After thinking long & hard, I'm revising my theory to suggest everyone involved in the Ed Mullins investigation from the CPA firm to the NYPD to the FBI & the DOJ may have colluded to cover up a shortfall in the SBA Widows & Children's Fund of more than $500k. Here's why...
...The SBA Widows & Children's Fund did not pay $525k in COBRA benefits bet 2017 & 2020 as reported in the 2019 & 2020 990s & the SBA WCF 2019 financial statements. Who on earth would be the recipients?...
dol.gov/sites/dolgov/f…
...Fitzsimmons Abrams, the CPA firm that took over the SBA WCF engagement from Sal Armao, the crooked CPA from Howard Beach, is on the list of approved CPA firms issued by the NYC Comptroller...
comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/upl…
...It doesn't matter what type of opinion Fitzsimmons Abrams rendered on the SBA WCF financial statements or which partners, David Fitzsimmons or Sebastien Hall, signed off on them. They do this for a living & know the SBA WCF didn't pay COBRA benefits...
fallpcpa.com
..For some reason, Ed Mullins signed & dated the SBA WCF 2019 & 2020 990s before fiscal year end. While the SBA WCF submitted financials w the 2019 990 to the NYS Charity Bureau, it did not do so in 2020...
...Correction: I made a huge mistake yesterday when I tweeted charges were dropped against Salvatore Armao, the CPA from Howard Beach who the SBA hired some time after Feb 2015...
...When I first came across the case against Sal Armao in Aug 2020, I couldn't find the case in PACER for some reason & assumed charges were dropped but they weren't. Per PACER...
...While Sal Armao was sentenced to 2 years probation w 6 months of home confinement, he did not lose his CPA license & still has a practice today. Doesn't seem right but it is what it is...
...In addition to Sal Armao, the DOJ also charged a staff accountant, Karen Auer, w falsifying union records. Auer pled guilty to a single misdemeanor. This website does a better job than I could outlining the case against Armao & Auer...
archive.nlpc.org/tag/karen-auer/
...As far as Sal Armao's client, Rocco Fazzolari, he pled guilty to embezzling more than $1M from a union & was sentenced to three years in prison. When I was a VP of Finance at a mfg company back in the day, the union pulled the same scam...
justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/f…
...Rocco Fazzolari was president of a union based in East Meadow which is adjacent to Levittown on the map. Rocco also fancied himself to be an actor per this LI Business News story.,.
libn.com/2019/01/28/lon…
...(The way the scheme worked w the union that repped the employees at my company was the deductible was so high, there weren't many claims. When the union rec'd a $250k rebate from the ins company, officials never bothered to tell the members who were mostly Hispanic)...
...(I also had a run-in w a Teamsters local based in Long Island City over an illegal employee benefits scheme when I worked in Ridgewood on Wyckoff Ave but that's a story for another day)...
...Getting back to Ed Mullins & the SBA, you have to wonder if Sal Armao used Rocco Fazzolari as a reference when Mullins interviewed him for the engagement. "Sal is the best!" 🤣🤣🤣...
...In case you were wondering, Rocco committed the crime & did the time. He was released in Dec 2020 per BOP...
...Reconsidering why the SBA WCF 2015, 2016 & 2017 990s prepared by Sal Armao were all signed in March 2018, Thinking they may have been amended & resubmitted to the IRS after Mullins got word Armao was being investigated...
...The SBA WCF failed to file CHAR500s w the NYS Charity Bureau for the years Sal Armao prepared the 990s. The charity bureau is under the purview of the NYS Attorney General which would have been Eric Schneiderman at the time...
...The SBA WCF may not have submitted the
2014-2018 CHAR500s bc both the 990s & financial statements were req'd which would put the CPA firm on the hook, much like Mazars was w Trump...
..IF the SBA 990s for 2015-2017 were amended, it would indicate (1) there was a problem w the originals & (2) the FBI/DOJ notified the SBA in advance of Armao's arrest to clean up its act...
...IF the FBI/DOJ tipped off Mullins & the SBA board about the Armao/Fazzolari investigation & knew the SBA filed amended returns, it would indicate the Feds knew in 2018 there was a problem w the SBA's finances...
...Enter the CPA firm of Fitzsimmons Abrams. David Fitzsimmons, managing partner, signed the SBA WCF for the year ended 2018. That was also the year there was a line item in Other expenses, Paul Tuozzolo Expense - $300k...
...I'm struggling w the SBA WCF 2018-19 990s & financial statements. I admit to not knowing what a modified cash basis is per the review opinion. Fitzsimmons Abrams is very clear it doesn't know what's in the numbers...
...I'm pressed for time at the moment so I'll just post the income statement, balance sheet & statement of cash flow from the 2018/2019 SBA WCF financials for now...
...SBA WCF 2019 990 schedules of related tax exempt & taxable organizations. Per the FEC, the SBA PAC was never active...
...What exactly is SBA Controller Dennis Ostermann being paid $215k to do? Normally, there is some degree of fiduciary responsibility attached to the title. Ostermann's been w the SBA for 20 years & has an MBA in accounting from Baruch so he's no dope...
...What exactly did Gary DeRosa do as SBA financial secretary from 2002 to 2019? Now he's a disability consultant, police emergency fund trustee, NYC pension fund trustee & recipient of a $10k PPP SBA loan? Seriously?...
..I don't know why a couple of tweets didn't attach to this thread which is becoming unwieldy. First...
...Second...
...Ending this thread w some more SBA bios...
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