Wayne LaPierre illegally failed to disclose being treated to a vacation on a luxury 108-foot yacht in the Bahamas while he ran the National Rifle Association, New York state attorneys alleged at the start of his corruption trial on Monday.
During a three-decade stint as the powerful head of gun rights groups, LaPierre allegedly spent time aboard two yachts — known as the “Illusion” and the “Grand Illusion” — on trips paid for by David and Laura McKenzie, who own an advertising agency that the NRA spend hundreds of millions of dollars.
But LaPierre, 74, made no mention of the visit on the nonprofit’s annual filing — which requires disclosure of any gifts from vendors worth more than $250, Attorney General Letitia James’ office alleged.
“The NRA allowed Wayne LaPierre and his group of NRA insiders… to run the NRA as ‘Wayne’s World’ for decades,” state prosecutor Monica Connell argued in opening statements at what is expected to be a six-week trial in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The suit seeks to prevent Wayne LaPierre from rejoining the NRA in a leadership role. He can also be ordered to pay damages. AP
LaPierre, who announced Friday that he will step down later this month, also awarded bonuses to the group’s board members and awarded former NRA brass speaking and “consulting gigs” — in exchange for them seeing each other over his shady spending. , claims the Attorney General’s office.
James’ office is seeking an order preventing LaPierre from returning to the NRA and for an independent monitor to be appointed to oversee the gun rights group’s finances.
He could also be ordered to pay millions in damages.
LaPierre, 74, did not mention the visit on the nonprofit’s annual filing — which requires disclosure of any gifts from vendors worth more than $250. Getty Images
LaPierre sat calmly in a black suit and blue tie in the first row of the courtroom gallery as Connell spoke for more than an hour.
His defense attorney plans to make his opening statement to the six jurors and six alternates in the case on Tuesday morning.
Another National Rifle Association executive, Joshua Powell, reached a last-minute deal with James’ office on the eve of the trial and has agreed to pay $100,000 and admit to misusing charity funds.
This case happened in New York because the NRA – whose original goal, according to one of its founders, was to “promote and encourage the scientific shooting of rifles” – was founded in the Empire State in 1871.
LaPierre is expected to testify during the six-week trial in Manhattan Supreme Court. AP
The group has been registered in the state as a nonprofit since then, though its scope has expanded to protest gun control at the national level.
The NRA has supported assault weapons bans even after killers used semi-automatic weapons to kill people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, a high school in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Parkland, Florida, a concert in Las Vegas, LGBTQ nightclubs in Orlando, Florida, and other places around the country.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
