Compass Correction Update: November 21, 2011
A Compass Correction
Cleary - A Single Point of Failure
___________________________________________________________________________________________
From: Gary Hummel
Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 11:43 AM
To: Board of Pilot Representatives; Officers; Communications
Subject: EVP Report #6
Colleagues,
This email is the sixth and final of six emails to the BPR which will serve as the officer report by the USAPA EVP for the BPR telephonic meeting on November 15, 2011.
On September 19th at 10:49AM, an email sent from the IP address belonging to Theresa Murphy, and using the fraudulent identity of Nick Granath whec715@hotmail.com was sent to members of SSMP. The email contained the following:
Sources tell us that USAPA is about to announce that they have retained a CPR firm with expertise in the legal arena. The whispered background on this firm indicates that they have capabilities in the forensic accounting area as well as a strong criminal investigations background and significant forensic information technologies resources. Partnering with this firm will be a special counsel with extensive experience in all matters related to New York Bar ethics violation.
On September 19th at 4:11PM, the following was sent to the BPR by Mike Cleary.
From: Mike Cleary
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2011 4:11 PM
To: Board of Pilot Representatives; Officers; Communications
Subject: Proposed Resolution
Board Members,
Proposed resolution for tomorrow’s call:
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board of Pilot Representatives directs and authorizes the conduct of an independent audit of all transactions between USAPA and the law firms and lawyers retained and paid by USAPA. The President and Secretary-Treasurer are authorized to engage Sarah Diane McShea as special counsel to conduct the audit and to report to USAPA’s Board of Pilot Representatives and the President and Secretary Treasurer as to whether the billings were accurate and the payments properly made. As special counsel, Ms. McShea shall insure that the attorney-client privilege is maintained with respect to any information necessary to audit the bills and payments. Ms. McShea is authorized to retain (on terms approved by the President and Secretary-Treasurer and the Board) the accounting firm of Holtz, Rubenstein and Reminick to function under her direction in conducting the audit. The President and Secretary-Treasurer shall promptly present appropriate retainer agreements with Ms. McShea and with Holtz, Rubenstein and Reminick to the Board for approval.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Board of Pilot Representatives directs its officers, employees and agents, including the law firms and lawyers engaged and paid by USAPA to cooperate in the conduct of the audit and to provide whatever information Ms. McShea believes is necessary to complete the audit.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED THAT Ms. McShea shall have independent authority to take all action necessary and appropriate to complete the audit and that no Officer, employee or agent of USAPA shall interfere with the conduct of the audit. Ms. McShea shall keep the Board of Pilot Representatives and Officers informed of the progress of the audit, including its cost, and shall provide interim reports to the Board of Pilot Representatives and Officers as she sees fit. The audit may be terminated prior to its conclusion only by action of the Board of Pilot Representatives and then only after consultation with Ms. McShea. The final report shall recommend whatever additional action, if any, that Ms. McShea thinks is appropriate.
MC
I am concerned that our union may be culpable of conspiracy to commit fraud. It is also a matter of record that our USAPA President and Vice President have slandered SSMP in BPR meetings. Furthermore, our Charlotte Reps in an update to their pilots on October 31, 2011 have stated:
Among our many tasks, we have a fiduciary responsibility to see that your dues money isn't squandered. In August we were presented with information that raised legitimate concerns about legal billing. Specifically, the Seham law firm's bills were in question, but there were Board Members who were interested in the bills from other counsel as well, and it was decided that an audit of all our legal bills was in order. Now, seven weeks have passed and, after many letters from USAPA to the Seham firm (Seham Seham Meltz & Petersen, SSMP) over a nearly two-month period, we have received none of the requested information about billing detail and other questions that we have. In a word, they're stonewalling. The audit will proceed, and we have been told that the counsel overseeing that process can absolutely force compliance, but SSMP has thus far ignored USAPA's initial inquiries. This fact in and of itself casts a shadow on their credibility.
For our part, and on the advice of the auditors, USAPA has stopped paying the Seham firm for the time being. This is a rational move in light of the fact that the bills in question might total several millions. However, as a result, the SSMP has put a lien on our files, making day-to-day legal maneuvers difficult and confounding our initial efforts to understand the billing issues. But it does much more than that: it casts extreme doubt on their interest to -- and ability to -- represent USAPA properly in the upcoming Declaratory Judgment litigation in Phoenix. Documentation forwarded to the BPR from Seham through Secretary-Treasurer Rob Streble aptly showed the acrimony SSMP is displaying toward USAPA. It's disappointing, to say the least, that SSMP has clammed up and offered no cooperation when all we've asked for is a clearer picture of what we've been getting for our money. Their initial obstructionist tactics notwithstanding, SSMP has no ability to restrict access to files or to obstruct the representation and best interests of the client. They have, as required, agreed to transfer them to another law firm as necessary.
This sentiment and the CLT update was again endorsed and distributed by the PHL Reps with the sole objection by Eric Jordan.
Communication from PHL Vice Chairman Eric Jordan
On Monday, October 31, 2011, you received a PHL Domicile Update with an opening statement by PHL Chairman Captain Steve "Spike" Szpyrka asking you to "please see the CLT Special Update," which was included in the email. I wish to make it abundantly clear that the forwarding of the CLT update by the "PHL Domicile Representatives" was done without my approval.
As the PHL and CLT Reps have public disparaged SSMP citing their unwillingness to cooperate in a simple audit, I suggest that the Reps now show the same level of interest in their much touted fiduciary responsibility to have questions answered that will help resolve this issue. In the SSMP letter to McShea of October 31, 2011, some simple questions were asked that need to be answered. It is the responsibility of the BPR to get those answers. Among those questions is whether Randy Mowrey was involved in the writing and/or dissemination of fraudulent emails from Theresa Murphy’s IP address and, if he was, whether he was acting within his authority as the USAPA Vice President.
Perhaps the BPR needs to ask the most important question, what was the real reason for this audit?
This concludes the EVP Report for the BPR telephonic meeting of November 15, 2011. The singular purpose of which is to inform the BPR and bring to light public records.
Captain Gary Hummel | Executive Vice President | USAPA
US Airline Pilots Association,
200 East Woodlawn Road, Suite 250, Charlotte, NC 28217
877-332-3342 office | 704-804-2724 cell | USAirlinePilots.org
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