The Official Website for Jack E. George

Look before you donate, July 17, 2005
Reviewer: Jeffrey Leach (Omaha, NE USA)

In recent years we've started to see the revival of a debate concerning charitable giving. One side
advocates staying the present course in which government uses tax dollars to fund a plethora of welfare
services for the needy. The other side wants to return to the old days--meaning pre-New Deal days--in
which religious organizations solicited monies from wealthy patrons in order to provide a wide range of
services aimed at lifting people out of poverty. Government gives so much away in so-called entitlements
that we often forget that religious charities still exist today, albeit in a much smaller capacity than the ones
operating back in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. I personally would rather see private
organizations taking over the poverty racket because government has a vested interest in keeping poor
people poor. That's a controversial statement, no doubt, but one whose veracity finds endless confirmation
in the statistics kept by bean counters in both the private and public sector. Once you've dipped into the
federal feed trough, it's quite difficult to extract yourself. There's simply no motivation to improve your
condition once the government checks start showing up in the mail. That's not to say that private charities
are perfect, however.

Jack E. George's "A Broken Charity: The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Educational Center" provides an
insider's account of how a private charity can fall prey to the very factors that mark big government poverty
programs. Arrogance, corruption, no oversight, and obfuscation--the same problems that plague federal
services can torpedo a private charity. George was an administrator of several of the Jewish Educational
Center's (JEC) programs in California back in the 1990s when trouble struck in the form of an IRS inquiry.
The book begins with this troubling investigation, and for the next hundred or so pages George presents
background on the organization and the problems that arose after the IRS started their query. Started by
Rabbi Bentzion Pil and his wife Mattie, the JEC sought to help recently immigrated Russian Jews find a
place in the hectic American society. They ran a school for children, a summer camp type program, a
synagogue with regular services, and a host of other minor initiatives aimed at integrating the foreigners.
The Rabbi funded these programs by running a profitable business in which donated cars were resold to
needy families. This money ostensibly funded the various programs. Or so Rabbi Pil and his wife claimed.

Everything fell to pieces after a warehouse fire destroyed one of the car lots associated with the charity.
California authorities jumped into the fray, filing charges claiming the JEC misappropriated funds from the
car sales. They charged that Rabbi Pil and his wife spent thousands of dollars earmarked for the charity on
their own son's bar mitzvah. Moreover, the house owned by the Rabbi came into his possession in a most
suspicious manner. These problems exacerbated the difficulties faced by George, the other employees of
the JEC, and the various programs. Key personnel suddenly quit or resigned, replaced by colorful people
with questionable backgrounds. An old civil rights warhorse by the name of Carol Ruth Silver was brought
in to manage the JEC's public reputation. An accountant, Mamie Tang, arrived on the scene to handle the
money, money that George discovered was increasingly scarce or would suddenly pop up out of nowhere.
The author began to ask serious questions about the true motives of the people running the JEC. Oddly,
he stayed with the organization long after Pil and his minions declared bankruptcy and founded a different
charity that would soon engage in the same problematic behaviors that sank the original JEC. "A Broken
Charity" is a disturbing account of financial skullduggery taken to the nth degree.

What you see is what you get with "A Broken Charity." George walks the reader through every upsetting
aspect of a charity run by criminals without ever coming out and labeling them as con artists, unfortunately.
That's one of the problems I had with the book. On nearly every page of the narrative, Jack George
expresses in no uncertain terms his concerns with the unfolding shenanigans committed by the Pils,
Carol Ruth Silver, and Mamie Tang (who faced charges for an unrelated pyramid scheme involving
millions of dollars). Yet the author stayed with the JEC long after most people of average intelligence would
have ran for the door. Even his own bout with financial hardship, caused in no small part by the failure of
the Pils to give this guy his paycheck, didn't send him into the streets looking for a job. Why? I started
thinking of words like "dunderhead" and "dupe" to describe George before realizing something important.
Most honest people, especially someone involved in a charity, would probably rationalize these sorts of
problems instead of running out on the organization. He still should have left shortly after the IRS began
investigating, in my opinion, but I think I understand why he stayed on. He just didn't want to believe
anything was wrong.

