Head of Philadelphia Gun turn in "buy back" Deep in Scandal

Reuters ran article (16 January) about the U.S.  Justice department’s Inspector General claiming that the head of the Philadelphia gun “buy back” gave himself unauthorized raises totaling $82,000 over four years.  From kfgo.com:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The head of a Philadelphia gun buyback program gave himself unauthorized pay raises and failed to hold down other expenses paid from federal grant money, the U.S. Justice Department’s inspector general said in a report on Thursday.

Compensation given to the Philadelphia Safety Net’s executive director, Raymond Jones, was unreasonably high and not authorized by the group’s board of directors, according to the audit report. It also said the group had a potential conflict of interest, because Jones’s sister served as chairwoman of the board.

 The article says that Jones received a salary of $146,378 in 2010, when he was authorized a salary of $90,000.   Raymond Jones was the only employee in the organization.   Total paid salaries in 2011 was $110,651.

Of course, if you are the only one doing the work in the organization, then you have to approve your own raise.  You are your own boss./S

I ran into what I believe is a similar situation in Phoenix.   Arizonans for Gun Safety has no membership dues, yet had expenses of $78,053 in 2011.  No government fees or contracts are mentioned, which may explain why they do not separate out salaries.  

No doubt everything is perfectly legal.   Raymond Jones says he was just busy:

Jones, in a written response to the audit report, did not dispute the amounts but said that as the group’s only employee he was doing four jobs at once, including grant manager and public relations director. He said the group was in the process of electing a new board of directors to avoid potential conflicts of interest.

Many of the “gun safety” anti-second amendment organizations are similar across the states.  One man or woman shops who have found a way to cash in on the media’s desire for citizen disarmament, and lack of curiosity about  the money funding the programs.
 
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