20331: (Hermantin) Palm Beach Post- Haitian council fined for tax woes (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Haitian council fined for tax woes

By Gariot Louima, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 13, 2004



DELRAY BEACH -- The Haitian American Community Council owes close to
$100,000 in fines to the Internal Revenue Service for filing late tax
reports, court records show.

The nonprofit agency did not file, or was late in filing, five quarterly
employee tax returns in the 2000 and 2001 tax years, and an annual return
for the fiscal year that ended Aug. 30, 1999. The agency has been fined
$92,889.16.

Willie Jones, a member of the council's board of directors, said the tax
problems were discovered last year after an internal audit. The agency has
arranged to make payments to the IRS of $500 per month, Jones said.

At this rate, the Haitian council will pay off the fines in 15 years.

Jones, an attorney, blamed the agency's tax problems on its former deputy
director, Karlie Richardson, whose May 2003 firing led to a public feud with
Executive Director Daniella Henry.

Richardson publicly criticized Henry for mismanaging the social service
agency. Her complaints to Palm Beach County and the Children's Services
Council resulted in separate investigations that found glaring problems with
the agency's programs.

Jones said Friday that Richardson was responsible for filing the agency's
tax returns.

"She filed some but they were late. And at least one was not found," Jones
said.

Henry made a similar claim in a Feb. 25 letter to revenue officer Judy
Berkowitz asking that "penalties and interests assigned to the agency be
waived."

Richardson and Berkowitz did not return calls for comment Friday.

gariot_louima@pbpost.com

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