More Skeletons out of The Red Cross Closet: Offshore Insurance Co., and Blood Biz

More skeletons out of Red Cross Closet.

For instance, do you know about it's offshore Insurance Company, Boardman Indemnity (which pays NO tax), and their "blood" business\? Then read on! -Kirby Sommers

Colin Oakes said... What I alluded to ...isn’t conspiracy crap — it’s a perfectly legitimate issue. The Red Cross’ relationship with its offshore captive insurance company (Boardman Indemnity, Ltd.) was first broached in a public letter issued by Sen. Grassley when he was chair of the Senate Finance Committee

(see www.senate.gov/~finance/press/Gpress/2005/prg122905.pdf
See also
www.finance.senate.gov/press/Gpress/2005/peg022706.pdf )

The Red Cross responded in its own public letter (see www.senate.gov/~finance/sitepages/breakdown/ARC%20to%20CEG.pdf).

In that letter, the Red Cross revealed that “the Red Cross has benefited from the formation of its captive insurance company in numerous ways” (p. 19). Among other things, “it has been able to return money in the form of dividends … [and] these monies (close to $60 million since 1997) have gone back to Red Cross chapters and blood regions” (ibid.).

Here’s where things get interesting.Tax-exemption, of course, is not a license for an organization to make money in whatever way it wants and never pay income tax upon that money. The IRS has created the classification of ‘unrelated trade or business income’ to cover income that is not substantially related to an exempt organization’s mission, upon which that organization is obligated to pay ‘unrelated business income tax’ (UBIT). In its Publication 598 the IRS spells out that “An exempt organization is not taxed on its income from an activity that is substantially related to the charitable, educational, or other purpose that is the basis for the organization’s exemption. Such income is exempt even if the activity is a trade or business.

“However, if an exempt organization regularly carries on a trade or business that is not substantially related to its exempt purpose, except that it provides funds to carry out that purpose, the organization is subject to tax on its income from that unrelated trade or business.” [Tax on Unrelated Business Income of Exempt Organizations, pp. 1-2] But, of course, to every rule there are exceptions. The IRS excludes from the definition of unrelated business income “dividends, interest, annuities and other investment income” (ibid. p.8).

So, prima facie, it might seem that the interest and dividend income the Red Cross has earned from Boardman (‘$60 million since 1997’) is excluded from the definition of unrelated business income.

However, even this exception has an exception: the IRS spells out an“Exception for insurance activity income of controlled foreign corporations. This exclusion does not apply to income from certain insurance activities of an exempt organization’s controlled foreign corporation. The income is not excluded dividend income, but instead is unrelated business taxable income to the extent it would be so treated if the organization had earned it directly.” [ibid. p.8]

So, the IRS has, in effect, specifically singled out for taxation dividend income earned from the stock in an offshore captive insurance company, i.e., the very sort of company that Boardman Indemnity, Ltd., constitutes. In other words, the dividend and interest income that the ARC has earned from Boardman (‘$60 million since 1997’) constitutes unrelated business income, upon which the ARC is obligated to pay unrelated business income tax.

But the Red Cross has never even reported the income it earns from Boardman as unrelated business income, let alone paid UBIT upon it. The Red Cross makes available to the public its most recent Form 990t on its website to disclose the UBIT it pays on its unrelated business income. And nowhere, neither on its Form 990 (from any year past) nor Form 990t, does the ARC ever explicitly identify or disclose the revenue or income it earns from Boardman in any way, shape, or form. And all this in spite of the fact that the ARC has publicly stated Boardman ‘has been able to return money in the form of dividends’ to the tune of ‘$60 million since 1997.’

So it sure looks like the Red Cross owes UBIT on the income it’s earned from its offshore captive insurance company, and it sure looks like they haven’t paid it.But, hey, maybe there’s a simple explanation for all of this. Maybe the Red Cross received a private-letter-ruling from the IRS absolving them of any UBIT on the income it’s earned off Boardman. Or maybe there’s an obscure rule in the tax code that absolves them.The point is, no one’s going to know any of that unless someone ASKS the Red Cross the relevant questions. And isn’t it supposed to be Trent Stamp (or someone from another charity watchdog) that should do the asking? Isn’t that what charity watchdogs are supposed to do? colinpoakes@hotmail.com

11:06 AM
Anonymous said...

Great article, but did you possibly know this?

The Red Cross has become involved in the field of Genetics, & Human Genetics had its outgrowth from 'Eugenics', and in the 10th Chapter of 'D.N.A.'- Pirates of the Sacred Spiral (by Dr. Leonard Horowitz) he points out a very sinister plan that is no different' from Nazi Eugenic objectives, as relates to modern genetic science, and how the Human Genome Project has its science literally stolen by interests that had an agenda that the general public would find to be most disturbing.

In fact, The American Red Cross also operates a Genetics Laboratory in the Philadelphia Region. What is more disconcerting, is that 'all is legal', and even if the Public were to know, they cannot grasp the full meaning of either the Genetics Research, or that Blood Services/Bio-Medical Services, is making money hand over foot.

Even more so, they sell to Baxter International & other Pharmaceutical Companies blood that is 'expired for transfusion,' but still with 'efficacy' to be used in both Research, and eventually utilized for the making of Pharmaceuticals.

Part two of the equation is with regard to 'Genetically Targeted' Pharmaceuticals, but that is only the lighter side of things. The science has become so 'specific', that 'precise populations of people' can now be targeted not just for medications, but also for 'Elimination'.

I have no idea what the Red Cross is researching, but then strong questions beckon for obvious reasons.

New Orleans City Hall Protest - December 20, 2007 - Video 3

Is this Democracy in America? Public housing meeting CLOSED to the public!

Stop Red Cross Murders, from Aids to Katrina! by Kirby Sommers

STOP THE RED CROSS MURDERS! From AIDS to Katrina Deaths, by Kirby Sommers

As the Red Cross tries to sail through their recent sex scandal with newly appointed CEO Mark Everson for having an affair with Paige Roberts (Southeast Mississippi Red Cross chapter), so too, does the ARC continue to ignore its mass murder of Katrina survivors.

By its mishandling, embezzlement and careless handling of donor dollars, people continue to die.

One would think Red Cross would have opened their findings to the public to assure donors and shunned Katrina survivors they have nothing to hide. But, this was not the case. Quietly the Red Cross cleared Everson and quickly they closed their doors. All within a matter of days to boot.

Without transparency, without accountability, without showing us any documents to support their blood-splattered word, the Red Cross is lying to us all, once again.

I say to the American Red Cross and its worldwide affiliates OPEN YOUR BOOKS and SHOW US THE TRUTH!!

Mark Everson wasn't outed for having an affair -- ARC's board knew about his illicit sexual history as Commissioner of the Interal Revenue Service (IRS). The board knew about his bad boy behavior and lack of moral restraint when it came to money and sex. That Everson completely squandered IRS dollars, belittled subordinates, bedded and promoted his sexual partners was known to all. Hey, even I knew it! And if I knew this and his co-workers knew this, then the Red Cross's Board of Directors knew it too.

So, why the duplicitous handling of his latest tryst with Paige Roberts?

The deeper one delves into the Red Cross and its mishaps, the clearer it becomes that Everson's firing wasn't a moral response by the ARC, but rather a smokescreen for a larger grievance. One the American public and the world must continue to probe until Red Cross comes clean.

