Fresh Loaf

The state Attorney General’s Office filed suit today against Atlanta Councilman H. Lamar Willis, alleging that he sought and received donations for a scholarship fund in his name without first creating a nonprofit. State law mandates that charitable organizations must be registered with the Georgia Secretary of State before soliciting contributions.

The lawsuit also alleges that Willis failed to seek nonprofit-status with the IRS, according to a press release from the AG’s office:

[T]he fund, known as the H. Lamar Willis Scholarship Foundation, held itself out to the public and to donors as a charitable organization, and the foundation’s website maintained that donations to the foundation were tax-deductible because the foundation had been approved by the IRS as a charitable organization.  The suit alleges that Willis never obtained IRS approval for his foundation as a charitable organization.

According to the press release, the lawsuit claims that Willis “transferred funds from the foundation’s account to both his personal as well as his campaign account.  The lawsuit also alleges that Willis made cash withdrawals from the foundation account.”

The state is seeking an injunction that would prevent Willis from continuing to operate the foundation, and to turn over all donations the foundation has received.

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That’s gotta hurt. …

— Erick at Peach Pundit on Atlanta City Councilman H. Lamar Willis getting thrown under the bus by his own public relations agent.

Last month the AJC reported that Willis falsely claimed his H. Lamar Willis Foundation was a nonprofit. In a written statement, Willis’ PR agent said he thinks Willis lied to him about the facts of the case.

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I’m not sympathetic to the Doraville City Council at this point but if you step back to view the bigger picture, one has to wonder just how small towns throughout the land are coping with losing vital citizens for months on end.

— GriftDrift goes all big-picture on us in comments on Doraville’s middle-of-the-night firing of its police chief, John King. The chief was apparently fired, in part, because he was serving in Iraq for 18 months. He has since been rehired.

Read some of the AJC’s story about the case and you see the name of Doraville City Councilman Tom Hart. You may recall that Hart was ordered by Mayor Ray Jenkins not to speak to the city’s comptroller after he allegedly said some nasty stuff to her.

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If they’re so awesome, then they might be hitting a venue that isn’t Swayze’s when they make it to Atlanta. Oh yeah, and they wouldn’t suck. And on top of that, I wouldn’t be using their CD as a coaster to help me drown my sorrows.

— Leah at Confessions of a Music Addict apparently has mixed feelings about the song “Because I’m Awesome” by the Dollyrots.

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Atlanta City Councilman H. Lamar Willis has responded to last Friday’s AJC story alleging his charitable foundation misrepresented its nonprofit status to donors.

In a statement printed in the AJC and posted on the website of Atlanta crisis consulting firm Alisias, Willis admitted the story’s core allegation was correct:

Regrettably, however, parts of the foundation’s Web site inaccurately describe our status as 501(c)(3). For this error, I am accountable and take full responsibility.

The story did not allege Willis pocketed any of the money, but just in case you were wondering:

Neither I, nor any member of my family, have ever received a single payment from the proceeds raised by the H. Lamar Willis Foundation.

Read the entire mea sorta culpa here.

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There’s a great story on the front page of the print edition of today’s AJC about Atlanta City Councilman H. Lamar Willis and his eponymous charitable foundation.

Did councilman misrepresent charity?

By CAMERON McWHIRTER
Published on: 07/27/07

For the past five years, Atlanta City Councilman H. Lamar Willis has solicited donors for a foundation he says he created to give scholarships to Atlanta students. The H. Lamar Willis Foundation has told major corporations — which have contributed tens of thousands of dollars — that donations are tax-deductible because it is a federally approved nonprofit.

But it’s not, and it never has been.

The implied possible “why”:

Willis, an attorney, has refused to provide The Atlanta Journal-Constitution with a list of donors or recipients of the money. Of the donors mentioned on the foundation Web site, many are companies doing business at the airport, which Willis helps oversee as a member of the City Council’s transportation committee. Companies include Coca-Cola, Comcast, AirTran, Target and Turner Construction, among others.

Ha!

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