By: Shannon McCaffrey
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - A lack of coordination among
charities after the Sept. 11 attacks caused confusion
early on for aid recipients who also had to contend with
an intimidating bureaucracy, congressional investigators
said Wednesday.
They found that the 34 largest charities have distributed
$1.6 billion, or two-thirds of the $2.4 billion they raised in
the months after the terrorist attacks.
The American Red Cross led the way, handing out $590
million of the $988 million it raised.
The General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative
arm, said such efforts are hampered by the confidentiality
guarantees charities make to aid recipients, and noted
that the charitable sector is comprised of independent
entities.
"Charities can learn many lessons from the events of
Sept. 11,' said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who
requested the report.
The GAO said few cases of fraud have been detected
so far given the large amounts of money at stake.
Attorneys general and charity officials from the seven states
that suffered the highest number of Sept. 11 casualties
reported 16 cases of fraudulent solicitation of funds.
In New York, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office has
arrested at least 20 people for fraud and said about $1 million
had been obtained fraudulently. The DA's office and the
New York State Attorney General's Office are investigating a
combined 70 additional cases of fraud, the report found.
But, the report implied, those cases may just be the
tip of the iceberg.
"The total extent of fraud is not known at this time and will be
particularly difficult to assess in areas such as cause-related
marketing and groups using September 11 to solicit funds for
other purposes," the report said.
The GAO said the charities improved their coordination in the
months after the attack. But in the immediate aftermath, the
charities and the Federal Emergency Management Agency aid
effort was beset with problems as groups struggled with the
huge scale of the attacks and the resulting need.
FEMA moved to establish an "unmet needs committee" as it
had done in the aftermath of the 1995 bombing in Oklahoma City.
"These steps were initially unsuccessful," the report said.
Confusion existed about the available range of services, especially
those facing housing or job losses, the report said. The lack of
uniform victims lists complicated relief efforts.
The final GAO report is due out in November.
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