ontrary to his public denials, the chief executive of the scandal-ridden United Way in the Washington area was aware of improper financial practices, was involved in them and disregarded those who tried to stop them, one of the charity's top executives has written in a memorandum.
Norman O. Taylor, the beleaguered chief executive of the United Way of the National Capital Area, has repeatedly said he was unaware that expense accounts had been abused, that donations had been inflated to make the agency appear more efficient and that only 52 percent of the gifts from some donors had been passed on to social services charities.
Mr. Taylor has also repeatedly denied knowing about a $6,000 a month consulting contract for his predecessor, Oral Suer. The senior executive wrote, however, that Mr. Taylor had arranged that contract.
The accusations were made by Kenneth Unzicker, the director of corporate fund-raising campaigns for United Way in the Washington area, in a four-page memorandum to an ethics committee formed to deal with the charity's crisis.
Mr. Unzicker, who has worked at the agency for 28 years, wrote of his "grievous concerns about existing policies, practices and conditions" at the charity. "In the past 19 months," he wrote, "my attempts to air my concerns have been rebuffed or ignored by Norman Taylor and others in control of the organization."
The memorandum was dated Aug. 27. A copy was provided to The New York Times by a third party after Mr. Unzicker sent it. The ethics committee, composed of volunteers, will meet today to review the information from Mr. Unzicker and others.
The committee chairman, Prof. Samuel Dash of Georgetown University Law School, sought such information in a meeting last month with United Way staff members at which he promised that they would not face retaliation. In an interview, Professor Dash, who was counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee in 1974, restated his determination to protect whistle-blowers.
Calls to Mr. Taylor's home and cellphone yesterday were answered by his wife. He did not call back. Mr. Suer did not respond to messages left on his home telephone.
Mr. Unzicker wrote that he had attended more than a half-dozen meetings at which Mr. Suer had orchestrated Mr. Taylor's appointment as chief executive. "The strong implication" of these talks, Mr. Unzicker wrote, "was that the approval of Mr. Suer's consulting contract was a condition of Mr. Taylor's selection as C.E.O."
The memorandum says Mr. Suer "maintained complete control over the selection process" for his successor. "Mr. Suer never disclosed to the selection committee the circumstances of Mr. Taylor's departure from the United Way of Baltimore," Mr. Unzicker wrote.
Mr. Taylor was ousted as head of the Baltimore United Way in 1995 for what its board members have called sustained unsatisfactory performance. He was paid a six-figure settlement — the amount was not disclosed — which was never listed on that charity's Form 990 tax returns, although such disclosure was required by federal law.
"Mr. Taylor flatly denied any knowledge of these contracts" with Mr. Suer and a second person, Brian Ferguson, at a United Way board meeting and at a briefing last month for agencies that depend on United Way money, Mr. Unzicker wrote. Mr. Ferguson, a videographer, was the organization's publicist under Mr. Suer. Mr. Unzicker wrote that after hearing Mr. Taylor's denials, "I confronted him with this lie, to which he had no response."
Mr. Unzicker wrote that in 2000 he grew concerned about expense account abuses by Mr. Suer and others, whom he did not name. He delayed raising the issue, he wrote, until Mr. Taylor took office in February 2001. Mr. Unzicker and his staff felt relieved after the change in executives, he wrote, saying that they expected changes by Mr. Taylor.
"My relief was short-lived," Mr. Unzicker wrote. "The first time I was asked to sign a check written to Mr. Taylor for expense reimbursement turned out to be the last time I was able to sign a check payable to him. I questioned Mr. Taylor about his request for reimbursement of several thousand dollars. I was told that he was paying for Internet service" for the United Way office that solicits contributions from federal workers, known as the Combined Federal Campaign.
Mr. Unzicker wrote that Mr. Taylor said "he would provide a more detailed explanation later."
"I did sign that check," Mr. Unzicker added, "but I was never again asked to sign another check for Mr. Taylor."
Mr. Unzicker wrote that he and a member of his staff, Dulcy Hooper, had warned Mr. Taylor in February 2001 about "funny money," which was the staff term for inflating donations to make the charity appear to spend a reduced share of its revenue on overhead. Mr. Taylor responded by having Ms. Hooper fired and by shutting Mr. Unzicker out of executive decisions.