new therapy essentially takes cancer T-Cells, infuses them with a new protein and reintroduces them into the body. The new infused cells begin to attack the cancer cells, and most excitedly, get the bodies existing cells to fight the cancer as well. Currently, two patients are more than 1 year cancer free, with a third approaching 1 year. When they get 12 patients cancer free for 1 year, the procedure will be considered for approval.

The reason for the discussion at the kickoff was that the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has donated more than $50 million to this research over the years. Over that past several years, the FDA has approved 19 new drugs and therapies for blood cancer -- all with the assistance of the LLS. Of the 19, 12 have been approved or are being studied for the treatment of other forms of cancer as well. That is remarkable.

I was watching a baseball game the other day and a commercial for the MLB's involvement with Stand Up 2 Cancer came on (anyone who saw the All Star Game, the Stand up 2 cancer half inning display was chilling.) They splashed two stats on the screen that shook me. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 2 men will get cancer. The numbers are staggering. With respect to blood cancer:
• Every 5 Minutes: Someone in the United States learns that he or she has leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease or myeloma.
• Every 10 Minutes: Another child or adult is expected to die from a blood cancer.

This is why I renew my plea to all our readers and donations to the Light the Night Walk can be made through the link on the top left of the page, or by going to my team page . Any amount of support is greatly appreciated. By donating, you are not only helping to cure blood cancers, support caregivers, assist patients with purchasing drugs they could not otherwise afford, but you are indirectly supporting research that is going to treat and cure other cancers as well.

How to Help: Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Efforts Gaining Steam

As with many other natural disasters, the US Navy is leading the way - sending a carrier task force to assist with the logistical and relief efforts. But they are hardly alone.

Japan has received offers of assistance from 14 international organizations and 102 countries (including a number of unexpected aid donors such as embattled Afghanistan and poverty-stricken Cambodia), according to the latest report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Hollywood is by and large stepping up. Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 have gone and found ways to donate to relief efforts. They're auctioning off a bunch of Blink 182 items, and one of them is now fetching over $20,000. His other listings are here.

Simon Cowell and Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, and others are planning a relief single. Lady Gaga has been selling a Japan prayer bracelet with all proceeds going to earthquake relief efforts.

Many charitable and disaster relief organizations now take donations via text messages:

The Salvation Army and the American Red Cross are among the groups accepting $10 donations via text message.

To donate to the Salvation Army, which has had a presence in Japan since 1895, text "Japan" or "Quake" to 80888.

Text "RedCross" to 90999 to donate to its fund set up in response to the disaster. The American Red Cross is coordinating with its Japanese counterpart, which is leading the organization's efforts in the disaster area.

Still a relatively new way to accept donations, texting took off last year after the earthquake in Haiti. The Red Cross said more than 3 million contributors used text messages to donate $32 million to relief efforts following the Port-Au-Prince quake.

For those who want to offer donations directly to charitable organizations directly, here are a few notable links (and far from inclusive - if you have others, leave them in the comments). Note too that some charities have not set up a separate donation path for the Japanese disaster:

• Google Crisis Response (2011 Japanese Earthquake).
• Salvation Army is accepting donations via SMS or online, by phone, calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY.
• Save the Children is taking online donations and credit and debit card donations over the phone.
• Christian Aid and Oxfam have not set up separate appeals for Japan, but you can donate to their general emergency funds.
• InterAction, an alliance of US-based international NGOs, has published a list of its members that are collecting money for the relief efforts. You can pledge money directly to the 22 organisations mentioned, which include Relief International, World Vision and Habitat for Humanity.
  
• Online coupon site Groupon has set up a page to allow visitors to donate $5, $10 or $25 to support efforts of the International Medical Corps in Japan. According to the site, the coupon for donations won't expire until 16 June. 
• PayPal has set up an online store to take donations for Save the Children, GlobalGiving, HandsOn Network and the American Red Cross. It will pay all contributing costs. 
• Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA): ADRA Aids Japan Earthquake Victims
• All Hands Volunteers: Japan Earthquake & Tsunami
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee: Japan/Pacific Emergency Relief Fund
• AmeriCares: Rescue searchers in Japan
• Aanda Marga Universal Relief Team (AMURT): Asia donations
•  International Medical Corps relief efforts, text MED to 80888.

