Another allegation of inflated numbers

[wyomingi]

If this is true it is more bad news.

 

 

 

Boy Scout council accused of inflating troop totals

 

February 24, 2005

 

 

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) A Wyoming man has filed a lawsuit against a Boy Scout council in southern Oregon, alleging it forced him to resign when he uncovered that troop totals were inflated to boost executive salaries.

 

John Mangan, 62, is seeking a $296,000 judgment for lost wages and emotional distress.

 

Mangans case is the first reported instance of phantom Boy Scout troops in the state, said Victoria Cox, spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Justice. The FBI has opened investigations around the country into similar allegations against the Boy Scouts of America.

 

Mangan discovered numerous Scouts who did not exist but had been identified on the councils books, according to his suit, filed in December in Jackson County Circuit Court.

 

I was shocked, he said Wednesday. After I found out about all this stuff, I was really disheartened to go out and raise money for that council.

 

The Crater Lake Council serves 10 counties in Southern Oregon and Northern California and lists a membership of 5,300. Mangan said seven phantom troops of about eight to 24 scouts each were on the books in Jackson, Josephine and Siskiyou counties.

 

Mangan says the district manager previously in charge of scouting membership acknowledged to him that the records were doctored because annual salary increases were determined by scouting participation.

 

After Boy Scout officials heard his allegation, the councils membership records showed a reduction of more than 600 scouts between 2001 and 2002, Mangan said. The biggest drop was in Josephine County, he added, from 942 youth to 703.

 

Mangan alleges that his investigation rubbed executives the wrong way, and he was told to quit or be fired in September 2003.

 

Mangan now works for the Boy Scouts in Wyoming. But he said he failed to find employment with the organization until January of this year because local Boy Scout executive Ed Weiseth falsely characterized him as an unsatisfactory employee.

 

Weiseth told the (Medford) Mail Tribune that he would not respond to Mangans allegations.

 

United Way of Jackson County executive director Dee Anne Everson, whose organization funds the Boy Scouts, said she called the local council office Wednesday after being contacted by the Mail Tribune.

She said Scout officials denied keeping ghost troops on the books.

 

Our board would ask for some answers ... because theyre donated dollars from people who trust us to do the right thing, Everson said.

 

[GopherJudy]

EEK! This is not good news! This could do a lot of damage in trying to get new boys to join Scouts & to get people to participate in fundraising. Are some of the paid Scouters just in it for the money? If so, what a shame. That ruins things for those who are involved because they care about the boys & Scouting. Those involved are certainly not living by the Scout Oath & Law. This is very sad.

 

Judy

[Backpacker]

This is not a new situation to the professional side of the BSA. Inflated numbers, phantom (paper units) are all to commonplace practices to make council exec's look good for promotion and raises. As a former senior district exec myself I have witnessed these situations firsthand and watch incompetent SE's, FD's, and DE's get promotions and transfers based on false numbers.

 

However, let me say that there are some very good and honest scouting professionals out there, the problem is many of them, myself included, leave the profession for the private sector because of the dishonest games you have to play to make National happy.

[BadenP]

As a former DE myself I agree with Backpacker 100%. It would be nice to see the pro's put as much effort into programming as they do for numbers. Giving the volunteers and kids even better resources and programs will bring in many more youth than creating ghost units will. Maybe these investigations will put National on notice to straighten up their act or lose financial and community support. I for one am going to keep a close eye on these stories and what is going on in my local council.

[Eamonn]

I have heard that Tampa is being looked at.

It is really sad.

I was watching my favorite TV show last week when President Bartlet said:

"Corruption of the best is the worst".

We are all saddened when we see our good name tarnished by a few twits.

Eamonn.

[Proud Eagle]

Sounds like a rather bad situation out there.

 

However, even if the membership issue is true, that does not prove this guys case. These days it is extremely dangerous to say anything at all about a former employee for fear of being sued if they have difficulty finding employement. Employers should only verify dates of employment and basic facts of that sort if they want to stay lawsuit free.

 

I think we have all identified that the problem is related to the numbers based retention, raises, and promotion of the professional staff. There must be a better way and it must be found soon, or this will only keep happening, just as it has for many years.