State AG seeks to dissolve NRA
NEWYORK » The state’s attorney general sued the National Rifle Association on Thursday, seeking to put the powerful gun advocacy organization out of business over allegations that high-ranking executives diverted millions of dollars for lavish personal trips, noshow contracts for associates and other questionable expenditures.
Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, filed in state court in Manhattan after an 18-month investigation, highlighted misspending and self- dealing allegations that have roiled the NRA and its longtime leader, Wayne LaPierre, in recent years — from hair and makeup for his wife to a $17 million post-employment contract for himself.
Simultaneously, the Washington, D.C., attorney general sued the NRA Foundation, a charitable arm of the organization designed to provide programs for firearm safety, marksmanship and hunting safety, accusing it of diverting funds to the NRA to help pay for lavish spending by its top executives.
The troubles, which James said were long cloaked by loyal lieutenants and a pass-through payment arrangement with a vendor, started to come to light as the
NRA’s deficit piled up and it struggled to find its footing after a spate of mass shootings eroded support for its pro-gun agenda.
The organization went from a nearly $28 million surplus in 2015 to a $36 million deficit in 2018.
James, a Democrat, argued that the organization’s prominence and cozy political relationships had lulled it into a sense of invincibility and enabled a culture where non-profit rules were routinely flouted and state and federal laws were violated. Even the NRA’s own bylaws and employee handbook were ignored, she said.
“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” James said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law.”
NRA President Carolyn Meadows said the group was counter-suing the New York attorney general’s office, setting the stage for a drawn- out legal battle that could last for years.
“It’s a transparent attempt to score political points and attack the leading voice in opposition to the leftist agenda,’ Meadows said in a statement.
James is taking aim at the NRA after her office last year dismantled President Donald Trump’s charitable foundation and fined him $2 million to settle allegations he used donations meant for worthy causes to further his own business and political interests. Though it is headquarters in Virginia, the NRA was chartered as a non-profit in New York in 1871 and continues to be incorporated in the state.
The Washington, D.C., attorney general has been investigating the NRA Foundation for more than a year. It said its investigation determined that low membership and lavish spending left the NRA with financial problems and so it exploited the foundation to remain afloat.
It offered as an example two $5 million loans that the NRA Foundation board approved in 2017 and 2018 despite the NRA’s financial problems, and then repeatedly granted requests to extend and modify the loan.
“Charitable organizations function as public trusts — and District law requires them to use their funds to benefit the public, not to support political campaigns, lobbying, or private interests,” Washington Attorney General Karl Racine said in a news release. “With this lawsuit, we aim to recover donated funds that the NRA Foundation wasted.”
The New York lawsuit also named LaPierre and three other current and former executives as defendants: corporate secretary and general counsel John Frazer, retired treasurer and chief financial officer Wilson Phillips, and LaPierre’s former chief of staff Joshua Powell. While the lawsuit accuses all four men of wrongdoing and seeks fines and remuneration, none of them have been charged with a crime.
LaPierre, who has been in charge of the NRA’s dayto- day operations since 1991, is accused of spending millions of dollars on private travel and personal security, accepting expensive gifts such as African safaris and use of a 107-foot yacht from vendors and setting himself up with a $17 million contract with the NRA, if he were to exit the organization, without board approval.
The lawsuit said LaPierre, 70, spent millions of the NRA’s dollars on travel consultants, including luxury black car services, and hundreds of thousands of dollars on private jet flights for himself and his family, including more than $500,000 on eight trips to the Bahamas over a threeyear span.
Some of the NRA’s excess spending was kept secret, the lawsuit said, under an arrangement with the organization’s former advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen.
The advertising firm would pick up the tab for various expenses for LaPierre and other NRA executives and then send a lump sum bill to the organization for “out- of-pocket expenses,” the lawsuit said.
Frazer, the corporate secretary and general counsel, is accused of aiding the alleged misconduct by certifying false or misleading annual regulatory filings, failing to comply with governance procedures, failing to enforce a conflict of interest policy, and failing to ensure that board members were reviewing transactions or that the the organization was following the law.
ALBANY, N.Y. » Ophthalmic Consultants of the Capital Region announced today that retina specialist and ophthalmologist Robert Feldman, M.D., and comprehensive general ophthalmologist Andrew Krouner, M.D., have both become partners in the largest multi- specialty ophthalmology practice in the capital region.
Drs. Feldman and Krouner are joining current partners Allen W. Zieker, M.D., Robert D. Sax, M.D., PH.D., and David K. Rabady, M.D.
“We believe both of these doctors represent the care, experience and knowledge Ophthalmic Consultants of the Capital Region reputation is built upon,” said Dr. Allen W. Zieker, President of Ophthalmic Consultant of the Capital Region. “Feldman and Krouner are greatly admired by both their patients and the staff. We believe Drs. Feldman and Krouner are deeply dedicated to providing exemplary service to our patients. We are happy to welcome them as partners at Ophthalmic Consultants of the Capital Region.”
Robert Feldman, M.D., is a fellowship trained, board- certified ophthalmologist and retinal specialist with over 20 years of experience. Dr. Feldman specializes in retina and vitreous surgery and performs cataract surgery at Ophthalmic Consultants of the Capital Region. He graduated from University of Michigan with a BS in Biomedical Sciences and went on to get his Medical Degree in 1981. Dr. Feldman attended University of Florida, College of Medicine in Gainesville, FL for Ophthalmology. He did his Fellowship in Retina and Vitreous Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Dr. Feldman treats various retina diseases such as macular degeneration, macular pucker, diabetic retinopathy, flashes and floaters, retinal detachments, as well as numerous other diseases and conditions of the posterior segment of the eye as well as anterior segment cataract surgeon providing the latest advancements in technology and treatment options. He has been a key investigator in many research studies while practicing in Florida for 20 years and has been published in several ophthalmology journals.
Dr. Feldman has developed the Research Department at Ophthalmic Consultants and is actively involved in recruiting study patients for current research projects.
Andrew Krouner, M.D., is a board certified ophthalmologist with over 25 years of experience. Dr. Krouner focuses on general medical ophthalmology, laser procedures, and glaucoma management as well as all comprehensive
ophthalmology. Prior to joining Ophthalmic Consultants of the Capital Region, Dr. Krouner was in private practice in Pennsylvania for many years.
Earlier in Dr. Krouner’s career, he provided medical, laser, and surgical eye care for the U.S. Navy. He did his undergraduate work at Harvard University. Hewent on to receive his medical degree in Ophthalmology from George Washington University. He did both his internship and residency at the Naval Hospital located in Bethesda, Maryland.
Dr. Krouner has held several faculty positions at both hospitals and universities. He and his family are originally from the Albany area. He was excited to return to Albany and be able to practice eye care here and is nowthrilled to become a partner in Ophthalmic Consultants within his hometown.
“We believe both of these doctors represent the care, experience and knowledgeOphthalmic Consultants of the Capital Region reputation is built upon.” — Dr. Allen W. Zieker, President of Ophthalmic Consultant of the Capital Region