In the July 29 hard copy of the tabloid is a "Correction." It reads: "In a recent edition of the Wareham Observer it was incorrectly stated that the Friends of the Wareham Free Library had lost donations by investing them in the stock market. It was the former Library Trustees who lost donations in that manner. The Observer regrets the error."

On July 7, fogcutter obviously pointed this error out to the tacky tabloid writer.  I noticed no "update" in the online article "Yet Another Scam by the Friends" to correct this egregious error after it was pointed out to its author although the article was online for quite some time with the "erroneous" claim.

You can't un-ring a bell as the old saying goes.  This libelous claim against the Friends stood until July 29th when most people probably forgot the original article. But reading it at the time, it sure seemed like the Friends did something underhanded.  $200,000 isn't exactly chump change!!!

I wouldn't call this journalistic integrity. Hence the name I have given this person, Tacky Tabloid Writer!!!

Here is fogcutter's Sunday night chat to the tacky tabloid writer on July 11.

By: fogcutter on 7/11/10
Rob, I'm bringing this over from the "Yet another scam by the "Friends"" thread as a gentle reminder.

Sorry if I missed your response elsewhere...

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By: fogcutter on 7/7/10 [Delete]

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Until then the rest of Wareham has been subsidizing a private library headed by a “non-profit” organization that has repeatedly refused to open its financial records for public review. This is the same organization that played the market with donations and lost nearly $200,000 over the past few years. That can be verified by anyone with a computer. Just look up the tax returns of the “Friends” at http://www.charities.ago.state.ma.us/ch … 1278518891
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Rob,

That link didn't work for me.

I remember Nora Bicki being adament that they did not play the stock market with these funds. And honestly, I didn't see it specifically when I reviewed the IRS form 990s a while back.

Which form(s) and page(s) are you referring to when you say that this can be verified?

Thanks,
Mike F.

The TTW responds to fogcutter during the chat time with "By: robertslager on 7/11/10
Fog, the link works if you perform a new search on that page. It will take you to a second page, where you would search for "Friends of the Wareham Free Library." That will give you loads of financial information about the group."

The fact of the matter is that the Friends never invested in the market, and there is absolutely no proof that donations were lost by the Trustees either. One would have to have records of said donations and know for a fact that they were invested to make such a claim. If you are comparing annual investment totals (from tax returns), you would also have to know how much was spent on the library from those investments and how much change was due to market fluctuation. To do that, you would have to have some knowledge of the investment history such as what original amount was invested. How can you say $200,000 was lost if you don't know what the original investment was?? You can't get that info from tax returns. Besides the former trustees, the only one who knows what the investment history, and therefore, the fact that no "donations" were "lost," is the Inspector General investigators who have all the original investment documents.

But after all, it is just a tabloid, and writing the truth often lacks standard tabloid hyperbole and melodrama.

Last edited by Nora Bicki (2010-08-03 15:40:42)