Kelli Conlin was the pro-abortion giant of New York — essentially running the pro-abortion movement in the Empire State. That is, until she was forced to quit recently after allegations related to massive financial misconduct.
Conlin, now the former president of NARAL New York, resigned last month after a forensics audit the pro-abortion group conducted uncovered financial problems dating back to 2008, or even earlier, according to a YNN report. She had held the post for two decades and YNN indicates a source close to the situation says she was fired.
The accounting firm Marks Paneth & Shron conducted the audit and found numerous questionable charges on NARAL credit cards Conlin used between 2008 and 2010. The charges include $5,709 in high-end clothing purchased at Giorgio Armani and Barney’s and $17,000 for a reimbursement for a Hamptons summer rental Conlin used in 2009.
Conlin also spent $100,000 on car service between March 2008 and December 2010 to have her children taken to and picked up from a private school in New York City. YNN also indicates the audit found $22,000 Conlin spent on meals — sometimes with friends who had no association with her work as the head of a pro-abortion activist group.
The audit also found questionable transactions in which Conlin transferred large sums of money between NARAL accounts to cover bonuses for her staff and herself. The New York chapter of NARAL has a $4.5 million budget and Conlin was paid $309,000 in 2009, which includes a $90,000 bonus.
YNN indicates the audit was conducted in December 2010 and is a possible precursor to a more thorough examination of the financial mismanagement and abuse conducted at New York NARAL during Conlin’s tenure.
There is also potential political fallout as NARAL significantly bankrolled and supported the 2010 election campaign of Attorney General contender Eric Schneiderman, whose father, Irwin, sits on the New York NARAL board (though he took a brief absence during the election campaign). Irwin Schneiderman has had a seat on the New York NARAL board for a decade and contributed $75,000 in the past several years. Conlin also supported Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. during the 2009 elections.
Upon hearing about the abortion scandal in New York, Kristan Hawkins, Executive Director of Students for Life commented to LifeNews.com.
“The recent mess that NARAL of New York has found itself in proves once again that the abortion industry and their affiliates are deceiving young women,” she said. “The recent audit which found massive misappropriation of funds shows just how corrupt pro-abortion groups are. They are not in it to help women, but rather for their own selfish profit.”
“The abortion business is not in it to help women, but for the profit the abortion business brings,” she added.