We must stand together and DEMAND THE RED CROSS BE INVESTIGATED FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND FOR EMBEZZLEMENT OF KATRINA DONATED DOLLARS!

We must stand together and DEMAND NO MORE LOSS OF LIFE!

We must stand together and DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY AT LAST!

I thought the following post from written in '05 would be of interest to all. It's time the world hears about the real Red Cross: RED CROSS MURDERS


Posted: June 3, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern

This week the Canadian Red Cross issued a weak apology for killing more than 3,000 people with tainted blood.

The organization was fined $4,000 for distributing the plasma tainted with the AIDS virus and hepatitis C.

That an organization as prominent as the Red Cross could get away with mass murder is bad enough, but the international press never bothered to scratch beneath the surface of the story. No one bothered to ask the simple question: From where did this tainted blood originate?
There's a reason for that.

Even a cursory probe would lead directly to a former president of the United States – Bill Clinton.

As only WorldNetDaily reported, Bill Clinton was at the center of a scandal in Arkansas in the 1980s involving the sale of contaminated blood to Canada – blood that would be distributed by the Red Cross.

As governor of Arkansas, Clinton awarded a contract to Health Management Associates to provide care to the state's prisoners. The president of the company was a long-time friend and political ally of Clinton and was later appointed by him to the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission. Later, he was among the senior members of Clinton's 1990 gubernatorial re-election team.

Health Management Associates struck a deal with the state, signed by Clinton, to collect and sell blood from Arkansas prisoners. Because of the exploding AIDS crisis, U.S. regulations did not permit the prisoner blood to be sold legally within the United States. But HMA found a willing buyer in Canada – Connaught, a Toronto blood fractionator, which didn't know the source of the supplies. The blood was also sold to other countries.

Sales continued until 1983, when HMA revealed that some of the blood might be contaminated with AIDS and hepatitis.

Whistleblower Michael Galster, who conducted orthopedic clinics in the Arkansas prison system during the period blood was collected, charged HMA officials knew the blood was tainted as they sold it to Canada and a half-dozen other countries.

His thanks was an arson attack on his clinic.

Here is perhaps the least well-known Clinton scandal.

As governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton knowingly oversaw the illicit sale of state prison blood to hemophiliacs and others – spreading AIDS and other deadly diseases to thousands in the 1980s.
Galster says Clinton organized a payoff plan to various officials, including a judge, to make sure the blood sales continued. He claims millions were made from the conspiracy because between 5,000 and 8,000 units of blood were shipped every week from one prison alone. He even witnessed inmates drawing blood from each other with dirty needles.

While the Canadian Red Cross apologized for the death of 3,000 from the distribution this bad blood, no one really knows how many have died. They stopped counting Canadian deaths in the blood scandal in 1997. And, of course, no one – not the United Nations, nor the United States – has bothered to chronicle the death toll in the other countries that received the tainted blood from Bill Clinton's death factories in Arkansas.

I don't know about you, but I think there should be indictments over this crime. If ever there was a reason for an international human-rights tribunal to be invoked for trial and punishment of those responsible for a massive human-rights violation, this would seem to be the appropriate case.

Think about it – public officials making deals with private companies to permit them to collect tainted blood and sell it overseas. This was about trading the lives of unknown foreigners for profit and political expediency. Simple as that.

Canadians should not accept a simple apology from the Canadian Red Cross. They should demand real justice be extracted from those responsible for this crime in the United States – beginning with Bill Clinton.

Is This Democracy? Police Batter Protestors in New Orleans / Katrina / Housing

Here's a story written by one of the reporters I know in New Orleans. A lot of people got hurt and the vote was in favor of demolishing the 4 buildings. -Kirby Sommers

Police, Protesters Clash in New Orleans
By CAIN BURDEAU,
APPosted: 2007-12-20 19:21:45
NEW ORLEANS (Dec. 20) -

Despite occasionally violent protests outside, the City Council voted Thursday in favor of demolishing some 4,500 public housing units, a milestone in the city's effort to balance its heritage and its hurricane rebuilding efforts.

The unanimous vote to permit the federal government to tear down four public housing developments — a critical moment in a protracted fight between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and residents, activists and preservationists — followed hours of debate and periodic clashes in the street.

Police used chemical spray and stun guns as dozens of protesters tried to force their way into the packed City Council chamber. One woman was sprayed and dragged from the gates. Emergency workers took her away on a stretcher.

Another woman said she was stunned by officers, and still had what appeared to be a Taser wire hanging from her shirt.

"I was just standing, trying to get into my City Council meeting," said the dazed woman, Kim Ellis, who was taken away in an ambulance.

"Is this what democracy looks like?" Bill Quigley, a Loyola University law professor who opposes demolition, said as he held a strand of Taser wire he said had been shot into another of the protesters.

Quigley said he believed the crackdown violated public meetings laws.Protesters said they pushed against the iron gates that kept them out of the building because the Housing Authority of New Orleans had disproportionately allowed supporters of the demolition to pack the chambers.

After roughly 30 minutes of on-again-off-again struggle to get into the meeting, protesters fell back, continuously chanting with bullhorns. An afternoon storm thinned the demonstrators, some of whom had been waiting since 7 a.m. to enter, and the crowd disappeared altogether shortly after the afternoon vote.

At the peak of the confusion, some 70 protesters were facing about a dozen mounted police and 40 more law enforcement officers on foot.

Details on arrests were not immediately available.

The meeting itself was mostly peaceful, although an early fight in the chambers between protesters and police caused a brief interruption.

Some public housing residents repeated during the daylong debate that they welcome the plan to replace the decades-old structures with mixed-income housing.

Other residents and their advocates said they fear the plan will result in loss of badly needing housing for the city's low-income black residents.

The vote crossed racial lines, with the three black council members joining four whites.
HUD says about 3,000 families who once lived in New Orleans public housing remain scattered across the country, and social workers say the number of homeless people in the area has doubled to about 12,000.

There is no consensus on what's best for New Orleans' poor, even among public housing residents. Redevelopment would diminish the public housing stock and drive many into less stable voucher programs. Repair of brick and barracks-style projects badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina would keep intact poor but close-knit neighborhoods.

Mayor Ray Nagin said the resolution approved by the council includes language that will assure that public housing residents have a voice in the redevelopment plans.

Opponents were not immediately available for comment on the decision.

Thursday's vote was required before demolition work could begin, but several legal challenges to the plan have not been resolved.

New Orleans Update on Demolition: STOP Ethnic Cleansing of the Lower 9th Ward

Live Updates on Demolition Vote from Council Chambers

by By Gwen Filosa, The Times-Picayune

Wednesday December 19, 2007, 6:07 PM

1:30 p.m.

Opposition to demolition gets turn to speak

Minutes after opponents to the demolition begin speaking, Council Members Jackie Clarkson and Stacy Head converse behind the council's bench, drawing shouts of protest from the crowd. Fielkow asks everyone on the panel to pay attention.

Walter Gallas, the director of the New Orleans Field Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, says the city's recovery should not be "planning by demolition."

Mary Joseph, the Louisiana director of the Children's Defense Fund, says the city lacks a true housing plan to return its families who remain locked out of New Orleans.

"It's about everybody having a place to stay," says Joseph, who lost her shoe during the fracas that led to several protesters being forcibly removed from the council chambers earlier. "What we had in here this morning is inability of us to listen to all of the information. I'm not here to fight. Shame on us, that it's playing out across America today that we can't get in a room and talk about something in a civil way. Our folks are trapped in Houston...Right to return truly ain't funded."

