https://www.wsj.com/articles/leaked-let ... 1557597601
Leaked Letters Reveal Details of NRA Chief’s Alleged Spending
Wayne LaPierre expensed $39,000 in clothes in one day, $18,300 for car and driver, ad agency says; NRA says board has ‘full confidence’ in him.
By Mark Maremont
May 11, 2019 2:00 p.m. ET
National Rifle Association Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre billed the group’s ad agency $39,000 for one day of shopping at a Beverly Hills clothing boutique, $18,300 for a car and driver in Europe and had the agency cover $13,800 in rent for a summer intern, according to newly revealed NRA internal documents.
The documents, posted anonymously on the internet, provide new details of the clothing, travel and other expenses totaling more than $542,000 that Ackerman McQueen Inc. alleges Mr. LaPierre billed to it.
The travel expenses allegedly include more than $200,000 in “Air Transportation” costs during a one-month period in late 2012 and early 2013, in part related to a two-week trip over Christmas to the Bahamas by Mr. LaPierre.
The additional details behind the ad agency’s claims comes as Mr. LaPierre faces internal scrutiny at the NRA over his expenses amid an extraordinary falling-out between the NRA and Ackerman McQueen.
The NRA released a statement from Carolyn Meadows, its new president, who said the “entire board is fully aware of these issues. We have full confidence in Wayne LaPierre.” She added that “it is troubling and pathetic that some people would resort to leaking information to advance their agendas.”
Mr. LaPierre didn’t respond to a request for comment sent through the NRA.
The LaPierre expense documents posted on the internet appeared to be genuine, a person familiar with the originals told The Wall Street Journal.
The allegations come as the nonprofit gun-rights group is grappling with a new investigation into its financial dealings with insiders and other matters by the New York attorney general.
“It’s time for a change in leadership” at the NRA, said Shawn Herrin, an NRA member who runs a gun-oriented podcast company and aired some of the allegations about Mr. LaPierre’s spending last week.
The documents consist of letters and attachments sent last month to the NRA’s board by the organization’s then-President Oliver North. Mr. North wrote that the allegations “suggest financial impropriety” and he was forming a crisis management committee to examine those and other matters.
Mr. North was forced out after Mr. LaPierre accused him of trying to use the allegations to extort him into resigning. Those defending Mr. North have said he was doing his fiduciary duty as an officer of a nonprofit. Mr. North hasn’t commented.
An NRA attorney, William A. Brewer III, previously has said the vast majority of Mr. LaPierre’s travel expenses charged to the ad firm were for “donor outreach, fundraising and stakeholder engagement” and were being reviewed by the board. The NRA also has said Mr. LaPierre’s clothing expenses were justified due to his many public appearances.
Attached to Mr. North’s correspondence were two letters dated April 22 to Mr. LaPierre from Ackerman McQueen, the NRA’s longtime ad agency. Despite a decadeslong relationship, the NRA sued Ackerman last month, accusing it of failing to justify its billing.
The Journal previously reported on the Ackerman McQueen letters and their allegations about Mr. LaPierre’s clothing and travel expenses, but the documents provide fresh details.
In the letters, Ackerman McQueen wrote Mr. LaPierre that it couldn’t provide detail on clothing and travel expenses it incurred for the NRA chief without more information from him.
“We need to address your wardrobe you required us to provide, specifically purchases at the Zegna store in Beverly Hills, CA,” one letter from Ackerman said. It attached a list of purchases between 2004 and 2017 that totaled $274,695.03. On two dates, Mr. LaPierre’s purchases exceeded $39,000.
The other letter asked Mr. LaPierre for detailed records backing up $267,460.53 of travel and rent expenses that Mr. LaPierre billed to Ackerman, which said it in turn billed to the NRA.
They included a trip to Italy and Budapest in 2014, where the listed expenses included $6,500 for lodging at the Four Seasons hotel; $2,400 for a stay at the luxury Castadiva Resort on Italy’s Lake Como; $17,550 for “Air Charter” between Budapest and the Italian city of Brescia; and nearly $18,300 for a car and driver in both countries.
There was also a charge of $1,096 for “Frankfurt Airport Assistance.”
The letter also listed air transportation charges of almost $40,000 from Washington to the Bahamas on Dec. 17, 2012, and $29,000 from the Bahamas to Dallas on Jan. 3, 2013.
As for the summer intern, Ackerman wrote that Mr. LaPierre “required we rent” her an apartment and requested that Mr. LaPierre provide details about his business relationship to the young woman.
Nonprofits are supposed to be run in the best interests of the organization, not for the benefit of board members or executives, legal experts said. Under New York’s nonprofit law, among the toughest in the U.S., the attorney general could seek to remove directors or officers, and claw back as much as double any improperly obtained benefit.
—Rob Barry contributed to this article.
I guess there are lots of donors who require reaching out in the Bahamas, Italy, and Budapest.
And the apartment rent for the "summer intern"? Let me guess that the summer intern just happened to be a hot 20-something blonde.
Now we know where our dues have been going.
