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To: Skeeter Bug who wrote (241141)	3/16/2010 4:03:24 PM
From: joseffy	Respond to of 306849

ACORN branches rename, rebrand after video scandal Mar 15, 2010 By MICHAEL TARM apnews.myway.com CHICAGO (AP) - Affiliates of the once mighty liberal activist group ACORN are remaking themselves in a desperate bid to ditch the tarnished name of their parent organization and restore federal grants and other revenue streams that ran dry in the wake of a video scandal. The letters A, C, O, R and N are coming off office doors from New York to California. Business cards are being reprinted. New signs with new names are popping up in front of offices. The breakaways are trying to shed the scandal that emerged six months ago when videos showed some ACORN workers giving tax tips to conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute. But while their names are different, most groups have kept the same offices and staff. That, critics say, means the groups really haven't started anew and severed all ties to ACORN, which faced accusations of mismanagement and rampant voter registration fraud well before the video brouhaha sent even longtime Democratic backers scattering. . . . ACORN's financial situation and reputation went into free fall within days of the videos' release in September. Congress reacted by yanking ACORN's federal funding, private donors held back cash and scores of ACORN offices closed. On Wednesday, a U.S. judge reiterated an earlier ruling that the federal law blacklisting ACORN and groups allied with it was unconstitutional because it singled them out. That doesn't mean any money will automatically be restored, however. For years, ACORN could draw on 400,000 members to lobby for liberal causes, such as raising the minimum wage or adopting universal health care. Locally, its activists pushed city officials to fix broken street lights and it pressured banks to offer more favorable loans to low-income Americans. ACORN was arguably most successful at registering hundreds of thousands of low-income voters, though that mission was dogged by fraud allegations, including that some workers submitted forms signed by 'Mickey Mouse' or other cartoon characters. . . . One of the latest groups to adopt a new name is ACORN Housing, long one of the best-funded affiliates. Now, the group is calling itself the Affordable Housing Centers of America. Others changing their names include what were among the largest affiliates: California ACORN is now Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, and New York ACORN has become New York Communities for Change. More are expected to follow suit. The housing affiliate has lost more than most. The federal cutoff slashed its budget 75 percent, from $24 million in 2009 to $6 million in 2010. It's closed half of its 33 offices, cut half its 250 staff and reduced numbers of low-income families it gives financial advice to from 20,000 to 10,000. An unadorned paper sign with the new name was taped at the entrance of the group's Chicago headquarters on a recent afternoon. But much else is unchanged: The new group is in the same offices; and the head of the old group, Mike Shea, is the head of the new one. Still, insisted Shea, "We really have no relationship with ACORN whatsoever." Many opponents don't buy it. A distinguishing feature of ACORN for years has been its complex web of affiliates, some of which shared money and manpower without ever assuming ACORN's name, said Frederick Hill, spokesman for Republicans on the U.S. House oversight and government reform committee. "The idea that some ACORN organizations are trying to obscure who they really are should be troubling to Americans," he said. A recent report on ACORN compiled by the House Republicans whom Hill represents describes ACORN as a "shell game" with a structure "designed to conceal illegal activities, to use taxpayer and tax-exempt dollars for partisan political purposes, and to distract investigators." To credibly claim a clean break, argued Hill, the new groups should at least have hired directors from outside ACORN. "But I can't tell you of a single example our committee has seen where we say, 'Geez, it really looks like they're purging all the individuals who are with national ACORN,'" he said. The breakaways insist they have changed in more than just name, pointing to tougher ethics rules and better management.

To: Skeeter Bug who wrote (241141)	3/16/2010 4:24:02 PM
From: joseffy	Respond to of 306849

ACORN canvasser pleads no contest to forgery charges Tuesday, March 16, 2010 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette post-gazette.com A Forest Hills man has pleaded no contest to several charges in connection with his work with the voter registration group ACORN. Eric Jones, 20, was a canvasser for ACORN in 2007 and in the course of his work, he submitted 30 voter registration applications from individuals who did not exist, according to Mike Manko, spokesman for the Allegheny County District Attorney's office. Mr. Jones was one of seven people charged last year with forgery and other violations. The district attorney's office said they delivered forged registrations during the 2008 election. Mr. Jones pleaded no contest today before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward Borkowski, to one count each of forgery, unsworn falsification to authorities, obstructing the administration of law and interference with the function of the Board of Elections. Numerous other charges, including one count of dealing quotas, were withdrawn. As part of a plea agreement, Mr. Jones was sentenced to two years probation and has agreed to cooperate, if asked, in any voter fraud investigation on the state or federal level and to testify in any subsequent civil or criminal proceeding on the state or federal level involving voter registration fraud. Read more: post-gazette.com