Pamela Mahogany, a former resident at St. Bernard, says that demolition is coming too quickly.
"I have worked all of my life," she says. "I will always be an activist for public housing. We in public housing should make the decision of what's going to happen in public housing."
Mahogany says that building prettier buildings won't fix the city's social ills.

"I lived in it all my life," says Mahogany, adding that she has heard the bullets fly over the St. Bernard as a resident. "I have no trust in the federal government, I have no trust in the city council and I have no trust in HUD."

1:13 p.m.Jefferson calls for moratorium on demolition, criticizes HANO

After two hours, the council is ready to begin listening to any "opposition," which begins with a statement from U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, who isn't present. Arnie Fielkow says the council has 90 minutes reserved for the flip side of the public comment portion of the meeting, which began at 11 a.m.

A spokesman for Jefferson, D-New Orleans reads a statement on behalf of the Congressman. Jefferson says HANO and HUD are moving too soon and are not taking care of the poor families who have called the complexes home.

It's "cruel" to do this at Christmastime, Jefferson's statement says, asking for a 60-day moratorium on demolition in New Orleans.

"Some have forgotten that the units in question are not units in a building but homes of real people," Jefferson says, via his spokesman.

Before Jefferson's statement, the final word on the pro-demolition and rebuilding of public housing asked the council to make the tough decision of approving HANO's plans.

"Leaders have to be leaders," says Byron Williams, a 41-year-old coach raised in New Orleans now in Atlanta who supports the rebuilding of public housing. He has seen it for himself in Atlanta, he says.

"Today the council is going to stand up and lead. I moved to Atlanta," Williams says. "I love St. Bernard, but at some point and time we've got to move forward. I'm from single parent family....We're moving forward...I'm for demolition. If you lead, I'm going to follow."

12:53 p.m.: Supporters of HANO redevelopment speak out

Jocquelyn Marshall, president of the C.J Peete residents' council, says that her complex wasn't fit for families before Hurricane Katrina struck.

"I can understand where the anger has come from," she says. "But we must begin to heal. It's time to rebuild the city of New Orleans. Residents want to come home."

Marshall says that residents came to her before Katrina with complaints of mice and plumbing failures.

"No one deserves to live in these conditions," Marshall tells the council. "It's inhumane. I am for demolition. We are -- as resident leaders of C.J. Peete."
Louisiana Housing Finance Agency Chairman Wayne Woods tells the council that its decision today will show the nation that New Orleans is willing to move forward.

"We cannot go back," said Woods. "Katrina has come in and washed it away. We've got to move forward."

Woods adds that he and his wife both had their cars recently stolen from their driveway outside their post-Katrina home Uptown as he tries to rebuild his original home.

"I am fighting to stay in this city," Woods says.

"Housing? It's not a black issue, it's not a white issue," says Woods. "It's a human rights issue. Let's stand together."

The council continues to listen to comments on the four presentations offered by the developers of each complex.

"What person would want a person to be dependent on the government for the rest of their lives?" Council Member James Carter asks, adding that he wants to see home ownership programs in place as HANO redevelops its properties.

12:31 p.m.: Demolition proponents not "sell-outs," public housing resident says

Developers continue presenting ambitious plans to replace the four developments with entirely new neighborhoods, including schools and community centers.

Donna Johnigan, a resident leader at B.W. Cooper, delivers a resounding reply to the protesters who earlier called anyone in line with HANO's redevelopment "sell-outs."

"I take it personally," said Johnigan. "Sell out? Because we want better homes, better schools?"
"If you don't rebuild then the rest of the city and the neighborhood behind you will not rebuild," Johnigan says. "They will not bring in new schools....Where were all these advocates and people who support us now when years ago we asked them to support (public housing families). Where were these people when we needed HUD to put money in so that we wouldn't be here today."
"It's about us walking into a house and saying, this is a house, it ain't a project," Johnigan said, drawing cheers and applause.

12:15 p.m.: Developers for C.J. Peete and Lafitte outline plans

The council has heard from developers behind the transformation of C.J. Peete and Lafitte.
Emelda Paul, president of Lafitte resident council, speaks on behalf of the redevelopment planned by nonprofit developers Providence and Enterprise. They plan to build 1,500 units of housing, including 900 units of public housing to replace what HANO will tear down. Providence/Enterprise are the only developers promising "one-for-one" replacement.

"I liked what I saw in Lafitte years ago, but now is a time for change," says Paul, a 30-year resident of the Lafitte who now lives at the Fischer Senior Village in Algiers.

"What I'm saying, I don't want to see our people come back to the same thing," she says. "I want to see something new. We have to make way for our young people and we need to pass on the baton, not a patched up baton."

Paul says future generations deserve something new.
"Put yourself in our place," she says to the council members. "Would you want to go back there and stay? Thank you."

11:43 a.m.: HANO: "Not one pre-disaster public housing family has gone homeless"
If the council denies demolition of the "Big Four" complexes, the total loss of investment will be $609 million, HANO officials tell council members.

HANO administrators offer a presentation, complete with overhead projections. The room is dark and quiet, as HANO chiefs makes their pitch, saying they have returned 1,746 of its 5,100 families to traditional public housing as of this month. Their plan calls for giving families who had lived in the four complexes slated for demolition government vouchers to pay their rents, HANO says.

"HUD has given us 2,987 tenant protection vouchers that will be issued to every family who occupied the 'Big Four' to ensure those families can return to the city," says Dwayne Muhammad, a HANO administrator who runs the voucher program.

"As a result of these initiatives, not one pre-disaster public housing family has gone homeless," says Muhammad.

Muhammad says that HANO will have 3,000 units open by early 2008. Right now, he says, HANO has 162 units that are "key ready," and in move-in condition, along with 132 units that will become available within 30 days.

"Our redevelopment efforts will assist in the city's recovery," says Judith Moran of HANO, promising that the "Big Four" redevelopments will create 85 permanent jobs and 3,364 temporary construction jobs.

The labor costs will be more than $290 million, says Moran. HANO estimates that total redevelopment costs will top $726 million.

11:30 a.m.: Police taser two protesters, spray mace into the crowd

A group of demonstrators forced their way through an eight-foot tall black iron gate blocking the corridor between the City Council chamber and the civil court building next door, prompting police to taser two people, spray pepper mace into the crowd, and arrest at least one man, witnesses said.

About a dozen police officers on foot, and at least seven on horseback, guarded the area. They had secured the iron gate with handcuffs, which the protesters broke while rattling the barrier. About 100 demonstrators gathered outside the chambers after being turned away because the building had no more room. They shouted, "Stop the demolition now!"

Police seemed to have braced for the worst, blocking off several streets surrounding City Hall and parking a SWAT team box truck, loaded with officers in full riot gear, at the corner of LaSalle and Perdido streets.

11:14 a.m.: Protesters outside City Hall rattle police barricades

About one hundred people have gathered outside City Hall, rattling the metal police barricades. Police Superintendent Warren Riley enters the chamber to consult with several officers before leaving.

The council has begun the meeting. Each of the seven council members is present.
Fielkow says that the council will first take up an appeal filed by the Housing Authority of New Orleans, which was denied demolition of the Lafitte development last week by the housing conservation committee.

HANO administrators approach the table to present their appeal over Lafitte.

11 a.m.: Meeting begins after several people ousted from chambers

The council finally opens the meeting, with the customary pledge to allegiance and the playing of the national anthem. At this time, several people have been removed by police, including rapper Sess 4-5, who when asked for his real name by a reporter, replies, "F---- off."

The chamber is filled and quiet, after the fracas that broke out in the center of the chamber near the podium.

10:54 a.m.: Protesters scream as they are forcibly ejected

Protester Krystal Glover is carried out of the chamber by a group of police and deputies. She screams repeatedly. "I'm not a slave!" she shouts. A second woman is also forcibly removed, as Fielkow calls the meeting to order, one hour late.

"Next time you'll be asked to leave," an officer tells the remaining crowd. "Plain and simple."
The Rev. James Smith gives the invocation: "May we never be lazy in our work for peace. May we honor those who have died in defense of our ideals....Help all of us to appreciate one another."
10:50 a.m.: Fights break out, police struggle to maintain order

A struggle breaks out in council chambers. Police officers race to break it up. At least three people are ejected, as shouting fills the chamber. A woman slaps at a cameraman's lens, drawing his ire.

"Security, security," Council President Arnie Fielkow says into the microphone. "If you do not obey the rules, you must leave."

Krystal Glover shouts out, "I'm not going nowhere."

10:42 a.m.: Protesters boo council members

Several protesters greet the council members with boos and slurs. Krystal Glover calls Council Member Stacy Head a racist. Head responds by blowing a kiss and waving to her.

Glover keeps shouting. "Stacy Head, she's the real devil in charge!"

Jay Arena shouts, "Jackie Clarkson, you're a sell-out."

10:37 a.m.: Council finally enters to howls from audience

Council members begin entering the chamber.

"Bring your coward selves out here!" Krystal Glover shouts. "Let the people in here. We've got plenty of seats in here."

Glover, who says she is with the New Black Panther Party, calls out to the council members: "You no good sell outs. I bet your house is still standing!"

10:30 a.m.:Lawyer criticizes council for limiting audience

City Hall officials stick by their earlier statement that they are limiting the crowd to 278 for safety reasons. Council members still haven't entered the room. The meeting was set for 10 a.m.
Attorney Tracie Washington accused officials of changing the rules for the public housing crowd.

"That's retarded," Washington says to Peggy Lewis, clerk of council. "You have to let these people in. You've got 800,000 police here. Ain't nobody going to do anything in here."

10:22 a.m.: Both sides wait for meeting to start, words exchanged

"I'm for the demolition and rebuilding," says John Ales, 42, a cook who lives in Mid-City. He is the man seated behind Sharon Sears Jasper, who minutes earlier had called him a "racist white man."

Meanwhile, the council members have yet to enter the chamber. A man is shouting in front of a bevy of video cameras about the homeless problem and how he is from public housing. "All of us are getting screwed," he shouts.

10:15 a.m.: Audience told they must take a seat, tempers flare

The meeting hasn't started yet. Council members haven't entered the chamber.
Civil sheriff's deputies continue to try and keep order, telling the people inside that they may not stand during the meeting and that everyone must have a seat. Tempers flare in one section of the chamber.

"You're a racist white man," Sharon Sears Jasper, a former St. Bernard complex resident shouts at a man seated behind her.

"Ma'am, the color of my skin isn't the issue," the man replies.

"Stop the demolition! Stop the demolition!" several people start chanting.

10:05 a.m.: Less than 300 allowed in chamber

City Hall closes off the entrance, with civil deputies saying the seating capacity is only 278 inside the council chamber.

A few people angrily protest. "They're changing the rules!" Jay Arena shouts out, drawing a deputy to order him to sit down. A few others rise to protest. "I"m tired of being walked on," a woman with an infant says.

"I'm not a slave," another woman says. "How you going to tell me to sit down."

9:50 a.m.: Some offended by security measures

The council chambers remains relatively quiet, as dozens of people are lined up outside to go through security. Backpacks aren't allowed, officers tell visitors. Protest signs are, but not any sticks they may be affixed to.

Some activists are offended by the security measures.

"They know when they're about to do something evil, they've got to protect themselves from the citizenry," said Endesha Jukali, an activist opposed to demolition.

9:15 a.m.: Security tight, attendees must go through metal detectors

City Hall officials have posted police officers and a metal detector at the entrance to the council chambers, in anticipation of crowds protesting the demolition of public housing.

But the council chamber is only about one-third full and the scene is fairly quiet, as the newest council member, Jackie Clarkson, is sworn-in. The meeting will start at 10 a.m.

New Orleans police are guarding the entrance, having put up barricades herding all visitors into one line. Bags are being searched and each visitor had to make it through a metal detector before being allowed entrance.

The Housing Authority of New Orleans is asking the council today to approve demolition permits for the city's four largest public housing developments: St. Bernard, C.J. Peete, Lafitte, and B.W. Cooper. HANO wants to demolish 4,500 units of housing to make room for mixed-income neighborhoods.

The council's first order of business is the HANO demolition requests.

Letter to President Bush: Stop the Demolition of Public Housing in New Orleans!

Am sharing a letter sent to President George Bush by Nancy Pelosi and Henry Reid, who support STOPPING THE DEMOLITION of public housing in New Orleans. The four buildings slated to be demolished will put a nail in the coffin for many former residents who will not be able to return to their homes. The Big Easy has changed to BIG MONEY since Katrina.

.

The displaced people of New Orleans deserve the right to return. No one should be left out in the cold. But that is exactly what has happened since August 29, 2005 -- Katrina survivors have been pushed to the side as speculators and other well disguised vultures continue to slaughter the poor and disenfranchised.

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Kirby Sommers

.

***

December 14, 2007

The Honorable George W. Bush
President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing to request an immediate 60-day moratorium on the demolition of New Orleans' public housing developments: C.J. Peete, St. Bernard, Lafitte, and B.W. Cooper. The Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO), currently under the control of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is demolishing these homes under executive authority. Although a temporary restraining order has delayed the demolition of these units to next week or possibly longer, we believe that additional time is needed in order to resolve several outstanding issues surrounding the City's affordable housing needs, including the need for a comprehensive plan for replacement of any demolished public housing units.

We believe that New Orleans' recovery requires a viable plan for its affordable housing needs. We are committed to working with you and the Department to execute such a plan for replacing affordable housing currently scheduled for demolition. The entire New Orleans metropolitan region is in dire need of the kind of affordable housing that will allow citizens to return and grow the workforce. The Department's premature push for complete demolition impedes this goal. Given the poor condition of New Orleans' rental housing stock, the rising levels of homelessness in the City, and the sound construction of some of these developments, these housing resources should not be demolished without a viable full replacement plan in place.

As you know, the area is still recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Federal levee breaks, which destroyed 67 percent of the housing stock in Orleans Parish and almost 100 percent in neighboring St. Bernard Parish. Much of this housing has yet to be rebuilt. The shortage of housing has pushed rents in the City, and surrounding metropolitan area, well above their normal levels, with rents rising 45 percent since the storm.

The lack of available and affordable housing is being felt acutely across the City and region. According to a January 2007 study by UNITY of New Orleans, since January of 2005, the number of homeless in the City has more than doubled to almost 12,000 individuals. Many of these homeless residents are living under Interstate 10 or in Duncan Plaza, next to New Orleans City Hall. Experts at the Brookings Institution cite a net 9,000 unit decrease in affordable housing for the City of New Orleans. According to an August study by the Louisiana Family Recovery Corps, 50 percent of families wanting to return to the City earn less than $20,000 a year. It is clear that affordable housing, including public housing, is essential for these families.

