Crooks!!

[TN-W124 Diesel]

I just cant' believe people would take money like this...


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/story/173737p-151375c.html

By MICHELE McPHEE
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF

A lawyer for the charity created by the three firefighters in the iconic flag-raising photograph at Ground Zero has reaped more than $500,000 in legal fees while the charity has given just $73,000 to the needy, the Daily News has learned.

Meanwhile, the charity has come under scrutiny for possible misdeeds. On Friday, state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office ordered Bravest Fund officials to turn over financial documents showing how the charity has raised and spent its money.

"On the face of it, we certainly have a lot of concerns," said Juanita Scarlett, a spokeswoman for Spitzer.

Despite taking in more than $1million, the Bravest Fund has disbursed only $73,000, according to William Kelly, the charity's attorney.

Yet Kelly has collected $553,000 in legal fees from the Bravest Fund and a second charity set up by The Record of Hackensack, N.J. - both of which were created to distribute money raised by the photo, which was snapped by Record photographer Tom Franklin.

Officials from The Record are questioning Kelly's legal bills and have severed their relationship with him.

The Record has demanded that the Bravest Fund submit to an independent audit of Kelly's records. Kelly agreed to the audit last week.

The growing controversy over the charity has angered the three firefighters in the picture, George Johnson, Dan McWilliams and Bill Eisengrein.

They steadfastly defend Kelly, saying that without him, there would be no Bravest Fund.

The three firefighters said they never wanted publicity or money, preferring that a charity be set up to collect any proceeds from the photo.

"People were going to be making money off this image whether we hired Bill Kelly or not," said Johnson, who is dating Kelly's sister. "For every dollar the charity spends on this law firm, two comes in. Without spending the dollar, zero comes in."

Kelly sues anyone who uses the photograph without permission, and helps collect licensing fees and royalty payments to reprint the image, which now appears on leather jackets, Timex watches, bank checks, T-shirts and an assortment of Sept. 11, 2001-related items.

The work has resulted in $1,969,369 raised through copyright infringement settlements and licensing fees. From that, his law firm, McCarthy & Kelly, has deducted $553,000 - a legal bill split by the Bravest Fund and The Record's charity.

"It costs what it costs," Kelly said.

The Record does not necessarily accept that. The newspaper spent months contesting a number of his charges, including bills for $2,000 to send paralegals to the bank to make deposits, $324 to report lost cell phones and nearly $1,000 to "review flight schedules" for firefighters to visit the White House for the unveiling of a U.S. postage stamp bearing the photo.

Last week, after The News ran two stories about the Bravest Fund, Kelly's firm returned nearly $40,000.

The Record also has questions about how much its charity may be owed.

According to Kelly, the Bravest Fund gave away $73,000 and still has $645,000 in the bank. Of that, $35,000 was collected from private donors, according to Kelly.

Kelly said the rest of the nearly $2 million collected was given to The Record's charity, which is entitled to half of what Kelly collects through the photo.

The Record's attorney, Jennifer Borg, said her accounting of the funds raised does not match Kelly's records.

"We are owed other money from the Bravest Fund, and we are waiting for the results of an independent audit," Borg said.

For now, The Record will refuse any further licensing requests for the photograph.

"The picture had a certain sanctity and a certain integrity. We wanted to maintain that integrity as purely as we could. We did not want to put it on tchotchkes," said Jon Markey, president of the North Jersey Media Group, which owns The Record. "Over time, we got a lot of pushback from Kelly's office to license the photograph. He was saying, 'Hey, you are turning everything down, how are we going to make money on this?'"

The low point came on March 5, when MBNA canceled its Spirit of America MasterCard that was emblazoned with the photo - a day after The News reported that families of Sept. 11 victims found the credit card distasteful.

Markey added that The Record will "pursue Kelly to determine how much [money] is there."

"We are going to take any steps we need to, including legal steps, to get those answers."

The three firefighters said the charity has disbursed a small percentage of its money because the fund was designed to be a refuge for city emergency workers to get help if they are hurt or if they are hit with an illness that hinders them from doing their jobs.

An NYPD cop suffering from cancer and a firefighter whose son broke his neck in an accident are among the fund's recipients, the firefighters said.

They see nothing wrong with trying to capitalize on the iconic image if it benefits the needy.

"If there is money to be made, we want it to go where we want," Eisengrein said. "It can do good for other people."

With research by Scott Browne

[sfloriII]

That one's a tough call. While only about $73,000 has actually been distributed, according to the article, the fund is also meant as a " refuge for city emergency workers to get help if they are hurt or if they are hit with an illness that hinders them from doing their jobs."

Kelly, the lawyer, says the fund has more than $600,000 in the bank which can help these people out if they need it.

But I do think some of Kelly's charges are a bit suspect.

[bjcsc]

Originally posted by GA-W123 Diesel

The work has resulted in $1,969,369 raised through copyright infringement settlements and licensing fees. From that, his law firm, McCarthy & Kelly, has deducted $553,000 - a legal bill split by the Bravest Fund and The Record's charity.

I don't know if they're crooks or not. If these numbers are correct, the firm is still under 1/3, and 1/3 is pretty standard for counsel. I think the real problem here is the amount distributed. The people waiting for their $$ are looking for someone to blame...

[Flash Gordon]

As a long time resident in NJ, am I surprised with this kind of crap in NY or NJ? The answer in an emphatic NO!!!