Another point I'd like to make about this book deals with the shady way the Pils tried to cover up their
wrongdoing. Instead of closing the doors immediately and limiting the damage, these schmucks hired
Carol Silver to employ the most scurrilous attempts at damage control I've seen outside of Washington,
D.C. She routinely used the kids in the programs to try and shame the judicial system into dropping the
charges, and claimed that "religious persecution" was behind the government's actions to close down the
JEC. Neither of these assertions possessed any validity, but that didn't stop the Pils from shamelessly
using them to escape prosecution. I've always been suspicious of anyone who tries to get what they want
by wailing about "the children." Now I know why. Highly instructive, this book called "A Broken Charity," and
highly upsetting. Donate at your own risk.

The story behind the story of the JEC debacle, July 12, 2005
Reviewer: Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA)

The downfall of the Jewish Educational Center may have made national headlines, but I was completely
unfamiliar with this particular charity and its many, self-defeating problems. Reading about the related
events from the perspective of the author, I'm left shaking my head at the level of gross incompetence and
outright fraud perpetuated by the leaders of this once-respectable charity. Jack E. George served as the
administrator of Schneerson Hebrew Day School, which operated under the auspices of the Jewish
Educational Center and depended upon charity in order to hold classes that included the children of many
poor Russian immigrants in the San Francisco area. George explains the debacle of the charity's downfall
and the dissolution of the school from his viewpoint, one which lacked true knowledge of what was going
on much of the time. With all of the court cases against Rabbi Bentzion Pil settled, he was apparently free
to tell the story as he knew and lived it.

Until the morning George discovered that payroll checks were not forthcoming because the IRS had raided
the offices of the JEC, the charity seemed to be quite successful. It had, among other things, pioneered the
project of receiving donated cars and other materials, selling them for a profit, and using that money to
fund the charity. Such charity auctions were bringing in millions of dollars a year. Not only was the IRS
investigating the JEC, though, the state attorney general's office and other agencies were as well. Initially,
George sees no reason to doubt the assurances provided employees by Rabbi Pil and his wife, but it
doesn't take him long to discover that the JEC is in a real mess of its own creation. The books were so
incomplete as to make an accountant shed tears, a lot of cash money coming in was not even recorded,
and - as the feds had already discovered - financial records showed much more money coming in than
going out. George's interest is in saving the school, but he becomes increasingly privy to what is going on
with the JEC and the ongoing investigations into its business practices. He sticks with the school through
thick and skin, trying to save it in any form - eventually, it does open elsewhere under a new name, and
George is troubled to see the litany of past recordkeeping mistakes continue unabated. George describes
the struggle to keep the school doors open while dealing with the constantly troubling and sometimes
contradictory instructions of those controlling the JEC and its successor organization.

There is a certain amount of ambiguity to the whole story. It's never made abundantly clear whether the
whole case is one of shoddy record-keeping or outright criminal behavior. It would seem to be a great deal
of both. Rabbi Pil himself eventually paid a legal price for wrongdoing, yet it's not clear just how extensive
his questionable business practices were. As for George, I hardly pulled for or against him, largely
because the book is, by editorial design, predominantly objective in nature. With the author having excised
many of his personal feelings about the matters he discusses, it's hard to inject yourself into his struggles.
Of course, had he made the book personal, his motives and designs would have been called into question.

A Broken Charity stands as a valuable object lesson for those involved in charitable organizations,
stressing the necessary ethical foundation and sound business model required for those at the top and
encouraging individuals to try and learn as much as possible about the organizations seeking their
contributions. The story of the Jewish Educational Center is truly a tragic tale, and it serves as a vivid
reminder that there are always some truly committed, humanitarian individuals made to suffer the most in
even the most scandalous of financial meltdowns.

An Insider's Report: A Microcosmic Metaphor for the Corporate Problem, July 6,
2005
Reviewer: Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States)

How many times, driving to work, do we hear the myriad commercials for 'Here's how to get rid of your
unwanted car and write it off as a tax deduction' and wonder just how that gimmick works? Jack E. George
has been there, suffered that, and has the bravery and good sense to tell us at least one example (in fact,
the prototype of the entire cars for causes network) of a charity and its ups and downs.