Given the City's housing needs and the current availability of these affordable housing resources, we are extremely disappointed by the Department's insistence on moving ahead with this demolition despite insufficient resources to make up the clear loss of affordable housing. For the Federal government to reduce affordable housing units at a time when the City is desperate for this very type of housing is a misuse of taxpayer funds and runs counter to the mission of the Department, not to mention the core values that we share. Additionally, HANO has not completed a promised survey of displaced residents and has indicated that this important document now will not be ready until late January at the earliest. HANO has also not provided meaningful opportunity for residents to collect their belongings. The additional sixty days would allow for the resolution of these and other essential issues, including the completion of a comprehensive plan for HANO redevelopment of all affordable units, and replacement of any units proposed for demolition.

As many in the country prepare to spend the holiday season at home with their families, we urge you to consider these New Orleans families and their homes. We strongly urge you to halt the demolition of these units.

Sincerely,

Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House

Harry Reid
Senate Majority Leader

Red Cross raised $2.4 Billion for Katrina: Where is the Money?

I just stumbled across the following piece written last year on Chron.com where Paige Roberts (married, pregnant lover of ousted CEO Mark Everson) and head of the Southeast Mississippi Red Cross chapter told the reporter that the remainder of the $2.4 billion raised for Hurricane Katrina by the Red Cross was going to be used for mental health for every survivor.

What a piece of xxxx! THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE.

But, who are we to expect the Red Cross to begin telling the truth, or begin behaving like a public charity?

The Red Cross did no outreach to survivors to tell them about this or any other "help" program. This particular program, btw is called Access to Care (a2care.org). The name doesn't appear in this piece and it doesn't surprise me.

Quite the contrary, whenever evacuees call, email or walk into Red Cross offices seeking help, they are told "THERE IS NO MONEY." I know this first hand, as I have called on behalf of tons of people and have been told the same thing. Most of the local Red Cross offices will deny knowledge of programs "created" by ARC to "help" evacuees.

This can't just be stupidity. It is intentional. Duh...if survivors/evacuees don't know about this money, why tell all the chapters across the country about these "help" programs. The programs are there, maybe. But GETTING TO THEM IS THE PROBLEM.

What happens to this money that isn't tapped into by survivors? It goes in one of two places: It is either stolen by volunteers and employees of the Red Cross (notorious stuff here -- for decades); or it stays in the coffers of the Red Cross. The latter being the preferred choice for the Red Cross.

Keep in mind that whenever the Red Cross speaks to the press about GIVING MONEY AWAY, they're lying.

*******
Red Cross turns focus to mental health care
Oct. 26, 2006, 8:11PM
By NATALIE CHAMBERS

PASCAGOULA, MISS. — The American Red Cross is using the last of $2.4 billion it received in Hurricane Katrina donations to provide free mental health services to victims scattered across the United States.

"I think it will be extremely beneficial to our community. It shows great wisdom to acknowledge emotional care needs that are not only still here but (will) continue to be here," said Paige Roberts, executive director of the Southeast Mississippi Chapter of the American Red Cross.

The Red Cross will provide up to $1,000 of mental health care per person, said Roberts.
Professor Ron Kessler of Harvard Medical School, principal investigator for an August 2006 study titled Mental Illness and Suicidality After Hurricane Katrina, said cases of mental illness doubled after the disaster.

"The Red Cross benefit removes a barrier that might otherwise block the ability to receive needed mental health services," Kessler said.

Qualified individuals also can receive reimbursement for emotional care already received, Roberts said.

If the client cannot be assisted locally, Roberts takes the case to the national Red Cross office for assistance.

Red Cross and Katrina: Exposed, by Kirby Sommers

Red Cross and Katrina: Exposed BUY THIS BOOK NOW!

A Compilation of articles and documents in support of a Red Cross Investigation of Missing Katrina donations, by Kirby Sommers

I have been taken aback by the enormous amount of information that has been presented to me by Red Cross volunteers, employees and former employees about unknown misappropriation use of donor dollars. So much so, that I am now offering this information in my new book.

"Red Cross and Katrina: Exposed" is a must read for all. A compilation of my letters, articles, documents, and "insider" emails showing The Red Cross as the Enron of the nonprofit sector!

Only in "RED CROSS AND KATRINA: EXPOSED" you'll find:

• Letters to Mark Everson regarding misappropriation of Katrina donations
• Letters to Senator Charles Grassley requesting an investigation of for missappropriated and missing Katrina donationsThe American Red Cross
• Correspondence sent to me by former and present Red Cross volunteers and employees showing misspent donor dollars
• Means to Recovery documents showing how the Red Cross tried to cover-up this secret Hurricane Relief Program which led to my contacting The New York Times asking them to look into this
• The Red Cross sex scandal between CEO Mark Everson and Paige Roberts, CEO Southeast Mississippi Red Cross chapter: inside documents and articles
• Decide for yourself if the firing of Mark Everson over this scandalous affair is really a cover-up for an even larger scandal
• And so much more!
  

Don't wait another second, buy this book NOW!

1 copy "Red Cross and Katrina: Exposed," with shipping and handling included only $15.00

Order 12 copies or more of "Red Cross and Katrina: Exposed," and pay only $12.00 each – (a $3.00 discount per copy!)

To purchase one or more copies, send your checks or money orders to:

Kirby Sommers
P.O. Box 237073
New York, NY 10023

Paige Roberts email update about Red Cross Means To Recovery funds

This email from Paige Roberts was sent yesterday to members of other nonprofits involved with Hurricane Recovery -Kirby

Monday, December 11, 2007
Subject: Red Cross Update

Seeing Michelle’s report reminded me I’ve been meaning to provide you all with an update on our Hurricane Recovery Program. So here it is.

American Red Cross has shrunk its program to include only eight chapters: three in MS (Hattiesburg, Biloxi and us, which cover 14 South MS counties) and five in LA.

The Means to Recovery packet is still open to all case managers whose agencies utilize CAN (coordinated assistance network). A team of people from NHQ are visiting with me this week to go over the draft of a new and improved packet, which should mean shorter and simpler.

.
NHQ expects our recovery money to run out around June, but our case managers won’t leave until October 17, 2008.

Our chapter is in the process of hiring seven additional case workers for a total of ten plus two supervisors, one or two of the caseworkers will be assigned to George County.

Because the amount of Red Cross recovery money is finite and because we are essentially competing with the other seven chapters’ jurisdictions for the money, NHQ has decided we can omit the LTRC step that requires case managers to vote on the cases and send them to the Unmet Needs Roundtable.

.

Instead, we are inviting any CAN case worker whose client needs less than $20,000 to fill out the packet and bring it to our office for a signature any day without delay. It can go to our national reviewers right away after that.

.

We will still participate in cases that require more than 20 grand, but the other funders may dictate their own process which may include UNR. Our goal is to get as many MTR packets signed and sent for approval as we can over the next six months.

Please note that all case approvals and funding decisions are made by national Red Cross teams of reviewers located throughout the country. All funding consists of national Red Cross dollars. Only case management and packet completion is checked at the local level. Let me know if you have any questions.

-Paige (Roberts)

Red Cross in Red Hot Seat Again: 100 Woes, by Kirby Sommers

(photo Paige Roberts walking past her damaged home)

Program Allegedly Misappropriated Katrina funds

A Red Cross program, 100 Homes in 100 Days, formed to address the biggest issue remaining in Katrina recovery: affordable housing for families impacted by Hurricane Katrina in Pascagoula, Mississippi is being accused of alleged mismanagement of funds, poor oversight, and defrauding dozens of unsuspecting families.

