OT: Embattled Hershey Trust removes top lawyer

[mn78psu83]

LINK: More board dysfunction

I missed this gem from earlier in May.

LINK: How Hershey Trust's Chairman found a summer job for his son

 

[Victor E. Bell]

This is great.

LINK: More board dysfunction

I missed this gem from earlier in May.

LINK: How Hershey Trust's Chairman found a summer job for his son

Of particular hilarity we find this:

"We do not believe that undue influence was applied even though the request came from the chairman to Mr. Henry and even though Mr. Henry identified to Mr. [John] Milne that the student seeking the internship was the chairman's son and [the Hershey Trust] is currently Milne's largest client," the legal report said.

And this:

"What is particularly absurd was that nobody else applied for the job but the report says [the internship] was available to the general public," Sterk said.

$1300 a week summer intern. Must be nice.

 

[mn78psu83]

This is great.


Of particular hilarity we find this:

"We do not believe that undue influence was applied even though the request came from the chairman to Mr. Henry and even though Mr. Henry identified to Mr. [John] Milne that the student seeking the internship was the chairman's son and [the Hershey Trust] is currently Milne's largest client," the legal report said.

And this:

"What is particularly absurd was that nobody else applied for the job but the report says [the internship] was available to the general public," Sterk said.

$1300 a week summer intern. Must be nice.

Nah. Nuthin' to see there.

What is the likelihood that these maestros of malfeasance will have to reimburse the charity? Again, we're in PA.

The internship has led to complaints of conflicts of interest at the top levels of the trust and to an internal probe by outside lawyers that cost the education charity $650,000 - 50 times what the son was paid and enough to finance tuition and board for five poor kids at the Hershey School for a year.

One law professor who reviewed the report for the Inquirer called it a "whitewash." He and other experts were surprised at the amount that was spent on the 17-page report: about $38,000 a page.

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General has asked Hershey Trust board members to reimburse the charity for the report's costs and is calling for the ouster of three Hershey Trust board members, including Cavanaugh, who is no longer chairman.

 

[Peetz Pool Boy]

LINK: More board dysfunction

I missed this gem from earlier in May.

LINK: How Hershey Trust's Chairman found a summer job for his son

The "truth", as JoePa asked for on his death bed, may or may not ever emerge, but his simple request, if nothing else, has subsequently shined a light on the cesspool of Penna.

I never knew that PA was the first coming of Mississippi in terms of corruption, until I started following how " things" are ajudicated in Penna.

 

[mn78psu83]

How about this one:

The Hershey Trust Co. functions like the endowment-management arm of a major university. The bank board, chaired by Cavanaugh in 2015, also serves as the board of the Hershey School.

 

[Peetz Pool Boy]

How about this one:

The Hershey Trust Co. functions like the endowment-management arm of a major university. The bank board, chaired by Cavanaugh in 2015, also serves as the board of the Hershey School.

All states are corrupt to a certain degree, but Pennsylvania takes the Tasteycake.

 

[91Joe95]

They're going to need a bigger flamethrower.

 

[mn78psu83]

Looking back - two different takes on the results of Kane's 2011-2013 investigation of the Hershey Trust Board.

LINK: Kane's agreement with Hershey Trust disappoints reformers

Part of article:

“So far as I can tell, this agreement says ‘there was no wrong doing but we’re not going to do it again,'” says Fouad.

“It is startling that AG Kane is sanctioning $25 million squandered on a luxury golf course, runaway board pay, failing MHS policies, and politicization of a charity, with no one held accountable,” Fouad says. “Even worse, this provides scant improvement on future compensation and no improvement on programs. This is a disappointing day for charitable trust enforcement.”

LINK: Hershey Trust settlement shows what matters on Board Duties

Article conclusion:

The circumstances surrounding the controversial business and governance practices of the Milton Hershey School and the Hershey Trust Company are complex. But by making clear what kind of financial and governance arrangements are acceptable, and clearing the Hershey trustees of wrongdoing, the attorney general offers valuable fiduciary lessons to all nonprofit trustees.