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WALL TOWNSHIP — The dissolution of the nonprofit organization Wall Helps Its People [WHIP] followed months of internal chaos and a bitter dispute in which some board members accused WHIP trustee Ralph Addonizio of using his self-created post to ride roughshod over the organization and its finances.
WHIP was founded by Wall police officers in 1970 with a stated mission “to help Wall Township residents and families in times of crisis.” Over several decades, it was funded mainly through its annual Steak Bake gift auctions – galas that drew sizable donations from small businesses, local restaurants and Wall residents. The organization sought and received nonprofit status on April 20, 2018. The last Steak Bake gift auction was held in 2019, shortly before COVID-19 brought the organization’s activities to a halt.
The WHIP membership’s decision to dissolve centered around Mr. Addonizio’s application for a $143,000 county COVID-19 grant on May 19, 2022, which he applied for without the knowledge or consent of the board, according to Mary Dorrer, a board member who later replaced Mr. Addonizio’s wife, Hilary, as president of the organization on April 13. She continues to serve in that post, leading the dissolution process.
In separate interviews with The Coast Star in May and July of this year, Mr. Addonizio denied any wrongdoing in connection with an application for the Monmouth County American Rescue Plan Act [ARPA] COVID-19 Community Recovery Grant. He said that he had made WHIP board members, including WHIP Treasurer Susan Scholato, aware of the grant application but was unable to say when he had done so.
Ms. Scholato said, “I had no knowledge of the original application for the county grant. I never provided financials and I had no knowledge of my name being on the application.”
Wall Deputy Mayor Erin Mangan and police Lt. Steve Nash said they also had no knowledge of their names being used on the application. Lt. Nash, who was unaware he was listed as WHIP’s “trustee” on WHIP’s website, of which Mr. Addonizio was the author, resigned from his post sometime in December 2022.
Ms. Dorrer described a confusing series of events around the grant application that were troubling enough for her to contact the authorities. The Coast Star has also interviewed other WHIP board members and county officials, and examined documents related to the matter.
WHIP’s ARPA grant was approved by Monmouth County on Aug. 25, 2022 in the fully requested amount of $143,000, according to county counsel Michael D. Fitzgerald, who confirmed that a check for that amount was then mailed to the address of Mr. Addonizio’s primary residence on Aug. 31, 2022.
On the grant application, the county’s mention of “physical address” states that nonprofit applicants must “hav[e] a physical service address within… the County” for organizations serving veterans, combating food insecurity, providing temporary care for animals, supporting special needs persons, preserving the arts and providing mental health services.
Mr. Addonizio told The Coast Star that he had used his own address on the application because a postal address, rather than a box number was “required,” but said no check was ever received.
“We never got it,” he told The Coast Star in May.
In an email to The Coast Star, Mr. Fitzgerald said the county issued a stop payment on the check on Sept. 29, 2022 after contacting WHIP and confirming that the check had not been cashed. The county voided the check on Oct. 4.
“At that time, WHIP informed the County that its board would be meeting on October 6, 2022 to discuss how it would like to proceed with the grant program,” Mr. Fitzgerald wrote, adding that after that “the County has had no further communication with WHIP.”
Meanwhile, the status of the check had become the subject of an investigation by the Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Bureau of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s office, which found “no criminal wrongdoing,” Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago told The Coast Star.
“After investigating the circumstances surrounding the grant award, the matter was closed without any charges being filed,” said Mr. Santiago. “The investigation was initiated upon receipt of a referral from the Wall Township Police Department [and] confirmed that the WHIP’s grant application resulted in an award of $143,000. The awarded amount was subsequently mailed to the address contained in the application. The check, however, was never cashed,” stated Mr. Santiago.
According to Ms. Dorrer, Mr. Addonizio called an “emergency meeting” sometime in September 2022 to notify executive board members Karen Kniffin, Jeffrey Kniffin, Ms. Addonizio and Ms. Scholato of the WHIP grant application for the first time.
Wall Township Deputy Mayor Erin Mangan resigned from WHIP’s membership on Sept. 14, 2022. In her resignation email addressed to Mr. and Ms. Addonizio, she said, “It was recently brought to my attention there may have been a grant filed that stated my name without my knowledge or consent. Please be advised I do not have any knowledge, nor did I participate in submitting or approving this grant.”
In December, Lt. Nash resigned from WHIP’s board, as well, along with three other members – Amy Spera, David Spera and Brent Weaver – according to Ms. Dorrer.
In an interview with The Coast Star on July 25, WHIP member Mr. Kniffin, who voted against WHIP’s dissolution, said, “I was given the information, however it was delivered, that there was COVID funding available through the county … I think it was Ralph because of his involvement with the application for the grant … he was the lead person for the grant; he was the person who was handling things.”
Mr. Kniffin said the grant was discussed “over multiple meetings,” most of them remote, before Mr. Addonizio applied for the grant.
“…And if Sue didn’t know about it, I personally would find that hard to believe; she was the treasurer and anything that had to do with fundraising, accounts payable, accounts receivable, cutting of checks, income … was always discussed in any meeting that I was at … she [Sue] was always there remotely… I would find it hard to believe that the treasurer of the organization didn’t know about a grant that was being applied for,” said Mr. Kniffin.
“There was discussion at some point over multiple meetings that it was better that the money be returned … there was just disagreement from multiple members that we shouldn’t accept the grant… He [Ralph] told the membership that there was an address issue,” said Mr. Kniffin.
Ms. Dorrer shared a text message from Ms. Scholato, in which the treasurer said, “Jeff Kniffin is not a reliable source. Jeff Foster was at all the meetings. He didn’t know about it [the grant].” Ms. Scholato said she saw the application for the first time at WHIP’s December 2022 meeting.
Mr. Foster declined to comment.
The Oct. 6 meeting referenced by Mr. Fitzgerald became a confrontation between Mr. Addonizio and board members who wanted to know why he had applied for a federal COVID grant and whether WHIP was even eligible for one, according to Ms. Dorrer. It also resulted in a vote by the board to refuse the grant and return any check, if one was received.
By the time WHIP next met, on Dec. 5, 2022, there arose discussion about dissolution. An informal vote in favor was taken and Ms. Dorrer, then still a board member, was tasked with drafting a formal resolution.
Lt. Nash, who has been involved with WHIP since 2015, said, “It was a good organization with people that volunteered time to help people in need living in Wall Township. It is a shame it dissolved.”
He also told The Coast Star in May that he had encouraged other members to be forthcoming about WHIP’s demise and not withhold information “because of one individual” — an apparent reference to Mr. Addonizio.
“WHIP’s been tainted by [him] and unfortunately you can’t do anything about it because [Ralph Addonizio] has control over everything,” said Ms. Dorrer.
This is an excerpt of the print article. For more on this story, read The Coast Star—on newsstands Thursday or online in our e-Edition.
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