A Red Cross Press Release dated March 26, 2007 states:

“Five organizations lead a coalition effort to renovate and rebuild 100 homes in 100 calendar days. The American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Mississippi Home Again, Hope Has a Face Foundation and Jackson County Community Services Coalition have created a project process that focuses on rebuilding entire neighborhoods in a compressed timeframe.”

“I believe there’s collusion on the part of Mark Everson and Paige Roberts on the 100/100 program,” one recovery specialist, who wishes to remain anonymous, told me during a recent interview.

You read it right: that would be the same Mark Everson who just got canned from the Red Cross and the same Paige Roberts who was named as Everson’s married mistress -- CEO of the Southeast Mississippi Red Cross chapter.

The recovery specialist added, “Working with the Long Term Recovery Committee we have roundtable meetings and everyone has oversight. Except for Paige, she told us she had been given a waiver from the national office, so all they did was ask for money with just the person’s name, no receipts, no paperwork, and got as much as $30,000.00 for each home.”

According to an article in the Mississippi Press dated July 5, 2007, the project ended on the 4th of July with only 65 homes completed.

Jim Yancey of the Jackson County Community Services Coalition is quoted in the article as saying “We will finish all 100 homes.”

Here’s where we can start dissecting this. First, it is not 100 homes, the real number of homes in the project is 99. At some point someone decided 100 was better for generating publicity and it became known as the 100 Homes 100 Days Project.

100/100, as it is referred to within the agencies, was funded through the Red Cross’s Means to Recovery program (another heavily criticized Red Cross Katrina help project) allotting a cap of $20,000 to be used per home. The Salvation Army added another $10,000.

Roberts has allegedly tapped into all funding available for every home in the project. But none of the families in homes either demolished or yet to be completed know their portion of the money has been used up.

“Where is the money?” A second recovery specialist, also wishing to remain anonymous, asked with concern. “If you request funding once, you can’t go back and ask for more funding. You have to follow the proper channels and that wasn’t done. The Red Cross broke its own rules. All of us have to follow Red Cross’s rules. But not Paige.”

And there's more. None of the families were given a case worker, although each one was assigned one with Red Cross. Then there’s the issue of extra money Roberts is reported to have requested and received from national headquarters in Washington, D.C. to hire more case workers.

“You can’t draw $30,000 for someone’s home and put $5,000 of it in that home and then use the other $25,000 somewhere else. The Red Cross did that in every case that I can think of!” A former relief group director, who also wishes to remain anonymous exclaimed. “I have relatives that have a home in that area and I haven’t disclosed this to them because I don’t know what to do after that. There was no accountability, no oversight.”

Every person I spoke with said they contacted ARC's national headquarters about the problem but their pleas for help went unanswered.

Another well known nonprofit, which I won't mention here, has spoken with some of the local groups about finishing the project. The problem is all parties are concerned they won’t be able to do this without exposing misappropriated donor dollars on the part of Paige Roberts and the Red Cross.

Wait a minute: where's the concern for the well being of survivors? In my opinion, they come first. That's who the money was intended for. But, by now, it's pretty clear Red Cross has lost sight of their mission in the Hurricane Recovery Program.

Accountability and disrespect for donor dollars is at the heart of the matter. The Red Cross, despite its countless debacles and cries from the public for transparency, continues to operate with virtually no oversight.

On December 7th just days after firing Mark Everson the American Red Cross quietly stated they found no financial wrongdoing on the part of their ousted Chief Executive Officer.

According to Carrie Martin, a Red Cross spokeswoman, the review of Mr. Everson’s spending focused on travel costs and expenses reports. It was conducted in-house by the charity’s office of investigations, compliance and ethics, under the direction of the general counsel.

A forensic audit was supposed to have taken place. These types of audits aren’t usually concluded as quickly as Everson’s was. No documentation was ever produced to the public, nor is any forthcoming.

And how is it that CEOs of large organizations and politicians caught with their pants down normally get ravaged by the media with their follies as front page fodder for days, even months on end but this juicy tidbit within the largest nonprofit on the planet, gets only three mentions in the press? One of which was local.

The buzz stayed on the internet.

With the media protecting the Red Cross and not caring enough to cover any more Katrina related topics, thank goodness for outlets like blogs and news forums and online publications. Which, of course, leads to more revelations…

Did I mention Everson sent his daughter to stay in Roberts home for three weeks to work as an interim during the summer? Hmmm….

And, as for whether or not Mrs. Roberts, who is now expecting Everson’s child will get fired or not – seems she’s got the upper hand.

It is rumored the Board of Directors have requested her resignation, among other things. But the Mississippi Queen has no intention of going anywhere anytime soon. Someone is stepping down, but it isn’t Paige Roberts. Off with their heads, the Queen has commanded.

Kirby Sommers
2007 Copyright

Skull and Bones Exposed

The Red Cross has its origins in the Skull and Bones secret society. Members are the monied priveleged and hold positions of power. They have an agenda and feel they are accountable to no one!

They don't care about Us

Red Cross Insider Talks about abuse, discrimination within ARC

(Above Photo of Paige Roberts at ribbon cutting) Mark Everson, Red Cross embezzlement, Red Cross scandal, cover-up, Kirby Sommers

Red Cross insiders continue to step forward with information about Mark Everson, Paige Roberts and the corruption within the American Red Cross. Below see one of the many letters I've received. This one from an ARC "insider" urging me to continue my efforts for an independent oversight of the Red Cross.

ALERT ALERT ALERT in Mississippi 100 Homes in 100 Days Program

I also want to alert everyone in Mississippi who has had contact with the American Red Cross NOT TO SIGN ANY PAPERS if approached by ARC employees/volunteers.

The Red Cross just yesterday began going door to door to the homes of those in the 100 homes, 100 days project (and perhaps others) -- making folks sign a statement of the work/other given to them by ARC. These families do not know what they are reading, nor are they given a copy of the letter they are signing for the Red Cross.

IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW HAS ACCESS TO THESE FAMILIES, PLEASE ADVISE THEM NOT TO SIGN THIS LETTER!!

The Red Cross is once again looking for ways to cover-up and continue to deceive the American public and the world. Let us not allow that to happen! Not to Katrina survivors, not to anyone!!

Kirby Sommers

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Ms. Sommers,

I just wanted to encourage you to continue to push for a robust system of fully independent oversight to be implemented at the American Red Cross, the Enron of relief agencies.

I have witnessed firsthand and from within the organization the kind of abuse, incompetence, discrimination and malfeasance that infects the organization's culture.

Regardless of its theatrical protests to the contrary whenever a scandal breaks out, ARC management and top leaders are incapable of taking appropriate measures to ensure accountability, transparency, and to grow a culture befitting the nation's largest humanitarian organization.

Any honest and alert “Red Crosser” would attest to the sorry state of the organization at both the national and local level. But few are willing to do something about it. In short, not unlike an addict, the agency needs urgent outside intervention.

Many in ARC leadership (both paid and volunteer) continue to behave with impunity because of high-up political support from primarily moneyed Republican powerbrokers, while taking full advantage of the agency's uniquely hybrid legal status as both a private charity and a federal instrumentality.

