Jury says NRA ex-chief LaPierre liable for mismanaging gun rights group
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[February 24, 2024]
By Jonathan Stempel and Jack Queen
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former longtime National Rifle Association chief
Wayne LaPierre mismanaged the gun rights group and cost it millions of
dollars through wasteful spending to support a lavish lifestyle, a jury
found on Friday, recommending that he repay $4.35 million.
In a civil corruption case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia
James, the six-person jury in Manhattan also recommended that former NRA
treasurer and chief financial officer Wilson Phillips repay the group $2
million for his own mismanagement.
Another defendant, NRA current secretary and general counsel John
Frazer, did not harm the group financially, the jury found.
In a 2020 lawsuit, James accused the NRA of letting top executives
divert millions of dollars for luxuries, turning the group into "Wayne's
World" as LaPierre enjoyed private jets, expensive trips and a Beverly
Hills shopping spree.
James also said the NRA ignored the need for board approval to waive
conflicts of interest and approve insider transactions.
"Today, after years of rampant corruption and self-dealing, Wayne
LaPierre and the NRA are finally being held accountable," James said in
a statement.
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Jurors found that LaPierre caused $5.4 million of damage to the NRA, but
had repaid $1.05 million.
Lawyers for the individual defendants did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
Defense lawyers had called the lawsuit part of a political "witch hunt"
because James, a Democrat, did not like what the NRA stood for and
wanted to silence it.
Manhattan Judge Joel Cohen, who oversaw the trial, will have the final
say on remedies.
NRA STRUGGLES
LaPierre, 74, faced possible removal before resigning in January after
more than 32 years as chief executive.
He built the NRA into a political powerhouse, often allied with
Republicans, that pressed Washington and statehouses to expand gun
rights, even as mass shootings mounted nationwide.
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![](../images/022424PIX/news_v6.jpg)
Wayne LaPierre, former CEO of the National Rifle Association (NRA),
arrives at New York State Supreme Court for the NRA trial in New
York City, U.S., February 23, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Feb/24/images/ads/current/napa_lda_FILTERSALE_012924.png)
But the group he once led has struggled in recent years, with
revenue down 44% since 2016 and membership down by nearly a third
since 2018, according to court papers filed last year.
In a statement, the NRA said Friday's verdict confirmed that the
group had been "victimized by certain former vendors and 'insiders'
who abused the trust" it had placed in them.
The jury began deliberating on Feb. 16 and needed five days to issue
its recommendations.
The NRA since 1871 has been a New York-registered nonprofit
organization, meaning its assets must be used to advance charitable
needs and serve members.
In her closing argument for the state, Assistant Attorney General
Monica Connell said the NRA, as a charity, should have spent money
to advance its mission, and was deflecting blame after getting
caught with its hands in the cookie jar.
"Saying you're sorry now, saying maybe you'll put back a couple of
those cookies, doesn't mean you didn't take the cookies," Connell
said.
James originally sought to dissolve the NRA, but Cohen ruled in 2022
that she had not shown sufficient public harm to justify a
"corporate death penalty."
In testimony last month, LaPierre admitted he should have told the
NRA board about vacations he had taken with a Hollywood producer at
about the same time the NRA began paying higher fees under a
contract with a company the producer owned.
But LaPierre maintained that the NRA had undergone a "course
correction" to improve accounting in 2018, and that James should
have been "patting us on the back for the work we had done."
(Reporting by Luc Cohen, Jack Queen and Jonathan Stempel in New
York, Editing by Will Dunhan, Rosalba O'Brien and Noeleen Walder)
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