Bronx LGBT center to close, ex-boss allegedly stole funds

The LGBT community center in the Bronx, N.Y., is closing because the former director allegedly embezzled $338,000.

The 16-year-old Bronx Community Pride Center, 929 Kelly St., Bronx, N.Y., will close as early as June 30 due to “economic difficulties, past debt and inability to raise” funds.

“The organization has debts which exceed revenues at this time, and without significant cash infusions from major donors they are unable to continue operations financially,” the center said in a news release.

The New York Post reported that the decision affects more than 1,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who use the center.

The newspaper carried an exclusive that former center executive director Lisa Winters was arrested June 15 and faces charges that she embezzled money from the institution until she was fired in January 2010.

Winters, according to the Post report, is alleged to have improperly used the center’s credit cards, debit cards and checks to take $338,000 for her personal expenses and those of a friend. That’s about the same amount of the center’s debt.

Winters, 47, allegedly used more than $15,000 from the center’s accounts to pay a dog walker, more than $11,000 for her clothing, $12,000 for restaurant dining and $9,604 for pet-store purchases. The Post cited a criminal complaint and a New York City Department of Investigation probe.

Winters, a former appointee to a mayoral commission, also allegedly stole $25,000 for her and her wife – they married last year and live in Manhattan – to take a trip to Africa in 2007.

The Bronx District Attorney’s Office is handling the prosecution, which involves charges of larceny and falsifying business records.

The center’s slogan is “committed to empowering members of our community.” It has offered advocacy and counseling services to adults and youths, along with HIV/AIDS education and prevention, Pride planning and cultural activities.

The center’s website says it began in 1995 when “a group of seasoned Bronx LGBT activists, community leaders, residents and health care practitioners mobilized to address the lack of sensitive and informed medical and social services available to the Bronx LGBT community.”

NY POST: Gay late & dollar short

The Bronx’s leading gay center is permanently closing its doors because the former boss allegedly siphoned $338,000 from its coffers, The Post has learned.

The Bronx Community Pride Center — which opened 16 years ago — will close Saturday, according to its board of directors, which cited “economic difficulties.....

http://nypost.com/2012/06/28/gay-late-dollar-short/