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Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre speaks at the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action Leadership Forum at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (AP Photo / Michael Conroy)
National Rifle Association General Manager, Wayne LaPierre, has charged the agency's advertising agency more than $ 240,000 for travel-related expenses he has made in Italy, in Hungary, the Bahamas and elsewhere without providing adequate documentation, according to a letter from the advertising agency handed over to the group's board of directors. week and described by people familiar with the subject.
Some expenses of Mr. LaPierre were charged to one of the credit cards of the advertising company, they said, and the overall costs include a stay in 2014 at the Four Seasons Hotel Budapest and travel expenses in Palm Beach, Florida, and Reno, Nev. The advertising firm Ackerman McQueen Inc. has been paid back over time by the gun rights group, these people said.
The disclosure of travel expenses was brought to light as a result of an extraordinary dispute between the NRA and Ackerman McQueen. The previously unpublished letter, dated April 22, played a role in the recent upheavals within the NRA and raises new questions as to whether Mr. LaPierre has benefited from the relationships with NRA vendors.
William A. Brewer III, a lawyer outside the NRA, said "the vast majority of travel involved donor awareness, fundraising and stakeholder engagement. The board is aware of the allegations and has reviewed them. "
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Mr. Brewer stated that some fundraising and travel expenses were channeled through Ackerman McQueen for "privacy and security" purposes, but that practice has since changed. Mr. LaPierre did not return the messages left to the NRA.
The letter of reimbursement for travel expenses could become an important factor as the NRA is faced with an investigation by the New York Attorney General, made public over the weekend. Related party transactions – financial transactions that benefit not-for-profit insiders – are among the issues examined in this investigation, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Previously, the Journal reported that Mr. LaPierre had received over $ 200,000 in costumes and other vendor-paid clothing – something that people familiar with the case now say is also Ackerman McQueen. NRA officials said the expenses were justified because of his numerous television and television appearances.
Ackerman McQueen's letter was handed out to ANR directors last week by Oliver North, president of the ANR, who called for the creation of a board crisis committee. administration to investigate travel costs and other allegations of financial mismanagement.
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Mr. North left the group after being accused by Mr. LaPierre of having extorted and pressured him to quit as a result of "unspecified charges" "wardrobe costs and excessive travel expenses of staff. "
In a statement released Thursday, ANR director Marion Hammer said the allegations of travel expenses were "part of the failed coup d'état attempt" and were duly considered by the jury. .
Mr. North's advocates stated that he was discharging his fiduciary duty by requesting the opening of an internal investigation into the credible allegations brought to his attention. Mr. North did not comment.
The compensation revealed by Mr. LaPierre in 2017, the last year reported, amounted to $ 1.4 million. He has been at the helm of the NRA since 1991.
Despite decades-long relationships, the NRA sued its advertising agency last month for allegedly failing to provide documentation justifying its bills. Ackerman McQueen called the pursuit frivolous and inaccurate.
A few days after the complaint was filed, Ackerman McQueen sent the letter to Mr. LaPierre, copying it to others, claiming that she had not been able to provide the NRA with files justifying the more than 240 $ 000 spent on Mr. LaPierre's travel expenses without vouchers. people said.
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The letter stated that it was "imperative" that Mr. LaPierre provide the requested documentation, said these people.
The trip to Italy, said one person familiar with the subject, was linked to a 2015 documentary short on the Italian arms manufacturer Beretta published on NRATV. Susan LaPierre, Mr. LaPierre's wife, appears in the video talking to a member of the Beretta family. Ms. LaPierre co-chairs the NRA Women's Leadership Forum. She did not immediately respond to a message left to the NRA.
Click here for more information from the Wall Street Journal.
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