[OG's Note of Hilarity: "The group says many of the financial records in question were stolen in a burglary." BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Gawd knows, I oughta put my old income tax returns and check registers in a safe deposit box so the bad guys don't steal 'em. I mean, everybody knows they're a hot item to swap for crack these days and the shady pawnshops just love 'em.] Sunday, August 5, 2001

Pennsylvania halts Abu-Jamal group's fund effort

The organization has not complied with requests for financial details. It has been banned from soliciting in Pa.

By Monica Yant Kinney and Craig R. McCoy INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS

The main fund-raising organization for death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal has been ordered to stop soliciting contributions in Pennsylvania, after failing to give a full accounting of its finances.

In a letter released last week, the state faulted the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal for ignoring repeated demands to provide details of spending and fund-raising over the last decade.

The state also criticized the nonprofit for missing filing deadlines to detail its current finances and for turning in an inadequate audit prepared by an unlicensed accountant, the state said.

The July 9 letter from the Bureau of Charitable Organizations of the Pennsylvania Department of State put it bluntly: "You cannot solicit contributions in Pennsylvania until all the reasons listed above are corrected."

Pam Africa, leader of the fund-raising group, has suggested in interviews that it may have raised as much as $1 million, but refused to provide concrete figures.

Until recently, the group was not registered with the IRS or the state Bureau of Charitable Organizations, meaning that any money raised was done so illegally.

The group has applied for and received charitable recognition from the IRS. A similar request to the state has been denied thus far, because of the group's refusal to open its books for inspection. The group says many of the financial records in question were stolen in a burglary.

Karl Emerson, the bureau's director, has said he wants to know "exactly how much money the group raised in violation of the law before we issue an actual certificate of approval."

Africa hung up on a reporter seeking comment Friday. "I'm trying to save my brother," she said, in an apparent reference to Abu-Jamal. "Leave me alone."

Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther and radio journalist, was convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. He is due back in court in Philadelphia later this month in an attempt to win a new trial.

The charity bureau's ruling comes at a time when the international movement to free Abu-Jamal is in turmoil.

Earlier this year, Abu-Jamal fired his longtime legal team, led by civil-liberties lawyer Leonard Weinglass. Weinglass had been instrumental over the years in rallying celebrities to the cause.

Abu-Jamal's new lawyers are pursuing a theory that Faulkner was killed by the mob. The new team and strategy are said to be ruffling some prominent celebrity supporters and hurting fund-raising. "It's pretty much dried up," one backer said.

Over the last decade, a variety of properly registered organizations have raised at least $950,000 on Abu-Jamal's behalf, according to public-disclosure forms.

MOVE activist Africa has remained Abu-Jamal's most visible advocate. In the 1990s, she collected money from supporters across the globe.

In 1999, the rock group Rage Against the Machine held a benefit concert at the Meadowlands in North Jersey for Abu-Jamal. Band members said the concert raised $80,000 for Africa's group.

In October, three San Francisco-area rallies raised $50,000 for the cause. Hari Dillon, president of the Vanguard Public Foundation in that city, said his social-justice organization cosponsored the main event, featuring boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. The foundation contributed $15,000 of the total sum, Dillon said, and the money was split equally among Africa's group, another nonprofit and Weinglass.

California author Gerald Nicosia, who is writing a book on Abu-Jamal despite opposition from the convict's camp, attended the events. Organizers charged $25 for a wine and cheese party and $15 for the rally. The 2,000 people who attended the rally were also asked for donations, he said.

"They always circulate a bucket, at every single rally I've been to," Nicosia said.

For much of the 1990s, the Black United Fund of Pennsylvania Inc., a registered charity, collected and forwarded money to the Abu-Jamal group. Africa raised at least $280,000 from that relationship, but she and the fund refuse to divulge the total raised.

In 1999, amid controversy over the relationship, the Black United Fund dropped its ties to Africa. Last year, she incorporated her group, applied for and received tax-exempt status from the IRS, and sought state recognition as well.

In June, Africa reported a break-in at her West Philadelphia office. Her group said the thieves ignored computers and a VCR, stealing only key financial records. There was no sign of forced entry.

Africa's group has provided some financial figures for 1999 and 2000 as part of its effort to get tax-exempt status. The group reported raising $203,000 in 1999 and $73,000 in 2000.

In that period, among other expenses, $85,000 went to pay lawyers, accountants and consultants; $42,000 to print and mail educational materials; and $20,000 went for travel costs, the group said.

On the IRS forms, Africa said she received no salary for her 60-hour workweeks.

-- Anonymous, August 05, 2001