By Cris Italia
It seems as though hundreds of residents have been victimized by several organizations claiming they are a charity affiliated with the New York Police Department. Do not fall for it. None of the money given to these faulty charities actually touches the hands of the NYPD.
"Most of these charities are actually registered with the state and the attorney general," said Det. Donald Mounts of the Internal Affairs Bureau Police Impersonation Investigation Unit. "They get away with this because a portion of these donation is used for lobbying in Albany."
Mounts explained that after a charity is registered they hire a telemarketing firm to solicit monies from residents. He adds, 65 to 75 percent of the money pays for the telemarketing service and the rest pays for the overhead and lawyer fees for the organization. "That leaves anywhere from 1 percent to 7 percent for the charity. The charity looks at this like found money. With the money they can go to Albany and throw parties and fundraisers and invite politicians," Mounts said.
The state board of elections shows records that in recent years Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno are among several elected officials who have accepted campaign donations from similar charities. Both officials accepted money from a lobbyist group called, the Police Conference of New York Inc. Silver also accepted a donation from the Metropolitan Police Conference, also known as a lobbyist group in Albany.
"People have to understand, the PBA doesn't get any of it. They don't solicit funds or get any from any other organization," Mounts said.
Breaking the law
These charities are breaking the law when they do not tell you they are telemarketers calling on behalf of the organization. "If they tell you they are police officers or do not identify who they are they are breaking the law. A police officer will never call you to solicit money," Mounts said.
Unfortunately the laws and the penalties against these telemarketing companies are not stiff enough. "Basically we are finding out that the law does not decide where the money goes," Mounts said.
Most of the time the people calling you are former convicted criminals. Currently there are ongoing investigations of charities that have broken the law or were simply never registered. Most recently was the case of Justin White. Police arrested White in April of this year after the FBI and NYPD investigated his Police Survivors of 9/11 fund. "He allegedly committed mail fraud and is currently waiting trial," Mounts said of White.
Drafting new laws
In the future, Mounts says, laws currently being drafted will require telemarketing companies to provide a list of their employees and if they have been convicted of a crime. New laws will also include tape recordings of all phone calls. "Right now we are in the process of drafting new ideas. We will be presenting these to the state legislature," he said.
"In some states telemarketing is illegal, this new legislation is in its infancy stage. This doesn't happen overnight; it might take anywhere from 1 to 2 years to get this passed, and by then this problem will only be growing," Mounts explained.
Where you can donate
The only certified foundation for police officers is the New York City Police Foundation. "They do not call anyone, most of their donations are from corporations. "You will never hear someone from their organization calling anyone," said Mounts. Even the NYC Police Foundation goes through an investigation of each individual.
Currently the amount of phone solicitation is up 30 to 40 percent since the events of Sept. 11. Just this year alone there have been over 280 complaints, surpassing last year's total. "We are just seven months into the year, it's not even over yet. Unfortunately we only catch about one to two percent of these organizations," Mounts said.
If anyone receives a phone call claiming they are asking for donations for the PBA or any other affiliated organizations, ask as many questions as possible. "Get their information. Get their name and try to get a call back number," Mounts said. If you do receive a phone call from one of these organizations , residents are asked to report it to the Command Center of the Internal Affairs Bureau at (212) 741-8401.
The Herald called back the New York Association of the Police Benevolent Association at 1-800-579-4444 only to hear an answering machine, which simply said, "Hello and thank you for calling. Please leave us your name and number after the tone and we will return your call shortly. Have a great day."
The message did not identify what number you were calling nor did it mention the organization's name. The Herald called several times at different points in the day only to be met with the same message each time. After leaving several messages, the organization failed return our phone calls.
"It might not be a lobbyist group," said Sgt. Garland of Internal Affairs after listening to a recorded conversation between the telemarketers and the Herald. "This might be a group of guys just getting together . . . This has just taken a life of its own."
