NYS Attorney General looks to dissolve Community Resource Collaborative
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The New York State Attorney General is looking to dissolve the organization accused of mismanaging funds that were slated for a number of local nonprofits.
In paperwork filed Friday with the State Supreme Court in Monroe County, the AG presented a case to dissolve the Community Resource Collaborative, or CRC, and to appoint a receiver to sell its assets.
The AG accused CRC of not just mismanaging funds, but also sending money to places linked to those running the organization. That money was part of the American Rescue Plan Act funding. CRC was initially hired by Monroe County in 2023 to manage and divide up the funds among community groups, made up of what's called the Neighborhood Collaborative Project . The agreement was set to last through 2026.
Those groups have since come out, detailing their struggles in the aftermath of this debacle.
Community project issues statement after halt of ARPA funding for nonprofits
In the AG's petition to dissolve the CRC, which pulled information from the forensic review of the organization, it was noted that CRC had used roughly $35 thousand alone on costs associated with rent and hotel stays between May and December of 2023. The document also states that about $28 thousand was used for transportation reasons (a majority of which was Uber charges), $13 thousand was used for groceries and food, and $180 thousand in disbursements/transfers were allegedly used to pay off loans associated with Tina Paradiso (CRC's former executive director) /Ampie Enterprises. Paradiso was later fired by CRC CEO Anthony Hall . According to the petition, Paradiso has since left the area, and currently lives in Mississippi.
The petition also claimed that several thousand dollars was paid out to CRC's directors for personal endeavors. This included roughly $39 thousand allegedly used for Paradiso's business Imprinatable Solutions (for rent or otherwise), and $20 thousand in direct payments to Hall, allegedly made up of bonuses and advances paid to him in January 2024.
CRC bought a new building on Dewey Avenue in Rochester for its operations in September 2023 in a move that cost the organization more than $160 thousand, which was paid in cash. Two for-profit businesses allegedly run by former CRC Director, Devon Reynolds, also resided in that building.
Those businesses were Sweet Ida Mae Pantry and Brothers and Sisters Unisex Salon. Subsequent to this purchase, the county paid over $125 thousand to CRC so it could reimburse sub-recipients, but, according to the forensic review, those reimbursements weren't made until that October. It further claimed the CRC had "overpaid itself approximately $23,779 for the administrative fee" for "the initial project year upon receipt of the Initial Advance Payment."
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Whether the mismanagement was intentional or just a lack of experience remains to be seen, according to the petition. Monroe County Executive Adam Bello tried to replace CRC as the Neighborhood Collaborative Project's fiscal manager with an organization he deemed experienced: Starbridge Services Inc. However, the Ways and Means Committee of the Monroe County Legislature ended up blocking that effort .
