Posted by CotoBlogzz 03-31-2010 03:00 PM
An ACORN by the Name of ACCE Does not fall far from the ACORN tree
SAN DIEGO, CA - The Office of the California Attorney today released a report, including newly obtained videotapes, that shows some members of the community organizing group ACORN engaged in highly inappropriate behavior, but committed no violation of criminal laws.
The AG's report also uncovered "likely violations" of state law, including dumping 500 pages of confidential records into a Dumpster, failure to file a 2007 tax return, and four instances of possible voter registration fraud by ACORN in San Diego in connection with the 2008 election, as well as other irregularities in the group's California operations. These irregularities have been referred to the competent authorities.
According to California's Attorney General Gerry Brown, "a few ACORN members exhibited terrible judgment and highly inappropriate behavior in videotapes obtained in the investigation, But they didn't commit prosecutable crimes in California."
According to the report, Evidence obtained by the AG's office, paints a different story than the one portrayed by the much-publicised secretly recorded, video tapes by James O'Keefe III that purported to show ACORN employees providing advice on how to conduct a prostitution ring and commit other serious crimes. According to AG Brown, "The evidence illustrates that things are not always as partisan zealots portray them through highly selective editing of reality. Sometimes a fuller truth is found on the cutting room floor."
The AG's report did find numerous faults with ACORN's activities in California, including:
- Failure to "recruit, train and monitor its employees to ensure compliance" with state law.
- Likely violation of state civil laws designed to protect personal information when employees of the San Diego office disposed of 20,000 pages of records in a dumpster. These violations could result in private litigation if any of the victims were injured by disclosure.
- Four instances of "possible voter registration fraud in San Diego in connection with the 2008 election."
- Failure to file a 2007 state tax return, an omission the Franchise Tax Board is pursuing.
- Sloppiness in its handling of charitable assets, although no misuse of those assets was found.
ACORN announced that it is closing its operations nationwide today. While a successor to ACORN in California called ACCE emphasizes that it is no longer part of ACORN, the Attorney General's report notes that ACCE is "run by the same people, raising concerns about its ability to cure the defects in the organization."
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