Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 22, 1994 TAG: 9402220143
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
The four officials, all longtime employees, were dismissed after it was discovered that some low-paid workers accumulated up to $131,000 a year in overtime, said Steven Rubenstein, a spokesman for the society.
For example, the agency's senior investigator, who was dismissed last week, was paid $192,096 last year, including $131,949 in overtime.
The dismissals follow months of allegations from some animal-rights advocates that the organization was poorly run and that a $5 million shelter opened on the Upper East Side of Manhattan two years ago had design problems that endangered hundreds of animals.
The Manhattan district attorney began an investigation into the organization after one of the dismissed workers came forward.
Gerald McKelvey, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, confirmed Monday that the inquiry was under way but provided no details. Animal-rights advocates said the new shelter was one of several things the district attorney was looking into.
Both the shelter troubles and the financial irregularities emerged after Roger Caras, an author of dozens of books on animals and a correspondent for ABC for 16 years, was named president of the society 2 1/2 years ago to improve its public visibility, said Merritt Clifton, an animal-rights advocate and the editor of Animal People, a monthly newspaper on animal protection.
Caras left the day-to-day running of the organization to longtime professionals, including several of the officials dismissed, Clifton said.
by CNB