PASADENA ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MEMORIAL COMMITTEE IN CRISIS
By Ara K. Mannogian
(Source: )
Future Armenian Genocide Memorial in Pasadena, CA (© )
The resignation of William M. Paparian, former mayor of Pasadena,
CA, as chairman of the board of directors of the Pasadena Armenian
Genocide Memorial Committee (PAGMC) sent a shockwave through the
Armenian community of California. In his press release, published on
September 30, 2014, he made serious allegations about wrongdoings by
a number of board members.
âo verify some of Paparian’s allegations and to get to the bottom
of the matter, I launched an investigation of my own. Although I am a
supporter of the new Armenian Genocide memorial, based on my initial
findings, I have to withdraw my backing for the PAGMC as long as it
is engaged in illegal activities.
The PAGMC was established in 2012 to design, build, and maintain an
Armenian Genocide public memorial in the city of Pasadena, California.
William Paparian, the first-born son of an Armenian Genocide survivor
and a reputable criminal defense attorney with over 35 years of
experience, was the founder and sole incorporator of the PAGMC.
First of all, I verified Paparian’s shocking claim that ‘the board had
been unintentionally receiving donations for the memorial illegally’
since its establishment until September 11, 2014. According to the
Office of the Attorney General, that is the date when the PAGMC was
registered as a Charitable Trust. Consequently, by September 11,
2014, the PAGMC had illegally solicited and received over a hundred
thousand dollars in donations, including my own made on May 23, 2014.
The day after the whistle was blown, on October 1, 2014, I wrote to
Edna Karinski, Chief Executive Officer of the Community Foundation
of the Verdugos, the role of which is to provide a repository for
the funds raised toward the memorial. I presented the above findings,
demanded the immediate return of my $500 donation and encouraged her
to extend this option to all donors who made contributions prior to
September 11, 2014.
Furthermore, I expressed my indignation that a project which is
intended to memorialize the victims of the Armenian Genocide is being
used by Anthony Portantino, a PAGMC board member and a candidate
running for the California State Senate, to advance his political
career, boost his image in the Armenian community, and thus his
chances of garnishing its financial support for his upcoming campaign.
This not only constitutes moral depravity, but is absolutely
prohibited, in accordance with the IRS regulations for 501 (c)(3)
Public Charities (see Compliance Guide for 501 (c)(3) Public
Charities).
Bernard Melekian, interim chair of the PAGMC
Karinski forwarded my email to the board of the PAGMC. Two days later,
I received a reply from Bernard Melekian, former Chief of Police of
the City of Pasadena and the interim chairman of the board.
“You should be aware that the allegations that were made in the
paper are currently under a thorough internal review. We anticipate
completing this review within the next two weeks,” he wrote promising
to bring my request before the board at their next meeting. In exchange
for the wait, I asked him to provide me with the following documents:
1. Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee (PAGMC) IRS Form 1023;
2. PAGMC’s IRS Form 990 for the last 3 years; 3. Documentation from
the State of California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) which shows that
PAGMC is tax-exempt.
4. Documentation to show that PAGMC was in good standing with the State
of California at the time of soliciting and receiving my donation.
According to the IRS, “tax-exempt organizations must make annual
returns and exemption applications filed with the IRS available for
public inspection and copying upon request.” One does not even have to
be a donor to request said information. Instead of providing me with
the requested documents, different members of the PAGMC board and
the Community Foundation of the Verdugos sent me a number of emails
asking for the check number associated with my contribution and the
bank upon which it was drawn.
Paparian alleges in his press release that the organization’s status
issues have stemmed from the board treasurer’s failure ‘to follow
California law regarding legal filings.’ Having received no documents
from the board, as of October 10, 2014, and its internal review
pending, I will have to return to this issue at a later time. Until
then I will move on to Paparian’s other statements that are easier
and less time-consuming to verify.
David George Gevorkyan (Facebook profile picture)
David George Gevorkyan, the board’s treasurer, is also accused of
having provided false information about his employment, education and
credentials. Paparian writes that the information was ‘corroborated
by a background investigation by another municipality, which found
that the treasurer had made material misrepresentations about
his professional and educational background in his application for
appointment to an advisory committee and that he had been removed as
treasurer of an Armenian community organization in Pasadena for the
same reasons.’ That municipality, based on my online research, is
the City of Glendale, where he is currently an Audit Commissioner. I
contacted the municipality and was told that it may take up to 10 days
to produce a copy of the background investigation report in question.
Instead of just waiting, I was able to conduct a simple fact-filled
background investigation in a matter of hours.
Judging by its format and content, David Gevorkyan’s biographic
information posted on (now offline) was an
earlier version of the one presented in his Linkedin account. In
the most recent version, Gevorkyan has listed California State
University-Northridge (Bachelor’s Degree, Public Administration),
University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley Executive Program (EIP),
Management of Government Organizations), and Association for Financial
Professionals (Treasury and Cash Asset Management) under education.
