Community Chat

[terrier3]

On 3/20/2015 Cakers1 said:

terrier: Are you saying that since 1966 the MDA had the SAME board members? And remember he actually started prior to that with Dean Martin. I'm not buying this.

The fact remains the MDA still has to account for all the $$ taken in and expended; if the MDA was laundering $$ or not declaring all of their donations, how does JL factor into that?

As far as the lower $$ amt - I see that as a push to get more donations - set the goal a little higher if you will. Nothing there to see.

Where are these houses that the MDA owned and supposedly housed JL?

And why shouldn't he claim his own personal expenses? Since when does that indicate something shady going on?

And finally - the stolen equipment at the summer camp - that's on the regional director.

I think you are posting some of this for a reaction more than as a factual summation of all the wrongs JL committed along with the MDA.

MDA had board members hand picked by Jerry Lewis. He also hired the regional directors like my boss. He had been a firefighter - one of the initial groups that supported MDA since the beginning. Jerry RAN MDA...the board was his rubber stamp for many years. He paid the workers handsomely - my boss made over $250,000 a year back in 1979...and that was BIG MONEY back then. The board members wee wined and dined at celebrity golf tournaments, corporate retreats, they all got LOTS of goodies.

Everyone adored Jerry and no one thought twice about paying all his personal expenses...afterall - he didn't take a salary, so why not give him company cars, have him live in company condos (they were in FLA and AZ), etc.??? As I stated before, his regional guy let his son steal camp equipment year after year...buy it, use it for the two weeks camp was in session - have it mysteriously get stolen every year and as my friend discovered - FENCE IT himself.

Your justification for lower totals makes sense...EXCEPT the regional director took all the cash HOME himself - AFTER the lower amounts were publicized on the telethon and were given to the accountants who worked at our phone bank. MDA ENCOURAGED CASH donations....our office got at least $50,000 in cash from the firefighters' boot campaigns alone - but the boss took all that money home...and the total reported was LOWER than that - if he kept part of the cash haul - who would know? - he had already told the accountants who worked at the telethon a LOWER, fake number. See how easy it would be to pocket the cash???

The damning part of the story was when a new board was chosen - the accountants and other people said that Jerry could no longer choose his friends...they needed objective people on the board. The board did an audit - in 2011, Jerry was fired, his name removed from the masthead - he was OFF the board and wasn't allowed on the telethon again. After almost 60 years - why did THAT happen? I think they didn't want to ruin the charity, endanger the money that did make it to the kids, and cause a scandal. They also didn't want to ruin Jerry's name - but no one ever gave a straight answer on why he got the boot. ALL the regional directors that Jerry had hired were fired too - not one of them had fundraising experience or business degrees...all were just his buddies.

We made over 3 million dollars from Western NY and Ontario - yet camp was just 2 week's long each summer - the boss made $250,000 a year and drove an MDA Mercedes, his son ran camp and STOLE from camp, and little made it to local kids in the way of wheelchairs, ramps, etc. Most of the $$$ went to the national office.

[terrier3]

On 3/20/2015 Cakers1 said:

What a horrible thing to say - I've been VERY vocal AGAINST Bill. Try to keep up.

I notice you said nothing to dooBdoo and she was the one who posted the Snopes link.

Have a nice evening.

psst: I still don't believe you.

The Snopes story was VERY carefully worded - it said he never collected a SALARY....it didn't mention all his perks and that his life was basically funded by MDA (and listed as operating expenses).

Similar story - A man said that he never collected a salary from running a non-profit committee....he never collected ONE paycheck. He has said this numerous times on TV.

The non-profit he ran as chairman of the board put all of it's resources and fundraising into HUGE TV campaigns - 300 MILLION dollars worth of TV advertising in one year alone.

Yes, he never got a penny in salary - but he owned the advertising agency that placed the TV spots. I worked with the head of his advertising agency - it was a 3 person office - the woman I worked with, the big boss and a secretary. Advertising agencies - their agency is named Crossroads - get 15% COMMISSION (not salary) for placing advertising. That is how I make money myself now....15% is the standard agency commission. 15% of 300 million is 45 MILLION dollars in commission in one year.

Please re-read Snopes...it is worded like a lawyer would word something!!!!

[Tinkrbl44]

On 3/20/2015 terrier3 said:

On 3/20/2015 Cakers1 said:

What a horrible thing to say - I've been VERY vocal AGAINST Bill. Try to keep up.

I notice you said nothing to dooBdoo and she was the one who posted the Snopes link.

Have a nice evening.

psst: I still don't believe you.

The Snopes story was VERY carefully worded - it said he never collected a SALARY....it didn't mention all his perks and that his life was basically funded by MDA (and listed as operating expenses).

Similar story - A man said that he never collected a salary from running a non-profit committee....he never collected ONE paycheck. He has said this numerous times on TV.

The non-profit he ran as chairman of the board put all of it's resources and fundraising into HUGE TV campaigns - 300 MILLION dollars worth of TV advertising in one year alone.

Yes, he never got a penny in salary - but he owned the advertising agency that placed the TV spots. I worked with the head of his advertising agency - it was a 3 person office - the woman I worked with, the big boss and a secretary. Advertising agencies - their agency is named Crossroads - get 15% COMMISSION (not salary) for placing advertising. That is how I make money myself now....15% is the standard agency commission. 15% of 300 million is 45 MILLION dollars in commission in one year.

Please re-read Snopes...it is worded like a lawyer would word something!!!!

ITA, Terrier .... there are MANY ways to receive "financial consideration" without being a salaried employee ..... this isn't new information.

Some people don't want to believe that .... they can hold fast to any point of view they want .... personally, I don't care.