WHY STAY
NOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS,
mittee of lay leaders, chaired by Berger
and another noted tax lawyer, Daniel
Shapiro of New York, to look into
CJF's internal procedures, to see if they
contributed in any way to the debacle.
An outside investigator has been
engaged by CJF's New York law firm,
Proskauer, Rose LLP, ro examine the
situation and make recommendations.
CJF's leaders put the blame for the
• alleged tax fraud on deceitful maneu-
vers by Payroll Express, which it says
may have made partial tax payments in
some quarters and no payments in
others.
Under normal circumstances, the
IRS would notify an employer of
delinquent tax payments first by letter,
then by telephone. CJF's director of
accounting, Martin Wallack, said that
he received no such notification.
CJF's leaders anticipate that the
independent investigator's report will
vindicate the organization's internal
procedures and its hiring of Payroll
Express, which according to the CJF
statement, had a stable financial rating
and excellent references at the time it
was engaged.
"At this point, there is no evidence
of mismanagement by our institution,"
said CJF's president, Dr. Conrad Giles
of Detroit.
"My sense is that this will not mate-
rially, affect any of the ongoing discus-
sions in the creation" of the merger
with the United Jewish Appeal and the
United Israel Appeal, Giles said,
adding that UJA President Richard
Wexler was invited to sit on the inter-
nal oversight committee.
CJF recently entered into a partner-
ship with the UJA and UTA, but
remains a separate legal entity with its
own accounting department.
"It is obvious that while this is a
contingent liability moving forward,"
Giles said, "this liability will not stop
the momentum toward the creation of
the new unit."
The heads of the other affected
Jewish organizations said they are satis-
fied with CJF's handling of the situa-
tion so far.
"I think they've been very respon-
sive," said Lawrence Rubin, executive
vice chairman of JCPA, which has had
CJF handle all its financial affairs
since 1994.
"So much needs to be uncovered."
said JESNA's executive vice president,
Jonathan Woocher. In a case with
combined bankruptcy, fraud, taxing
authorities, multiple agencies and
insurance companies," he said, "there's
a lot to sort through." El
"
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12
19
Detroit Jewish News
Z.