State AG probes pols’ ‘scholarship’ charity
The state attorney general is investigating a lawmaker-run charity — and wants to quiz a Queens judge — for repeatedly failing in its mission to give out scholarships to needy minority students.
Attorney General Letitia James’ office recently issued subpoenas in its civil probe of the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators, a source with knowledge of the investigation told The Post.
Among those served last week was newly elected Civil Court Judge Michele Titus, a Democratic former Queens assemblywoman who chaired the nonprofit in 2016 and 2017.
Thompson & Co., a Brooklyn accounting firm that has worked on the charity’s federal tax filings, confirmed it also received a subpoena requesting documents on the Albany-based nonprofit.
Established in 1985, the charity was set up “to empower AfricanAmerican and Latino youth through education and youth leadership initiatives,” according to the majority of its public filings.
But its latest Dec. 31 filing, following exposés of its scholarship malfeasance in The Post and Albany Times Union, shows a different mission statement, barely mentioning youth or education.
Now it’s “dedicated to engaging New York state residents in dialogue,” mostly at workshops and forums it sponsors at its annual party.
The group typically spends the bulk of its donations to host a Caucus Weekend — three days of workshops, cocktail parties and a gala dinner. This year, a package of tickets for its 49th Annual Legislative Conference, which begins Feb. 14, sells for $500.
At last year’s Gala Scholarship Dinner, attended by The Post, no grants were awarded to students.
The charity raised $751,448 for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2018, its latest available tax filing shows. It spent the bulk of that cash, $521,087, on “issue-focused workshops,” the public filing says.
None of that money was spent on scholarships, the filing shows.
No scholarships were given out in fiscal years 2015-2016 or 20162017, according to filings, despite the group spending six-figures on its annual gala.
Last month, Hank Sheinkopf, a spokesman for the charity, told The Post that it had hired new auditors and given out tens of thousands of scholarships in the last three years. But the group would provide only first names of recipients or list them as “student.”
Sheinkopf said the group had not received a subpoena from the Attorney General’s Office.
A spokeswoman for the attorney general refused to comment. Titus did not return calls for comment.