CMAO hails Dunleavy decision

By Irish Echo Staff

The group, Concerned Members of the Affiliated Organizations, has welcomed the decision of the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau to officially close the investigation into the allegations against John Dunleavy, former chairman of the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Celebration Committee, and former committee officials Mike Cassels and Carla Chadwick.

And in a separate development, a scheduled hearing in Bronx Supreme Court sparked by papers filed by Mr. Dunleavy, and opposing papers filed on behalf of the parade board, was rescheduled until a date in May, this due to an illness in the family of the parade board’s attorney.

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The CMAO statement, issued after the New York Attorney General’s office indicated that it was not pursuing any investigation against Mr. Dunleavy, said that the decision “will hopefully put to rest one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the parade.”

Directing particular ire at parade board chairman Dr. John Lahey, and parade executive secretary, Hilary Beirne, the CMAO said that it “respectfully recognizes” the right for individuals to differ in their opinions regarding the direction of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

But targeting Dunleavy, Cassels and Chadwick was, in the CMAO’s view “morally reprehensible” given that there had not been first “a fair and thorough internal investigation within the confines of the board.”

Citing parade minutes from a board meeting last September, the CMAO pointed to Mr. Dunleavy being accused of taking fourteen trips “that were not allegedly authorized by the board.”

The statement said that no “bill of particulars” had been supplied to the board for Mr. Dunleavy to review, either at the September meeting, or after it.

The statement asked why there had not been a board meeting “for the sole purpose of holding a fair review of the expenses for the trips that were allegedly not approved by the board.”

The statement highlighted a letter from the board to the New York State Attorney General’s office in November claiming that Mr. Dunleavy had used the parade’s corporate credit card for “recurring out-of-town trips for which there was no indication that said trips were related to company business, let alone that they had prior approval by the Corporation.”

The CMAO statement then pointed to affidavits filed in court showing that it was known to the board that the purpose of the trips was to strengthen the relations between the parade committee and the Commanding Generals of Joint Base Headquarters/Military District Washington of the United States Armed Forces.

Additionally, papers filed in court indicated that all the trips “were done with the full knowledge and consent of the Board of Directors. Any contrary claim is grossly false.”

The CMAO statement concluded by stating that “this episode” had shown poor judgement on the part of Dr. Lahey and Mr. Beirne.

The public accusations against Dunleavy, Cassels and Chadwick, “three individuals who have dedicated decades of their lives to the parade,” revealed an “utter lack of basic human decency and fairness.”

“These reckless accusations not only damaged their reputations in the Irish-American community, but have also have jeopardized their careers and livelihoods,” the statement said.

 

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