Many in the leadership shamelessly feed off of ARC’s hard-earned 126-year brand as a charity to exploit America's naive generosity during times of disaster to raise millions they are not fit to spend.

In the wake of Katrina, politicians spent years in meetings and investigations and millions of dollars to overhaul ARC’s governance for the first time in 60 years, culminating in the 2007 ARC Modernization Act.

Sadly, the Act has no teeth, because it fails to impose on the agency truly independent oversight (e.g. by the State Attorney General).

With foxes assigned to mind the hen house, no wonder we continue to hear such a cackle. Americans deserve better than this from a national relief agency.

Thanks to you and a small but credible chorus of determined voices (such as Paul Light and Richard Walden), perhaps more Americans will care enough to stop ARC from getting away with it. Otherwise, they may wish they had the very first day they become vulnerable enough to have to depend on it.

Please keep it up.

NAME WITHHELD

Red Cross quick to clear Mark Everson of "financial wrongdoing"

This is breaking news and the following piece can be found on Philanthropy's blog. There is no mention of the Red Cross disclosing documents to substantiate their findings to the public.

Funny how it takes about one week for the Red Cross to clear their recently fired CEO Mark Everson of "financial wrongdoing," yet two years, three months, and 1 week later they still haven't gotten around to helping Katrina survivors. -Kirby Sommers (An article with information contradicting the Red Cross findings will be uploaded to my blog later today.)

December 07, 2007

Red Cross Clears Ousted CEO of Financial Wrongdoing
By Ben Gose

Mark W. Everson, the former president of the American Red Cross, did not improperly use the charity’s money while having an affair with the head of a Red Cross chapter in Mississippi, the Red Cross has announced.

Mr. Everson, who is married, resigned last month after an employee in the national office told the charity’s board about the affair. The board said it had lost confidence in his ability to continue to lead the organization.

The review of Mr. Everson’s spending focused on travel costs and expense reports, according to Carrie Martin, a Red Cross spokeswoman. It was conducted by the charity’s office of investigations, compliance and ethics, under the direction of the general counsel.

“This was just a matter of due diligence,” Ms Martin said. “We started looking into this as soon as we heard the news. It’s a question that is immediately raised in any kind of situation like this, and the Red Cross has a responsibility to determine that there was no misuse of donor dollars.”

Mr. Everson did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Open Letter to Red Cross Donors: Is Everson's Firing A Cover-up?

OPEN LETTER TO RED CROSS DONORS, is Mark Everson's Abrupt Firing a Cover-up?
by Kirby Sommers

The American Red Cross (ARC) fired CEO Mark Everson on November 27 for having a "personal relationship" with Paige Roberts, CEO of the Southeast Red Cross Chapter. Both are married, and Roberts is pregnant with Everson's child.

This red hot, Red Cross sex scandal has sent shockwaves throughout the nonprofit community. But is there something more sinister here?A conspiracy perhaps? Could the Red Cross' quick as lightning firing of Everson be a cover-up for a much more serious offense?

The ARC has stated it is undertaking a forensic audit of monies spent by Everson to determine if any of the charity's money was used inappropriately as he romanced Roberts. If, indeed, he is found to have dipped into Red Cross funds, then isn't this called "embezzlement?" Don't people go to jail for this?

The whole thing is moving very quickly – too quickly for this sluggish bureaucratic agency for it to make sense to those of us who have kept an eye on their every move for the past several years as we've waited for Katrina recovery donations and grants to filter down to needy survivors.

Personally speaking, I've witnessed so much suffering on the part of individuals and families that every misspent, missing, or misappropriated dollar is one dollar too much to spare. I'd rather see, as well as I imagine all who donated to the Red Cross and all who remain in need, for Katrina donations and grants to be used to relieve the mass human suffering which still exists.

During the past few days I've noticed a lot of Red Cross information regarding embezzlement and fraud within the Red Cross disappear from websites – even AOL web pages! In fact, the entire website for the Southeast Red Cross chapter is gone! All that's left is their address, phone # and the words: "Website under construction."

I noticed the same thing right after the Red Cross was forced to publicly speak about the Means to Recovery program. Other volunteers and a few journalists also witnessed the changing and disappearance of information.

There is no doubt in my mind that Everson misused Katrina donations. He was having an affair with someone connected to Katrina – and with both parties being married those dalliances had to be paid with money neither one's spouse could trace. Red Cross money. Katrina donations. Survivors money.

The questions everyone should demand from the ARC are: how much money was misappropriated (in addition to the $10,000 the Red Cross gave Everson upon his departure for "health care"), and why is the Red Cross not referring to possible misappropriated funds as embezzlement?

I'll tell you why: having the CEO of the American Red Cross accused of embezzlement would mean he would go to jail. And, it would stop people and corporations from donating which would be even more disastrous to the Red Cross than any other fiasco to date – the Everson-Paige affair included.

For this reason, I suspect the Red Cross will never disclose its findings of impropriety against Everson (and possibly Roberts, if they look into the Southeast Mississippi chapter's records) citing confidentiality concerns. The Red Cross will then publicly pat themselves on the back for having done a splendid job and close the door on the whole sordid episode.

But, wait…there have been serious fraud and embezzlement problems we can trace. I'll list some of them here:

RED CROSS MISSAPPROPRIATED DONOR DOLLARS: Quick Review

1. Eileen Therese Saxon of the Asheville, North Carolina Red Cross chapter charged with embezzling $165,000 – 9% of its $1.25 annual budget. (Source Ashville Citizen Times)

2. Karen Shuerger, former assistant director of accounting at the Orange County, California Chapter of the Red Cross has been sentenced to six months in Federal prison, ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $110,000 and when she is released, she will also serve 3 years of supervised release and six months of home detention. (Source: NY Times)

3. Red Cross Director Jonathon A. Jarrell of Virginia indicted on one count of embezzlement. Jarrell allegedly embezzled about $16,452 from the chapter between November 2004 and July 2006.

4. Joseph Lecowitch, CEO of the Hudson County Chapter in New Jersey, and his bookkeeper Catalina Escoto. Escoto gave herself $75,000 in bonuses. According to prosecutors, these two stole well over $1 million Red Cross donor dollars squandering it on gambling and each other. (Source: NY Times).

This doesn't include all the money that was lost to volunteers and paid staff during the early days of Katrina, nor does it include reports by Red Cross personnel about bags and bags of cash disappearing.

In a New York Times piece by Stephanie Strom, titled "Red Cross Quietly Settles Case of a $120,000 Theft," Strom states that the Connecticut chapter of the American Red Cross settled for less than half of the money from its insurance company. And goes on to add that this isn't an isolated case. If the Red Cross is accustomed to going to their insurance company and taking less than what has been stolen, rather than pursue the matter in court just to keep it out of the headlines – then both donors and their intended recipients have been wronged.

Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, a charity watchdog group, has said that the Red Cross should be subject to state oversight like other charities. The Red Cross is only subject to federal oversight – which they claim is enough vigilance.

Apparently not.

The New Jersey $1 million Red Cross theft is reported to have been discovered due to sloppy bookkeeping. I would venture to guess this would not be the case if Mark Everson is discovered to have used Red Cross money inappropriately. As former head of the IRS, Everson would have knowledge of the most intricate schemes imaginable. It makes the mind race with all sorts of heart crushing scenarios.

According to The NonProfit Times there have been cases during the past few years where the charities involved refuse to make the full facts known to the public. "In our view," they state, "this sort of selective disclosure (spin) is wholly inadequate. When a charity is using funds raised from the general public, it has a duty to account fully to the public. If that is not happening, then it is time to make it happen."