I've donated to the American Red Cross in the past, but have donated to Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontiers) in response to recent overseas natural disasters because the group has low overhead and directs 85% of the donations to actual services - but MSF has not set up a separate donation path for the tsunami relief as yet.

Also, if you are working for a company that does a charitable donation match, be sure to take advantage of those opportunities to maximize your charitable giving. Keep your receipts as well since not only can you bring some relief to those in need, but you might be able to take advantage of your donations during the 2011 tax year filing (returns due April 2012).

Entertainers Now Realize Taking Money From Khadafi Was a Bad Thing?

It only takes a revolution and the deaths of thousands of Libyans at the hands of Mumar Khadafi's loyalists and mercenaries to get some Hollywood types to realize that taking money to perform for Khadafi and his family was a bad thing?

Carey accepted $1 million to perform for Qaddafi's son, Muatassim, Libya's national-security adviser, at a lavish New Year's Eve party on the Caribbean island of St. Barts in 2008; Beyoncé and Usher performed for an undisclosed sum on the island the following year. 50 Cent gave a performance before Muatassim at a 2005 film festival in Venice. Managers for Usher, 50 Cent and Carey declined comment, and Beyoncé's management, run by her father, Mathew Knowles, did not return phone calls. "They've done it for tons of artists," says a music-business source, referring to Muatassim's parties, which are often jammed with supermodels. "Those guys are all over the world."

Qaddafi’s record of brutality and terrorism during his 40-year reign is well-documented – his regime was linked to a 1986 Berlin disco bombing, causing the deaths of two American soldiers, and the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270. Late last month, Libya’s former justice minister told a Swedish newspaper that Qaddafi himself ordered the Pan Am bombing. Muatassim’s brother Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi recently warned Libyan protesters on state television to abandon the streets or face "rivers of blood."

All these entertainers knew full well that Khadafi was linked to terrorism, including the murder of 270 people in the Pan Am 103 bombing, and yet they saw a paycheck at the end of the day and took it.

They could have skipped the Khadafi entertainment parties without suffering any kind of repercussion on their careers, but instead took money from a totalitarian dictator.

Now, years later, they're facing calls to donate the money, and some are stepping forward to attempt to make amends. Nelly Furtado is saying that she's going to donate money since she performed for Khadafi and his clan in Italy and received $1 million for the 45 minute show.

They should never have taken the money in the first place, but the least they can do now is make sure that the money goes to humanitarian relief to assist those who are now being displaced by the fighting in Libya.

Now, some are going to defend these entertainers as not knowing who they were going to be performing for and that they find out about who was behind the concerts after the fact. I'm not sure that excuse quite cuts it - not when there are indications that at least some of those entertainers knew full well who was in the crowd and who was paying for the concerts.

Billions Missing From Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was seen as a charitable entity that could be a viable alternative to the United Nations. Well, it seems to have picked up many of the same problem traits as the United Nations, including corruption, graft, and shoddy accounting practices. No one knows where billions of dollars have gone.

A $21.7 billion development fund backed by celebrities and hailed as an alternative to the bureaucracy of the United Nations sees as much as two-thirds of some grants eaten up by corruption, The Associated Press has learned.

Much of the money is accounted for with forged documents or improper bookkeeping, indicating it was pocketed, investigators for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria say. Donated prescription drugs wind up being sold on the black market.

The fund's newly reinforced inspector general's office, which uncovered the corruption, can't give an overall accounting because it has examined only a tiny fraction of the $10 billion that the fund has spent since its creation in 2002. But the levels of corruption in the grants they have audited so far are astonishing.

A full 67 percent of money spent on an anti-AIDS program in Mauritania was misspent, the investigators reported.