Based on fact - the scandal surrounding the Jewish Educational Center in San Francisco - George details
all aspects of this unfortunate case and makes it interesting, at times humorous, and always honest in his
methods of research and explication. The facts include misspent funds obtained by charitable means, but
they also include the personalities of all the people involved - from the top Rabbi and IRS down to the
parents and teachers and children.

At first this book may seem as though it is an isolated bit of reportage about one 'company' out of the many
names of corporations undergoing investigation. But once the reader begins to enter the world of Jack
George, this exacting extended essay becomes a novel of sorts. In short, George has written an expose
that is as interesting as most fatter crime novels out there. A BROKEN CHARITY is a fast read,with staying
power. Grady Harp, July 05

Important Lessons For Everyone In Nonprofit!, June 1, 2005
Reviewer: Graciela Sholander "Co-author of Dream It Do It" (Fort Collins, CO
United States)

Just like a dysfunctional family, a charity can look good on the outside--and do great things for the
community--but collapse from the weight of internal strife and mismanagement. Such was the case with
the Jewish Educational Center (JEC), a once prominent San Francisco-based nonprofit that served the
city's Jewish-Russian immigrant population. Its rise and fall are carefully documented in A Broken Charity
by someone who witnessed firsthand what went on. Jack E. George was the administrator of Schneerson
Hebrew Day School, which operated under the JEC umbrella, when a surprise raid by the IRS signaled
the beginning of the end for the public-benefit nonprofit.

Working for an organization accused of serious financial discrepancies, Jack found himself on an
unexpected roller-coaster ride. Unable to pay his employees, and with no answers for their questions
about the IRS investigation, Jack was torn. His heart urged him to do everything in his power to keep
Schneerson open for the sake of the students and families it served and the staff it employed. But his gut
told him to find a job elsewhere.

At first his heart won. At the same time that he strove to save the school, he began to see why the JEC was
in such trouble. Fraud and false advertising charges were brought against the charity, which had made
numerous unsubstantiated claims. One such claim was that 100% of the money the JEC raised
auctioning donated vehicles went to fund local programs, including schools and camps for children and
job placement assistance for adults. Investigations uncovered that, in fact, less than 20% went to
community programs. The rest paid for operating expenses including advertising and salaries.

Many other issues surfaced, from sloppy bookkeeping practices to spur-of-the-moment board decisions
that made little sense. Jack was appalled by what looked like cover-ups and deliberate manipulations,
including tampering with records. Dozens of bank accounts existed, yet nobody seemed to fully keep track
of them. Numerous cash transactions went unrecorded. The genuine efforts made by Jack and others to
keep the school open couldn't compete against this level of business practice incompetence.

When the school year ended and 100 students graduated, Jack became the administrator of a summer
camp program run by the JEC. He immediately found himself caught between giving the young campers a
meaningful camp experience and dealing with the nonprofit's mounting legal and financial troubles.
Because of a lack of funds, activities had to be scaled back. For example, advertised field trips to water
parks had to be cancelled, and disappointed campers had to settle for school-based art projects instead.
Parents began to voice their concern and anger. In addition, Jack had to deal with countless bill collectors
and an intrusive media.

Through it all, Jack watched carefully and learned valuable lessons along the way. The JEC did many
things right, but its mistakes ultimately led to the organization's downfall. Even after he resigned, Jack kept
close track of the JEC and its off-shoot organizations.

Through A Broken Charity, the author reveals in great detail what brought down a large, well-respected
charity. He supplies powerful examples and delves well into the confusion he and other staff members
experienced as they tried to piece together exactly what was going on. The book flows well, maintaining a
good pace and supplying strong anecdotes.

Jack E. George's exposé is a warning to other well-meaning charities to play by the rules and mind the
bookkeeping. His main message is that serving the community is not enough--a charity has to be run
legally and ethically. If it isn't, it will ultimately fail, hurting and disappointing many people along the way. A
Broken Charity is a must-read for anyone in the nonprofit sector.