Director travel expenses are an internal issue based on credit unions' own net numbers, the chairman of the New Jersey Credit Union League, Shawn Gilfedder, said Wednesday regarding a pending whistleblower's suit against First Jersey CU.
When there are cases of boards "overstepping boundaries," then it becomes a different matter. However, Gilfedder noted, the First Jersey dispute with its fired CEO, Joann Lazzara, has been exaggerated in the media, particularly when one considers that "$12,000 for a trip makes headlines when taxpayers are paying out billions to restore bank capital."
Gilfedder, president/CEO of the $215 million McGraw Hill Employees CU of East Windsor, said, "everyone is more conscientious of costs," but an ABC "Investigators" report broadcast Monday on ABC's New York affiliate about First Jersey and director travel was overblown.
Robyne LaGrotta, a Totowa attorney for Lazzara, alleged that more than $100,000 was spent by directors and in some cases their spouses on overseas cruises and meetings, billed as educational, between 2005-2007. Lazzara has alleged that she was fired for alerting examiners to the outsized travel fees. The funds have since been returned to the CU, said LaGrotta. CU attorneys deny Lazzara fired but was let go at the end of an Aug. 31, 2008 contract "based on performance."
The Lazzara suit, filed under New Jersey's Conscientious Employee Protection Act, is currently pending in Passaic County Superior Court in Paterson with no trial date set.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.