So did 36 percent of the money spent on a program in Mali to fight tuberculosis and malaria, and 30 percent of grants to Djibouti.

In Zambia, where $3.5 million in spending was undocumented and one accountant pilfered $104,130, the fund decided the nation's health ministry simply couldn't manage the grants and put the United Nations in charge of them.

The fund is trying to recover $7 million in "unsupported and ineligible costs" from the ministry.

Fund officials blame African regimes where the bulk of the corruption is alleged for misspending the monies allocated.

Meeks and Smith Stiffed Another Charity

Once again, it looks like prominent New York Democrats, Gregory Meeks and Malcolm Smith have stiffed another charity. Make that charities. In fact, it appears that the charity, New Direction LDC collected $600,000 from 2000 through 2008, and managed to chew up 2/3 of that amount in overhead and expenses.

That's an abysmal rate, and that meant that most of the money, which was delivered via state grants steered by Smith, Meeks, and other Democrats, went into the pockets of those operating the "charity".

More than $400,000 raised by a nonprofit started by Congressman Gregory Meeks and state Sen. Malcolm Smith was never given to the community they represent, including a youth football league that requested a donation, a Post investigation has found.

The Rosedale Jets Football Association went hat in hand to the New Direction Local Development Corp., hoping for a piece of a $250,000 grant that was to go to community groups.

The Jets dutifully submitted an application, hoping to get up to $25,000 to fix up their field. They never got a cent.

"They said they never received our application," said Gerald Karikari, an immigration lawyer and the football team's chief financial officer.

Karikari said the Rosedale Jets, a squad that mixes football and cheerleading with life lessons for 200 kids ages 7 to 13, is always struggling. It had to stop low-cost equipment rentals to players because it could not pay for refurbishing the helmets and protective pads.

Instead of helping the plucky pee-wee players, New Direction spent $405,000 on salaries, mysterious consultants, office expenses and meals, according to paperwork filed by the nonprofit. By 2008, $55,254 was left sitting in its bank account, untouched.

The Post has reported how the charity started by Meeks and Smith, both Queens Democrats, raised at least $31,000 for Hurricane Katrina victims but gave out hardly any of that money.

Yet the problems with New Direction are much broader. The group collected about $600,000 over seven years, but spent just under $200,000 -- 33 percent -- on community programs, according to its tax returns. And even that number is suspicious, as paperwork often lists a "cash donation" with no details as to where the money went.

Smith is currently the top Democrat in the State Senate, and Meeks is a prominent Democrat.

Not One Dime

An adviser for a "charity" run by New York Democrats Gregory Meeks and Malcolm Smith says that no money ever went to the intended purposes - helping victims of Hurricane Katrina.

A former Louisiana Democratic official says Katrina victims "never got a dime'' from a charity set up by two New York politicians.

Louis Rainey served as an unpaid adviser for the project. He lost his own home in the hurricane and now lives in Dallas.

The charity, New Yorkers Organized to Assist Hurricane Families (NOAH-F), claims that it raised $31,000 and that it disbursed nearly $1,400 for hurricane relief. It claims that it sought to help 30 families who were displaced by the hurricane.

Meeks and state Sen. Malcolm Smith, also a Queens Democrat, established NOAH-F shortly after the storm to help 30 displaced families -- and made the new charity part of their previously organized New Direction Local Development Corp.

At the time, Meeks told the Times-Ledger, a Queens weekly, "Every dime, every dime, will go to these 30 families."

Rainey was chosen to ensure the assistance went where it was needed most, Meeks said.

"It's important to have Mr. Rainey on the ground because you have people trying to take advantage of the situation," Meeks told the weekly.

Rainey, an unpaid adviser, said he gave Meeks' then-director of communications, Candace Sandy, a list of some of the neediest families.

But Rainey said he was not told what kind of assistance they would get -- money, food, shelter -- or whether the help would be distributed through an agency or directly.

At least some of the people he identified, Rainey said, were contacted directly by the fund.