According to , David Gevorkyan attended
CSU-Northridge from 2004 to 2009. But no confirmation was provided
whether he received any degree. The same website was unable to find
his name in the database of UC Berkeley graduates or attendees.
Prior to October 7, 2014, David Gevorkyan claimed in his Linkedin
profile that he was a treasury professional certified by the
Association for Financial Professionals. It is unclear whether the
publication of Paparian’s press release was the trigger, but that
assertion is omitted in his current Linkedin profile.
David Gevorkyan’s educational background as presented in Linkedin
profile
Glen Douglas from the Certification Department of the Association for
Financial Professionals (AFP) informed me that David Gevorkyan was not
a certified treasury professional. Gevorkyan enrolled on September
30, 2011, to take a certification test but failed. Nicole Bennett,
a customer service representative of the AFP, said that Gevorkyan had
taken a second test in March 2012, which he also failed. According to
the AFP records, he was a member of the Association from September 1,
2011 to March 27, 2013. Bennett added that anyone can become a member
regardless of their educational or professional background. Paying
the annual membership fee of $495 is the only requirement.
As for Gevorkyan’s employment history, according to his Linkedin
account, he is currently an Audit Commissioner at City of Glendale,
CA (see ) and Bond
Oversight Commissioner at Glendale Unified School District.
He lists the following as his past employers:
Department of Finance – Budget Division, City of Pasadena February 2014
– June 2014 (5 months) Department of Finance – Treasury Division, City
of Pasadena September 2010 – October 2011 (1 year 2 months) Department
of Finance – Budget Division, City of Pasadena September 2010 –
October 2011 (1 year 2 months) Administrative Services Department and
Personnel Department, City of Sierra Madre April 2010 – October 2010
(7 months) City Council/City Manager Offices, City of West Hollywood
June 2008 – June 2009 (1 year 1 month)
Richard Davis, Budget Administrator at the City of Pasadena, clarified
that David Gevorkyan worked for Pasadena not as an employee but under
‘personal services contract.’
Prior to that contract, Gevorkyan had been an unpaid intern for the
City of Pasadena. Later on, when one of Davis’ ‘peers in the Finance
Department needed some help,’ David Gevorkyan was hired for the first
time as an independent contractor. “And then about six months ago or
so, I brought David in for another 2-3 months, it was about 3 months,
to help us through our budget presentation,” he said.
Anthony Portantino, candidate for California State Senate, PAMGC
board member (©)
Although a formal background check and finger-printing had been
conducted, Davis said Gevorkyan’s credentials had not been verified
before hiring him as an independent contractor. He was satisfied
with his previous experience as an intern. “Having that background
was advantageous,” he said. As a result, Gevorkyan was contracted as
a budget analyst to help prepare the budget of the City of Pasadena.
Elisa Cox, Assistant City Manager at the City of Sierra Madre, said
that David Gevorkyan had not been a paid employee. He was a volunteer
who worked with her. “We were at the Recreation Department at that
time. He was doing some research, some surveys, some data mining,”
she said.
Shante Burroughs of the City of West Hollywood said that David
Gevorkyan had never been employed by the City of West Hollywood. “I
would have a record of that,” she said. “It looks like he was an
unpaid intern or a volunteer.”
Based on these glaring inaccuracies alone, David George Gevorkyan
must immediately resign from his position as the board’s treasurer and
give up his membership of the PAGMC. Likewise, Anthony Portantino must
also leave the board, since his current political activity jeopardizes
the charitable status of the PAGMC. Regardless of the results of the
board’s internal review, I am going to continue with my investigation.
I hope that this crisis finds fair resolution, so that this very
important memorial is consecrated in Pasadena, CA, on April 24, 2015,
the 100th anniversary of the Genocide. This memorial has special
significance for me as a testament of survival just as I perceive the
Operation Nemesis, responsible for the act of retribution against
the chief perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide from 1920 to 1922
– Talaat, Enver, and Djemal Pashas. Having escaped execution in
Turkey, they were regrouping to finish writing the last chapter –
the complete annihilation of the Armenian people from the face of
the earth. But Operation Nemesis aborted their efforts once and
for all. My grandfather, Shahan Natalie, alias Nemesis, was a key
organizer of that secret operation.
Ara K. Manoogian is a human rights activist; a Fellow of
the Washington-based Policy Forum Armenia (PFA); creator
of; author of the white paper “To Donate Or
Not to Donate”, an in-depth study on the activities of the “Hayastan”
All-Armenian Fund
From: A. Papazian
http://www.thetruthmustbetold.com/pagmc-1/
http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/audit_committee.aspx
www.TheTruthMustBeTold.com
www.pasagmc.org
www.pasagmc.org
www.studentclearinghouse.org
www.facebook.com/PasadenaGenocideMemorial
www.thetruthmustbetold.com