Fraternal Order of Police

New York, NY: (Aug-27-07) The State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's Office brought a lawsuit against the state Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), alleging that the order used money it received in donation for personal use. Tapping an outpouring of generosity after the Twin Towers attack, the FOP's foundation collected more than $15 million in donations. A solicitation on its Web site pleaded for help to "ease the financial burden of those officers who suffered catastrophic injuries and to the families of those who gave their lives trying to help others." The suit claimed that the FOP distributed only half the funds to the heroes' families. The Attorney General's probe revealed that the organization filed away millions of dollars in annuities and spent money on itself. In May 2003, the FOP used $925,000 in donations to buy its lodge headquarters in Hicksville, NY. It also spent about $400,000 of WTC funds to pay off debts, and doled out more to non-related charities and other FOP lodges around the state, the AG found. At the direction of ex-president Frank Ferreyra, a former insurance broker, the FOP invested $4.5 million in nine long-term annuities, without specifically putting them in the name of the WTC fund.

In a settlement reached, the state Fraternal Order of Police has agreed to surrender more than $9 million to families of fallen cops and to a health-care program for Ground Zero responders. [NEW YORK POST: DONATIONS FRAUD]

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Published on Aug-27-07