Greetings, all The Advocate daily newspaper of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has been reporting dribs and drabs of a potentially far-reaching scandal involving the National Senior Games Association, the folks putting on the National Senior Olympics, which includes a July track meet for over-50s at LSU’s Bernie Moore track stadium. The USATF National Masters Outdoor Championships are piggybacking the event a week and a half later at the same venue. Stories online report how, more than a year ago, the association’s accountant and her boyfriend allegedly absconded with $190,000 of NSGA funds. An independent review slammed the group’s head honcho, David Hull, for “a lack of internal controls (that) put out a welcome mat for fraud.” Then just three weeks ago, Hull mysteriously and abruptly quit at president and CEO of the NSGA. Reporters for The Advocate were then stonewalled for a week on the precise reasons for his exit only two months before the group’s flagship biennial event. But this past Friday, amid reports that the group needed a $100,000 bailout from the state Legislature to stay afloat, The Advocate reported that a third of the staff was laid off as the group “copes with a money crunch left by the group’s $150,000-a-year former chief executive officer.” And details filtered out on Hull's “resignation.” Reports The Advocate: The national board met May 5, in part to evaluate Hull’s job performance, interim CEO Jack Neumann said. "There were some red flags there with regard to the fiscal management of the organization," Neumann said. “He wasn’t meeting the expectations of the board. The board decided it was in his best interests and the board’s best interests for him to resign." Neumann said he could not say specifically how much the group was in the hole when Hull left. However, in July, Hull received a raise in his contract amount from $107,000 to $150,000 a year. Anyone out there with more information on this case -- and what it means to masters track and the National Senior Olympics? A CHRONOLOGY OF STORIES: http://www.theadvocate.com/news/story.asp?storyid=11329 http://www.theadvocate.com/news/story.asp?storyid=12436 http://www.theadvocate.com/news/story.asp?storyid=14129 http://www.theadvocate.com/news/story.asp?storyid=21364 http://www.theadvocate.com/news/story.asp?storyid=21454 http://www.theadvocate.com/news/story.asp?storyid=21650 Ken Stone http://www.masterstrack.com