"A few months later, some of the families called and asked about the money," he said.

"They said that Meeks' representatives told them they were going to send down money. That's the first I heard about any money."

Rainey can recall only one tractor-trailer shipment of used clothes in connection with NOAH-F. Even if managed that paltry sum, it is an astoundingly bad track record because it appears that most of the money went to pay for administrative costs. It's the kind of charity that Attorneys General and prosecutors around the nation would investigate, shut down, and/or prosecute for fraud. Scam artists around the country are continuing to try and cash in on the goodwill and charity of others.

It would appear that the scam artists include Gregory Meeks and Malcolm Smith, both of whom refuse comment and both of which appear to have used taxpayer money to line the pockets of someone when they both claimed that the money would go for helping hurricane victims. Prosecutors should have a field day with this.

Charities Run By NY Democrats Can't Track Where Money Went

New York Rep. Gregory Meeks and State Senator Malcolm Smith, both Democrats, call your lawyers. You have some serious accounting to do.

They formed a charity in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to help victims of the hurricane, and raised about $31,000 in the process.

Yet, only $1,392 actually made it to the victims of the hurricane.

Meeks said in a statement that "the funds were utilized to help sustain displaced evacuees," but refused to provide further detail. He said money was administered by an unidentified director and that "a committee of community representatives functioned as advisers to the fund."

But three of those advisers said they had no idea whether cash was given out by the group, New Yorkers Organized to Assist Hurricane Families, or NOAH-F.

"I had nothing to do with any disbursement of any funds," said the Rev. Edward Davis, pastor of the Presbyterian Church of St. Albans in Queens. "I can't tell you. I don't know."

Another advisory board member, Candace Sandy, said she volunteered to help Katrina refugees living temporarily at a hotel near Kennedy Airport, but did not distribute money.

Sandy, who works for Meeks, said another advisory board member, Claude Stuart, was in charge of the money. Stuart did not return phone calls for comment.

Pamela Moore, chief-of-staff to Assemblywoman Barbara Clark, was listed as a member of the advisory board but said that it was a position in name only.

"I never attended any board meetings," she said, adding that she did not know if board meetings were even held.

Clark, a Queens Democrat, said she was upset about the charity's lack of accountability. "I'm very, very disturbed and disheartened," she said.

The lawmaker said she helped set up a gospel concert that raised $11,210 after Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005.

"We turned this money over to the congressman [Meeks]," Clark said. "I don't know exactly how it was given out."

Where did the rest of the money go?

No one knows. Not Meeks. Not Smith.

It's a mystery.

And it's just the tip of the iceberg as nearly $150,000 is unaccounted for.

Some $150,000 in donations, including thousands the community raised to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, remains unaccounted for, according to Ken Boehm, head of the National Legal and Policy Center.

"When you see lots and lots of consulting fees with large amounts flashing around, at some point one wonders if an elected official is trying to sell their office," said Boehm.

"Sen. Smith, with respect to New Direction, violated several provisions of New York state law," he said.

Boehm says his group will lodge a complaint with the state's Public Integrity Commission this week.

This sounds like a job for NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate and determine whether Meeks and Smith set up a bogus charity where the money meant for victims ended up in someone else's pockets. When only 4% of the money goes to the purpose of the charity in Katrina relief and 96% ends up sucked up in "administrative costs" for lack of a better word, something is up.

Typically, better charities limit their administrative costs to less than 15% so that the bulk of the money goes to the given purpose - not sucked up in administrative costs that enrich no one but those responsible for operating the charity. This "charity" appears to give 4% to its stated purpose.

In fact, a search on the Attorney General's charity database reveals no sign of this charity (NOAH-F) at all. New Direction LDC does show up. New Directions LDC, which operates out of Queens, appears to be little more than a slush fund for local politicians, including Meeks and Smith, for their member items (pork).

UPDATE:
Lest I forget, Smith was the Senate Majority Leader following the Democrats' takeover of the NYS State Senate, and was the minority leader previously. That put him in a position to dole out the member items.