Gloria Wise, Sam Seder, Michael Medved, Talk Radio

GLORIA UN-WISE

During Interview, Air America Host Brushes Off Scandal





What's happening with the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club/ Air America Radio scandal investigation? That's a question your Radio Equalizer is asked quite often.

Unfortunately, while the case remains open, we haven't been able to get new information from New York City's Department of Investigation. A call made to the agency this morning has not yet been returned.

Yes, it has been a long wait, but hopefully we'll yet get some answers as to who will be held accountable for the $875,000 in taxpayer funds earmarked for an inner-city charity, that were instead diverted to
the liberal radio network.

To one of Air America's hosts, however, the matter was apparently resolved long ago!

According to several listeners of yesterday's syndicated Michael Medved Show (at right) who emailed the Radio Equalizer, "Majority Report" Co-host Sam Seder apparently claimed the money was paid back well over a year ago, with the issue now essentially put behind the company.

While we don't have a transcript to reference, the readers who emailed have been consistent with their details of what was said on the show.


So, is it true? Was this sticky mess resolved?

The truth is a bit different than what resulted from Seder's spin attempt: nine months ago, only after the DOI demanded it, the $875,000 was placed in an escrow account (called an "IOLA") controlled by Air America attorney Bill Schaap.

Unless the DOI has an update for us, that's where the money sits to this day. Until that point, the company had utilized every stalling tactic in the book to delay coughing up the dough.

In addition, at the very time it refused to repay the now- shuttered Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club its money, Air America was busy handing Al Franken one of the most generous compensation packages in the history of talk radio.

To generate the funds needed for the escrow account, Air America turned to a group of "investors", who each contributed a portion of the amount due.

As a result of its Enron- like corporate antics, will the company face penalties, fines, or criminal charges? We don't yet know, as it's up to New York City investigators and prosecutors to make that determination.

If Seder (above left, with Janeane Garofalo) is really asserting that the matter is entirely in the past, then he's most certainly not presenting an accurate picture of his employer's sleazy corporate scandal.

INCOMING-- another Medved listener emails:

>>Sam Seder apparently claimed the money was paid back well over a year ago, with the issue now essentially put behind the company.>>

This is exactly what Sam Seder said in his interview on Michael Medved's show yesterday.

About 6 months ago, I had an ongoing email exchange with Dr. Firpo Carr, who has a weekend afternoon show on the AA Los Angeles affilitate KTLK, about the GWBC money. At first he knew nothing about it. After he checked, he informed me that it had been taken care of with the escrow account.

The tone of the conversation was that I didn't have my facts straight and was trying to falsely blame AA for non-existant problems. He would not read the URLs I referred to at your site, Michele Malkin, etc. I then put together a chronology, by copying your stories.

Eventually, he wore me down.

It was like trying to do a research paper, and to what end? So I quit emailing him. He never would accept this ongoing problem with AA.

Please let everyone know the status of this ongoing scandal.

--Michael Carr
Pasadena, CA

Michael, thanks for your note. Obviously, Dr. Firpo Carr fears the truth about Air America's sleazy, Enron-like scandal. Perhaps he'd rather practice his tinfoil hat- making skills at the YearlyKos convention.

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