On April 5, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas, TX will hear arguments from the National Rifle Rampage Association that it should be allowed to declare bankruptcy, largely to avoid legal action taken by New York State Attorney General Letitia James to break up the supposedly "non-profit" organization. The NRA has been rocked in the past few years with accusations of misappropriation of funds and that it's top leadership, prominently the vile and corrupt reactionary Wayne LaPierre, lived lavish lifestyles on the nickel of NRA members. According to the Washington Post's report:
"[New York State's lawsuit] alleges that top NRA executives, including LaPierre, diverted organization resources for their personal gain. When she filed the suit, James said she was referring some of the findings of her investigation to the IRS for review.
Her suit also names John Frazer, the organization’s secretary and general counsel, treasurer Wilson “Woody” Phillips and Joshua Powell, former chief of staff to LaPierre, who was fired in January after being accused of charging more than $40,000 in personal expenses to the organization. [snip]
The Washington Post and other news organizations have reported that the NRA directed organization funds to members of its board and that LaPierre spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at a Beverly Hills clothing store and on travel expenses. James’s lawsuit alleges that LaPierre billed the NRA more than $500,000 for private charter flights and that he visited the Bahamas with his family eight times in three years.
The Post also has reported that LaPierre sought to have the organization buy him a $6 million, 10,000 square-foot French-style estate in Texas after a mass shooting in Florida..." (our emphasis)
The Internal Revenue Service also claims the NRA owes $3.4 million in back taxes. The NRA wants to re-incorporate in Texas if it's allowed to declare bankruptcy, reasoning that a gun-humper state like Texas will be far more hospitable to their corrupt behavior than New York, where they were chartered in 1871. We'll see if the court sees through their machinations.
(cartoon: Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News / Cagle Cartoons)
