Lee Police Association filings missing

LEE – After months of inactivity, the federal investigation surrounding Police Chief Joseph Buffis and the Lee Police Department has resurfaced.

The Laliberte Toy Fund has been managed by the Lee Police Association and Mr. Buffis since 1979, the year Officer Laliberte retired, and research by The Beacon has raised questions concerning the association’s records.

Lee Police Association, Inc. hasn’t filed paperwork with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office for any year past 2004.

“Fraternal organizations, such as police and fire associations, are generally not considered public charities and thus would not be required to register and file annually with our office. However, a police or fire association that is actively conducting fundraising activities for a charitable purpose or project would need to register and file annual financial reports for the charitable funds it raised,” said Emalie Gainey, spokesperson for Attorney General Martha Coakley, in a statement given to The Beacon.

It should be noted that the Laliberte Toy Fund, which is run by and out of the police association, was actively fundraising during the years for which there are no filings. The fundraising numbers published in The Berkshire Eagle on behalf of the Laliberte Toy Fund during this seven-year period total more than $62,000.

In order to solicit funds, a Massachusetts charity must register with and file annually with the Attorney General’s Office.

“There are, to our knowledge, no additional annual filings received by this office past 2004,” said Spokesperson Gainey in another statement to The Beacon.

There is also no evidence the Lee Police Association ever filed a federal tax return. If this is the case, the Lee Police Association has never been a tax exempt charitable organization.

According to the IRS, there are no records of the association’s Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) ever having been used to file taxes.

“According to my records, I’m not pulling any information for that FEIN,” said IRS employee Kelly Browning, when provided with the FEIN that the Association used to file with the state by The Beacon.

Despite this fact, four form 990s, for the years 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, for the Lee Police Association are available for viewing on the Massachusetts attorney general’s website. The employer identification number spaces on the four form 990s for the association on the site have all been left blank.

The forms also have some other discrepancies.

Total contributions reported on the Lee Police Association’s 2004 form 990 are less than what the toy fund announced it had raised that year in The Eagle. The same is true for the association’s 2001 form 990, which claims the association received no donations that year, a year the Laliberte fund reported raising $8,406 in The Berkshire Eagle.

No articles could be found in The Berkshire Eagle’s archives documenting fundraising efforts by the Laliberte Fund in either 2002 or 2003.

Chief Buffis is listed as the custodian of the association’s funds and his home address is listed as the location of the association’s records in documents filed with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

In these documents, he is also listed as sharing responsibility for distribution of  funds and check authorization with William Bartini, who was then serving in the Lee Police Department and is currently a sergeant in the Great Barrington Police Department.

Sgt. Bartini did not return a request for comment by press time.

When presented with information on discrepancies in the police association’s records, Lee Town Administrator Bob Nason refused to to comment on the subject. He also refused to comment on whether this would alter the decision of the town to keep Chief Buffis on as police chief.

“[If there’s an issue,] it’s an association issue, not a town issue,” said Mr. Nason, who said any issue with the police association did not concern the town.

When contacted by The Beacon about discrepancies in the police association’s records, those in the Lee Police Station refused to give a statement and said to speak to Chief Buffis on the matter.

Chief Buffis has not yet responded to The Beacon‘s inquiries.

The United States Attorney’s Office in Springfield also requested and received documents from The Berkshire Eagle at the beginning of this month.

The documents in question were articles from the Laliberte Toy Fund from October 2007 to January 2012 that ran in The Eagle, which printed these articles as a community service.

“It’s not unusual [for law enforcement to request articles],” said Berkshire Eagle Managing Editor Kevin Moran in comments to The Beacon, adding the U.S. Attorney’s Office first contacted them on March 1.

Mr. Moran said they handed over the articles chiefly because they were already available to the public: “All of this is accessible online anyway.”

Posted by Bera B. Dunau on March 21, 2013. Filed under Community News,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry