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U.S. NEWS Thursday 25 July 2019

California lawsuit: Military charity donated to politicians

By NATALIE RICE sion, and Josh Mandel who tion, the lawsuit says, call-
Associated Press briefly ran for the Republi- ing it a vehicle to “skim”
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cali- can nomination for a U.S. off a percentage of dona-
fornia is suing a nonprofit Senate seat in Ohio. tions. The attorney general
that sends care packages Becerra said federal rules said the lawsuit seeks to
to combat troops, accus- ban charities from backing remove Russo and Calla-
ing it of misleading donors political candidates. han as directors and ban
about its affiliations, engag- Move America Forward them from operating chari-
ing in political activity and said the organization has ties in California. Becerra
paying fees to its directors’ always been completely said his office will pursue
for-profit companies. transparent and provides further penalties but that
The lawsuit alleges the proof of tax filings and inde- they wouldn’t be criminal
charity Move America For- pendent audits on its web- because it would be hard
ward invaded the privacy site. “Shame on Attorney to prove intent.
of injured veterans by us- General Becerra for his un- Senior Assistant Attorney
ing their names and stories relenting harassment,” Mel- General Tania Ibanez high-
to solicit donations without anie Morgan, chairwoman lighted the number of mili- California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, right, and senior
their permission and falsely and co-founder of Move tary or veterans charities Assistant Attorney Genera Tania Ibanez announce a lawsuit the
state has filed alleging misdeeds by Move America Forward, a
claimed to have a partner- America Forward, said in that are operating as un- nonprofit that sends packages of food, clothes or other items to
ship with the Walter Reed a statement. “We look for- registered or delinquent, military service personnel, at a Los Angeles news conference
National Military Medical ward to our day in court meaning they failed to sup- Wednesday, July 24, 2019.
Center. for all the facts to come to ply their annual reports to Associated Press
“Our troops and their com- light and for our opportu- the state. 554 were found to be de- istered with the state.
mitment to our country nity clear our name so that An investigation from June linquent, Ibanez said. Only Ibanez said veterans are
should never be exploited we can continue with our 2018 to June 2019 revealed half have fixed the prob- the group most likely to
in deceitful solicitation gim- business of supporting our that over 1,000 charities in lem. The office sent cease- be exploited, followed
micks, but unfortunately brave men and women of California have names re- and-desist orders to 498 by firefighters and police
they are,” state Attorney the military.” lating to the military and charities that have not reg- officers.q
General Xavier Becerra Becerra said charity direc-
said Wednesday. tors Salvatore Russo and
The lawsuit alleges the Shawn Callahan also oper-
charity violated IRS rules by ated several separate for-
providing free office space profit entities that charged
for the political action fees for marketing and
committees Move America other services provided to
Forward PAC and Tea Par- Move America Forward.
ty Express. For example, a Russo-
The charity also is accused owned entity called The
of using charitable dona- Campaign Store LLC inter-
tions to endorse the po- cepted online donations
litical campaigns of for- and charged fees rang-
mer Republican U.S. Rep. ing from 7.55% to 10.06%
Michael Grimm, who ran to transfer the remaining
unsuccessfully for Congress funds to the charity’s bank
in New York last year after account without adding
pleading guilty to tax eva- any value to the transac-

Report: Women hold almost 52%

of top Connecticut state jobs

By SUSAN HAIGH some of the “same chal-
Associated Press lenging trends” found else-
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — where, including minority
Connecticut outpaces oth- women being segregated
er states and the federal in female-dominated oc-
government when it comes cupations and agencies.
to employing women in the “Connecticut, by compari-
highest levels of state gov- son to other states and the
ernment, an analysis re- federal workforce, appears
leased Wednesday shows. more equitable across
The report from the Gover- gender and racial-ethnic
nor’s Council on Women categories from a broad
and Girls found women view,” according to the re-
hold nearly 52% of execu- port.
tive branch jobs consid- “That said, the state has
ered “officials and adminis- more work to do in address-
trators,” compared to 30% ing some of the distressing
of the highest senior civil- representation problems
service positions in the fed- that are consistent with
eral government. But it also problems that exist across
warned Connecticut faces the country.”q Opening Hours: Monday to Monday from 5:00 pm to 10:30 pm