Air America Scandel: Friday Update

The Weekly Standard in their August 29th edition, has Nothing to See Here.

The Air America scandal continues to metastasize. The national board of directors for Boys and Girls Clubs of America is considering a formal staff recommendation that the organization expel its Bronx, New York, affiliate, the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club, for apparent involvement in–and concealment of–a scheme by which nearly $900,000 was improperly diverted to the liberal radio network from bank accounts intended to fund social service programs for disadvantaged children and the elderly. “It’s a very, very serious matter,” Boys and Girls Clubs spokesman Evan McElroy told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week.

And he’s not the only one who thinks so. At least two law enforcement agencies, the New York City Department of Investigation and the New York State attorney general’s office, have confirmed an active interest in the matter. And, tangentially at least, the courts are already involved, as well. Bloggers Michelle Malkin and Brian Maloney, who’ve together done more than anyone else to advance the story, now report that Air America is being sued by an unpaid creditor who alleges, among other things, that the network’s current parent company, Piquant LLC, is merely a sham reincorporation of the “predecessor” outfit that filched the Boys and Girls Club money.

Meanwhile, Byron Calame, “public editor” of the New York Times, has quietly filed a post to his “web journal” acknowledging that his colleagues “showed up late” to the Air America story and thus “poorly served” their readers.

Only after “weeks of articles by other newspapers” did the Times finally get around to noticing the scandal in its own backyard. And this oversight was especially regrettable, Calame allowed, in light of the “flurry of articles” the paper had run during the happy-face PR blitz surrounding Air America’s debut in the spring of 2004. It’s inconsistencies like these, he pointed out, that typically give rise to “a perception of liberal bias” at the Times, and before you know it, certain of the paper’s right-wingier subscribers are writing in to complain.

Calame does have some good news to report, however. In this particular case, at least, any perception of liberal bias at the Times is one “for which I haven’t found any evidence after checking with editors at the paper.”

In the meantime, Air America Radio host, Randi Rhodes is flying (perhaps in her charted jet) to Crawford to be with Cindy Sheehan.

And Evan Montvel Cohen, the former chairman of Ari America is still missing.

The New York Sun has a series of piece on the Air America Scandel, Air America Online Special Section.

Michelle Malkin has an excellent Friday round-up, AIR ENRON: FRIDAY MORNING UPDATES.

And these are some of the kids hurt by this scam.

And….. the New York as well as Federal authorities continue to be very very quiet. Are they even looking for Evan Montvel Cohen?

Sheesh.

Ok, back to Crawford, New York Times……

Technorati Tags: Air America, Al Franken, New York City, Evan Cohen, theft, New York Times, Michelle Malkin, Randi Rhodes