Petty white collar crime largely goes un-prosecuted. It is simply judged to be unworthy of DA time. Who suffers? Those who contribute to the charitable organizations that are often the victim of embezzlement. Take Starr King Park in San Francisco. A rogue board member, Suzanne Shields, systematically took over the board and appropriated its trust fund of $150,000 to pay the mortgage on her home, and then lost her home anyway, leaving the organization with no funds to pay its ongoing expenses and no recovery possible. This land trust, owned by the citizens of Potrero Hill, is almost unique in that it is owned by citizens who directly benefit from its existence. Sadly since it is likely the trust fund will never be rebuilt, this, one of the last few pieces of open space left in the city, will default to the city someday. Meanwhile the boards continue to argue about trying to reestablish native plants rather than the less glamorous work of fund raising. So sad. The story will appear in the August issue of the Potrero View.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 22:25:25 +0000