[MarignyBywater] ACORN embezzlement was $5 million

[nolarussell]

ACORN embezzlement was $5 million, La. attorney general says

By Robert Travis Scott

October 05, 2009, 3:36PM
Michael DeMocker / The Times-PicayuneThe
former ACORN headquarters at 1024-26 Elysian Fields Ave. is up for
sale; the organization, which was founded in the New Orleans area, has
moved its headquarters to Washington, D.C.An internal review by the board of directors of the community organization ACORN determined
that the amount allegedly embezzled from the community organization was
$5 million, well more than the previously reported amount of nearly $1
million, according to a new subpoena in an investigation by Louisiana 
Attorney General Buddy Caldwell. 
The subpoena, released this afternoon, says, "It is still unclear if some of the monies embezzled are from state, federal or private funds." 
ACORN Chief Executive Officer Bertha Lewis said the
new accusation about the embezzlement is "completely false." She said
she would comment further after she and ACORN attorneys have a chance
to review the subpoena.
Caldwell issued subpoenas in August seeking documents related to Acorn International then-President Wade Rathke and
his brother Dale Rathke, who kept the group's books. Those subpoenas
were focused on possible Acorn violations of state employee tax law,
obstructing justice and violating the Employee Retirement Security Act.

Ellis Lucia / The Times-PicayuneState Attorney General BuddyCaldwell The
attorney general had made inquiries in June into alleged embezzlement
within ACORN that happened 10 years ago. The group last year dealt with
an internal dispute and a lawsuit involving accusations that Dale
Rathke made nearly $1 million in improper credit card charges in 1999
and 2000. The brother and a donor repaid the money. 
But Caldwell said last month that the statute of limitations
presented obstacles to prosecutors taking action on the alleged
embezzlement, and that his investigation was not focused on that issue.

The subpoena issued today changes the tone of the investigation and
puts a new emphasis on the embezzlement issue. It appears to be in
reaction to documents gathered from the ACORN board as a result of the
subpoenas issued in August. 
"Current high ranking members of ACORN have publicly acknowledged
that embezzlement did in fact occur, but the exact amount of the
embezzlement was unknown until it was recently acknowledged in a board
of directors meeting on Oct. 17, 2008, by Bertha Lewis and Liz Wolf
that an internal review had determined that the amount embezzled was $5
million," the new subpoena says. 
The subpoena requests documents from Citizens Consulting Inc., which
assisted ACORN, and from various accounting and legal consultants in
New Orleans. 
Wade Rathke could not be reached immediately.
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