As a result of his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Rudolph W. Giuliani was sued in two states and hit with a $148 million defamation judgment that forced him to seek bankruptcy protection.
He has retained a reliable financial ally: a charity founded in memory of a firefighter who died on September 11, 2001. The problem, according to his creditors’ lawyers, is that he concealed this detail throughout his first five months of bankruptcy proceedings.
In a filing last week, Mr. Giuliani’s lawyers said that one of the former New York mayor’s companies, Giuliani Communications, receives about $16,300 a month in revenue from his Internet show “America’s Mayor Live.” Mr. Giuliani’s lawyer said the money came “primarily” from the 11th charity. September”, the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
The income source disclosure came after months of fiercely contentious disputes from creditors over the state of Mr. Giuliani’s personal finances, with complaints that much of it remained intentionally incomplete and opaque. Just recently, creditors learned via social media that Mr. Giuliani had a deal to make money from a new branded coffee line.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation confirmed that it sponsored both the livestream and Mr. Giuliani’s now-canceled radio show. The company did not want to say how much was paid in total.
“In the years following 9/11, Mayor Giuliani was an invaluable supporter of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. He was instrumental in planning the first Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk NYC in 2002,” the foundation said in a written statement. Mr. Giuliani, the mayor at the time, was at Mr. Siller’s funeral. Mr. Giuliani’s presence at this and other such funerals cemented his connection to the families of many emergency responders to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Mr. Giuliani said he received no income from Giuliani Communications, the company that received sponsorship revenue from the radio show and livestream. His creditors’ lawyers said they believe he is “working for free to the detriment of his creditors, which is problematic in itself, and/or funneling funds belonging to his creditors into his company and using his company as a personal piggy bank.” is fraudulent.”
Under bankruptcy law, companies that have not filed for bankruptcy, such as Mr. Giuliani’s companies, are not required to file operating reports. Mr. Giuliani is expected to disclose how much money he makes from this, and although he says he is an employee of Giuliani Communications, he says he receives no salary from the company. But creditors’ lawyers have asked him to file reports on his companies and could also ask that his businesses be included in his case. You have already requested that a trustee take over both your personal and business finances.
A spokesman for Mr. Giuliani said the former mayor was “proud to work with the charity.”
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation was founded in honor of Mr. Siller, a New York City firefighter who had just finished his shift when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. When Mr. Siller discovered that the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel was closed to vehicles, he ran through it on foot toward Manhattan.
The foundation has grown into a national organization with revenue of $305 million in fiscal year 2022. She hosts fundraisers in New York and across the country. The nonprofit organization says it offers accommodation for families of fallen soldiers, wounded and homeless veterans, and injured emergency personnel. Teaching materials on the September 11 attacks are also being produced.
The charity spent about $30 million on advertising in 2022, the most recent year for which figures are available, and sponsored other shows on stations including Fox News Channel and New York’s WABC radio. Tunnel to Towers previously sponsored Mr. Giuliani’s radio show on WABC, but the station canceled it last month because it continued to make false claims about the 2020 election.
Mr. Giuliani’s livestream will be broadcast live on social media and replayed a day later on Newsmax. Typically, Mr. Giuliani comments on recent news events and often criticizes President Biden and the Democrats. Other commercials feature Donald Trump Jr. with campaign messages; Trump ally Roger Stone; and Mr. Giuliani himself, who is looking for his new coffee line.
After discussing President Biden’s foreign policy decisions in a recent livestream, Mr. Giuliani took a minute to talk about the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
“The foundation has helped over 1,000 military and first responder families get through the worst of times by removing the burden of a mortgage payment. Our nation’s heroes and their families need your help now more than ever,” said Mr. Giuliani. “Donate $11 per month to Tunnel to Towers at t2t.org.”
Non-profit charities are prohibited from participating in campaign activities. However, charity experts say that simply advertising on a program that espouses political views does not violate these rules.
Mr Giuliani was supposed to disclose his entire income months ago as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. However, he only recently disclosed his company’s income from the radio show or live stream when asked by his creditors’ lawyers.
Mr. Giuliani’s routine reports on his spending were incomplete and confusing. He said several times that his only sources of income were benefits and his radio show and podcast. Yet none of his monthly reports show compensation or salary. These reports show that he spends more than he earns every month. And his cash balance at the end of one month often conflicts with the balance at the beginning of the next month.
“His financial reporting and accounting are abysmal as he mixes his personal affairs with those of sham transactions,” the creditors’ lawyers wrote in a recent filing. “And it follows that the debtor cannot even find an accountant willing to work for him.”
After learning about Mr. Giuliani’s new coffee venture, Rudy Coffee, on social media, his creditors’ lawyers asked for a copy of that contract, which his lawyers provided. Mr. Giuliani is expected to receive 80 percent of the net profits.
The coffee, packaged with his face on the bags, costs $29.99 for two pounds. In the ads played during his livestreams, Mr. Giuliani says sales of the coffee will help raise money for another nonprofit, Call 2 Action. He said this group is “dedicated to supporting veterans and first responders.” This is how you can make a difference – and taste the difference.”
It is unclear which nonprofit he was referring to. No group named “Call 2 Action” appears on the Internal Revenue Service’s list of tax-exempt charities. A QR code on the coffee bags leads to the website www.call2action.com. But this isn’t a charity, it’s a social media marketing website.
Rudy Coffee did not respond to a message sent through his website asking for details about the nonprofit. Mr. Giuliani’s spokesman, Ted Goodman, did not respond to questions about the charity.
Seamus Hughes contributed reporting.
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2024-06-01 14:47:00
www.nytimes.com
