Fr. Harrington testifies in case

This was posted on Redmen.com and featured in today's Daily News,


http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/st-john-president-testify-disgraced-dean-article-1.1185603


Does anyone know Dr. Chang or anyone in accounting who let this fraud happen?.

I would love to hear what the younger alums and current students on here think of FH and his handling of this matter?

By the way FH sounds completely out of teach time for him to retire and let Fr. Maher reshape the University. I got a call from a few folks who are not SJU people telling me how crazy it was that FH let this happen and accept wine from this flake Chang.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/disgraced-st-john-dean-found-dead-apparent-suicide-source-article-1.1197233

She killed herself after testifying. Crazy.

Thank You Moose.

Haven't received my copy of New York. Wow don't what to make of it, I've been around for a long time and consider myself fairly sophisticated,but it appears I'm a little naive

Its a pretty detailed piece.  I was shocked after reading it all.

this story is shocking and bizarre at the same time. a plot for law and order or a movie

I also haven't received my NY Mag for this week so thanks for the preview Moose.  Quite shocking where was the internal audit department (if they have one at the school) which should have been reporting to the board?  Where were the outside auditors?  The fact the gifts of these amounts were acceptable is unreal as most businesses have limits on corporate gifts/meals from service providers, etc.

Where there is smoke there is fire

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/03/st-johns-digs-deeper-into-chang-corruption.html

In the wake of new revelations (see "The Dean of Corruption") about the gifts Cecilia Chang, the St. John's administrator and fund-raiser who committed suicide in the midst of her trial for fraud, lavished on her supervisors, the university has tasked an outside counsel to look deeper into the case.

Frank Wohl, a partner in Lankler, Siffert and Wohl, who played a role in the original Chang investigation, will now be reviewing the actions of Father Donald Harrington, president of the university, and his chief of staff and senior vice president, Rob Wile, both of whom received numerous expensive gifts from Chang. 

The board also wants to know more about GRH Group LLC, a real estate partnership formed by Harrington and Wile that purchased a property on the Jersey shore. The real estate venture – which appears to have netted about $200,000 –  is of interest to the board in part because at about the same time Wile received $370,000 of interest-free loans from the University. The loans were recommended by his boss, Harrington, as part of Wile’s compensation package and approved by the board's audit committee — though, at the time, committee members didn't know about the real estate partnership.

That business relationship wasn't disclosed to the IRS either, though its Form 990 requires nonprofits to report business dealings among key employees. Wile’s total compensation is the highest of any current university employee, excluding the men's basketball coach.  (Harrington, a Vincentian priest, has his salary paid to his order.) In 2010, the last year for which filings are available, Wile's total compensation was about $549,000.

Where there is smoke there is fire

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/03/st-johns-digs-deeper-into-chang-corruption.html

In the wake of new revelations (see "The Dean of Corruption") about the gifts Cecilia Chang, the St. John's administrator and fund-raiser who committed suicide in the midst of her trial for fraud, lavished on her supervisors, the university has tasked an outside counsel to look deeper into the case.

Frank Wohl, a partner in Lankler, Siffert and Wohl, who played a role in the original Chang investigation, will now be reviewing the actions of Father Donald Harrington, president of the university, and his chief of staff and senior vice president, Rob Wile, both of whom received numerous expensive gifts from Chang. 

The board also wants to know more about GRH Group LLC, a real estate partnership formed by Harrington and Wile that purchased a property on the Jersey shore. The real estate venture – which appears to have netted about $200,000 –  is of interest to the board in part because at about the same time Wile received $370,000 of interest-free loans from the University. The loans were recommended by his boss, Harrington, as part of Wile’s compensation package and approved by the board's audit committee — though, at the time, committee members didn't know about the real estate partnership.

That business relationship wasn't disclosed to the IRS either, though its Form 990 requires nonprofits to report business dealings among key employees. Wile’s total compensation is the highest of any current university employee, excluding the men's basketball coach.  (Harrington, a Vincentian priest, has his salary paid to his order.) In 2010, the last year for which filings are available, Wile's total compensation was about $549,000.

$549,000, not bad for the former men's soccer player.

Today at 8:54 AM 4Comments
Top St. John’s Official Blocked Payback Request
By Steve Fishman
   

Cecilia Chang, arriving at court she,s charged with stealing millions from St. John's University. (Photo By: Willie Anderson/NY Daily News via Getty Images)

The 2011 probe of Cecilia Chang, the corrupt former St. John’s dean who stole more than $1 million from the university, revealed that Rob Wile, chief of staff to St. John's president Father Donald Harrington, had charged $25,000 on brands like Prada, Ferragamo, and Lanvin to one of Chang's Taiwanese credit cards, which was billed to a university account. Now sources inside the investigation reveal that they told Harrington in 2011 that Wile should reimburse St. John's at least some of the money. Harrington said he'd consider the recommendation, "but it went nowhere," to the shock of one investigator.

Instead, "Wile got raises," as one source put it, after the investigation began in 2010. That year he received an additional payment of $150,000 in a category marked “other reportable compensation," according to an IRS form. Sources say the $150,000 included a $100,000 retention bonus and $50,000 in debt forgiveness. Wile received $370,000 in interest-free loans from St. John's and that year received more in compensation than any other current employee except the basketball coach, according to documents. He also approved some of Chang's expenses.

Harrington, who told investigators that Chang said her credit-card costs were covered by donors, also benefited from Wile's use of her Taiwanese card. In 2003, Wile charged $8,474.82 for Harrington and Wile’s long weekend in Turks and Caicos, supposedly a gift from Chang. According to sources, Wile brought along his then-girlfriend, who sources report was an undergraduate at St. John’s at the time; they’re now married.

Outside counsel is currently further examining the actions of Harrington and Wile, among other things, after revelations that Wile was in business with Harrington on a real-estate venture. The St. John’s Board of Trustees meets in Rome today.

“@STJTorch: REPORT: Harrington was told by investigators Rob Wile should reimburse STJ; instead gave him substantial pay raise http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/03/top-st-johns-official-blocked-payback-request.html”

Beginning of the end for Fr. H?

Good for the Torch;

http://www.torchonline.com/opinion/2013/03/06/flames-of-the-torch-the-last-straw/

This just won't stop-

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/03/st-johns-officials-took-secret-loans.html

“@PeterVecsey1: Big scandal about to rock St. John's. Nothing to do with sports, a valued source insists. Head will, er, has rolled.”

“@PeterVecsey1: Big scandal about to rock St. John's. Nothing to do with sports, a valued source insists. Head will, er, has rolled.”

Dlo rolling his eyes    and Sir Dom punching walls  over these revelations! 

“@PeterVecsey1: Big scandal about to rock St. John's. Nothing to do with sports, a valued source insists. Head will, er, has rolled.”

Vescey making it sound like its bigger and worse than just the loans and pay-raise scandal

Quote from: paultzman on March 08, 2013, 04:02:00 PM

“@PeterVecsey1: Big scandal about to rock St. John's. Nothing to do with sports, a valued source insists. Head will, er, has rolled.”

Vescey making it sound like its bigger and worse than just the loans and pay-raise scandal

He has tweeted it is. Never a dull moment at SJU.

Unreal. I can imagine what is going to follow.

I just can't believe Father Harrington would ever do anything wrong. I'm so very surprised.

SJU is about to get rocked big time. Recent Internet chatter is on the money I am told.