Air America Hit by Financial Scandal

The liberal radio network Air America has been hit with a financial scandal that could shake the company. The New York City Department of Investigation is looking into a loan of $875,000 made to the network by the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club, a nonprofit charity group which receives government funding. Without the loan, Air America may never have had enough funding to launch. The City has already cut ties with the involved charities.

The comedian Al Franken, Air America Radio's most prominent host, said yesterday that he did not know whether the hundreds of thousands of dollars apparently lent to the radio network by a Bronx social-service organization had indeed been relayed to Air America by Evan Montvel Cohen. Mr. Cohen simultaneously served as director of the liberal network and development director of the nonprofit Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club.

The Gloria Wise club, which serves 20,000 clients in Co-op City, has gotten millions of dollars a year in government funds. The city's Department of Investigation announced in June the suspension of Gloria Wise's city grants and contracts because of allegations of "inappropriate transactions."

Full Story: New York Sun

This seems more than "inappropriate" to me. It sounds quite illegal to funnel money nonprofit charity donations and government funds into a private corporation. Hopefully this story will pick up some momentum -- of course most of the liberal press is currently ignoring it.

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[edit on 8/4/2005 by djohnsto77]

Personally, I would contribute to a thread like this if the editorial had been worded more like this:

Originally posted by djohnsto77
The radio network Air America has been hit with a financial scandal that could shake the company. The New York City Department of Investigation is looking into a loan of $875,000 made to the network by the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club, a nonprofit charity group which receives government funding. Without the loan, Air America may never have had enough funding to launch. The City has already cut ties with the involved charities.

This seems more than "inappropriate" to me. It sounds quite illegal to funnel money nonprofit charity donations and government funds into a private corporation. Hopefully this story will pick up some momentum.

Not much missing there and it appeals to me a lot more. With those other 9 words, just seems like rhetoric to me.

intrepid, Air America is a self-professed liberal network with a mission to challenge conservative talk shows such as Rush Limbaugh. It's not really editorializing to call them what they call themselves.

Originally posted by djohnsto77
intrepid, Air America is a self-professed liberal network with a mission to challenge conservative talk shows such as Rush Limbaugh. It's not really editorializing to call them what they call themselves.

I understand that, I just wish we could leave that bickering at the door.

My question is "where is the outrage?"

If Rush Limbaugh was stealing money from kids, you can imagine it'd be all over the news...but if it's Air America, it's OK, right?