If Everson is found to have ripped off donor dollars, he should go to jail. Additionally, the Red Cross should replace every stolen dime from all sources and put this money back into the till. No more lies, no more spin. Give us accountability or don't continue at all.

Donors to the American Red Cross should be outraged.

Kirby Sommers
Copyright 2007

NO PORTION OF THIS MAY REPRINTED WITHOUT THE AUTHOR'S CONSENT.

Letter to Trent Stamp "No Defense for Red Cross Missing Katrina Donations"

Yesterday was a busy day. I worked on the piece "A Red Cross Katrina Affair to Remember" re: the latest Red Cross scandal with ousted CEO Mark Everson and Paige Roberts (CEO Southeast Mississippi Chapter of the Red Cross.)

Earlier in the day, I stumbled upon Trent Stamp's (President of Charity Navigator) blog entry defending the Red Cross who has been sharply criticized by ARC insiders as well as many Katrina and Rita evacuees. (My letter to him follows this rant).

Let's be real here. Hurricane Katrina received the largest outpouring of donor dollars in the history of any catastrophe. The dollar value has been quoted as being $4.25 BILLION (although I suspect the dollar amount may be higher). The Red Cross is known to have received the lion's share of the money: $2.3 billion.

Evacuees, whom I prefer to call SURVIVORS, are still in need. During the past 27 months I have received tons of frantic phone calls, emails and letters from survivors across the country describing in painful detail how they've walked into local Red Cross offices seeking help and have been turned away with the words: "We have no money left."

I have spent a lot of time tracking donor dollars meant to help survivors. If the money hasn't reached its intended target, then the question has always been: "Where is the Money?"

The answer lies in the internal records of the American Red Cross. The same can be said about the records of FEMA, The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) who received from FEMA an initial $66 million to set up Katrina Aid Today -- a consortium of 10 nonprofit agencies -- all of whom also received donations earmarked "Katrina."

My advocacy work on behalf of Katrina/Rita survivors is well known and documented.

The fact that I continue to question the lack of accountability on the part of the Red Cross is simple: as stated earlier, most of the donations went to the ARC. Several months ago when I stumbled upon the startling fact that $25 million donated by Kuwait to the Red Cross and used by the ARC for their own infrastructure instead of helping those weary and hungry people who continue to be turned away from their doorstep was a red hot blazing sign that something is just not right at the Red Cross.

We cannot have survivors continue to die of neglect, or go hungry, or remain homeless and not look to these agencies who were entrusted with money the world believed would help these people.

After my post of yesterday I received several phone calls and emails from both Red Cross and IRS insiders. Surprise, surprise: all of them spoke of misappropriated dollars within the Red Cross and oddly enough, within the IRS, via the leadership of Mark Everson!

So who's watching whom? And who's tending to the blood money once known as Katrina donations?

Hey, it's not difficult to answer this question. The ARC's Board of Directors which consists of White House appointees such as Michael Chertoff, Condoleeza Rice and other "untouchables" are as sympathetic to the needs of the poor and the reality of life post-Katrina as Mark Everson's approach to Katrina recovery.

The fact that Paige Roberts lost her home to Katrina and took solace in the arms of Everson does not fall under "Hurricane Recovery." Nor does it sanction Everson's improper use of donor dollars. - by Kirby Sommers

OK -- here's my letter to Trent Stamp:

Trent,

I read your piece protecting the Red Cross (your “Scapegoat” post) on November 17 and am just now reading your thoughts on Mark Everson’s indiscretions. I’m the person who contacted The New York Times and asked them to look into the ARC and the Katrina missing donations. It resulted in the August 10th story “Red Cross Faces Criticism Over Aid Program for Hurricane Victims.” And what a sham that turned out to be!

I’ve been working probono with evacuees since August 31, 2005 connecting them to homes, resources and information. In this capacity I had a conversation with Jeanne Ellinport of the ARC on May 17th as I searched for the “hush-hush” money some of my families told me about. As it turns out, a handful of evacuees who had knowledge of this “help” had been instructed by the Red Cross and UMCOR’s Katrina Aid Today agencies NOT TO TELL ANYONE.

Speaking with Ellinport, she confirmed the Means to Recovery Program was indeed a secret. The Red Cross, she told me was NEVER GOING TO GO PUBLIC with this information. It was going to help SOME people, but for now she was telling evacuees who called “there is no money, there is no help.”

Without going into a lengthy blow-by-blow account of the matter, here are the facts as they were revealed:

1. The Red Cross received most of the $4.3 billion in Katrina donations

2. The Red Cross has stated this number to be $2.3 billion

3. FEMA reimbursed the ARC for most of their initial Katrina expenditures – many donors and people don’t know this and the ARC does not explain this. One example is the hotel expense – Fema paid them back for this and more.

4. Kuwait offered the United States a generous amount of money - $500 million in the wake of Katrina (see Washington Post article by Spencer Hsu: “Most Katrina Aid From Overseas Went Unclaimed”) $25 million of this was re-directed to the Red Cross

5. The ARC didn’t spend a dime of the $25 million Kuwait/Katrina donation on Katrina survivors or even on the Gulf Coast infrastructure. They did, however, spend this money on four new buildings for themselves.

6. Means to Recovery rollout date October 1, 2006

7. The *Means to Recovery Program BREAKDOWN:

· $41 million for caseworkers
· $39 million for Katrina, Rita and Wilma survivors COMBINED – which translates into more money spent on overhead/salaries than on direct assistance. Furthermore, it means Katrina donations where not spent merely on Katrina evacuees. *Means to Recovery is a program under the ARC’s Hurricane Recovery Program which is meant to help Katrina, Rita and Wilma survivors.

8. In July, two months after the Red Cross was "outed" for their failure to adequately use Katrina donations, they issued a Press Release refuting allegations of impropriety and made the following statement: "The needs of survivors far outweigh the resources of the American Red Cross and the entire nonprofit sector."

9. Money spent via Means to Recovery by August 2007 = less than $10 million

10. Number of Katrina survivors/evacuees who contacted the Red Cross looking for help and were told there was no money left (not even to help fed a baby or a family for ONE DAY) TENS OF THOUSANDS of people.

That Mark Everson is the fifth person to head the Red Cross since the 9/11 debacle is alarming. Mary S. Elcano is the sixth and soon we’ll be reading about who’s number seven. You can’t have this kind of turnover in top management and really believe there’s nothing wrong at the core of the organization. Any organization. That it happens to be the Red Cross, the United States chartered by Congress first responder is beyond disgust.

Mark Everson may just be the poster child of what’s wrong with the Red Cross. It lacks MORAL fiber and content. Everson’s pursuit of self-gratification mirrors the actions of the Red Cross.

The ARC cannot continue to believe they can wipe their slate clean with every CEO firing. There was poor judgment in hiring Everson and poor judgment in how donor dollars have been used.

This applies to the 9/11, tsunami, Katrina donations; and if you go back and read about the San Francisco earthquake in 1989 -- you’ll find the same lack of accountability on the part of the Red Cross. The ARC is quick to run off with donor dollars leaving those in whose name it was raised in dire need. We can still see this with Katrina evacuees more than two years after the fact.

The only good that may come of this is that perhaps finally donors will realize their dollars are better used elsewhere. There is no dignity in giving to the Red Cross. There is now only shame.

Kirby Sommers