Jack Bishop, the former executive director of the
Phoenix Center who left the AIDS service organization under a cloud of
controversy, has again been accused of financial mismanagement. The
Internal Revenue Service has notified Phoenix board members that Bishop
failed to pay payroll taxes, and last month each board member was sent a
bill for his or her proportionate share, ranging from $5,000 to more than
$60,000. Meanwhile, Bishop has disappeared from the premises of
Mulberry’s — a gift shop in Chatham that he owns with four
partners formerly associated with the Phoenix Center — along with
funds from the shop.
Bishop’s departure may have been triggered by a
small-claims lawsuit filed by a Mulberry’s customer who loaned Bishop
money to buy more inventory for the store. According to court documents,
Bishop signed a memorandum of understanding on Sept. 1, 2007, promising to
pay this customer $3,600 by May 31. When he failed to pay, the customer
filed suit. Soon after, Bishop vanished.
One of the co-owners of the shop, contacted on
Tuesday by Illinois Times, declined to comment about Bishop’s departure and said the
other partners also wouldn’t comment. “We’re just trying
to get through it,” he said. The shop’s Web site, however, presents a
charming story of how the co-owners found themselves in business together:
“All we can say is that fate led five talented individuals to an
identical spot in the road at the same exact time. While we all have
experienced our bumps in the road, we grew together and decided it was time
to jump into the business world head first . . . ” it says. The story
ends with “They all lived happily ever after.”
In reality, their partnership was formed when Bishop
left the Phoenix Center in May 2006, just after board members discovered
that he had opened credit cards in a board member’s name, made
payments by forging signatures on Phoenix Center checks, run up $100,000 in
debt, and neglected to pay crucial bills. Bishop steadfastly denied any
wrongdoing [see Dusty Rhodes, “Phoenix rising,” July 13, 2006],
and filed a civil suit against the board members, claiming that they had
defamed him. A few Phoenix staffers and one board member who were
Bishop’s core supporters refused to believe the claims of financial
malfeasance and joined him in establishing Mulberry’s. At the same time, Phoenix board members reported
Bishop’s financial shenanigans to the Springfield Police Department
in the hope that he would face criminal charges. The Sangamon County
state’s attorney, however, declined to prosecute.
“The case was reviewed by the state’s
attorney’s office, and there was not sufficient evidence to charge
any criminal offenses,” says John Milhiser, first assistant
state’s attorney. “It was reviewed by the former first
assistant [Steve Weinhoeft] and another felony attorney, and there was
insufficient evidence. The case showed mismanagement, but no personal
gain.”
Phoenix Center board member John Kerstein calls that
decision unfortunate, especially for the co-owners of Mulberry’s. “All of our information was given to the
Springfield Police Department and turned over to the state’s
attorney. Had they acted on any of this, these people in Chatham
wouldn’t be in the situation they’re in right now,” he
says, wondering whether Mulberry partners will also discover that they owe
the IRS payroll taxes. “It makes me so angry that this happened
again, when it could have been prevented.”
Bishop’s civil suit against his former Phoenix
colleagues has shrunk. Four of the six board members have been dismissed as
defendants; the two remaining defendants face only two of the original six
counts charged against them.
Contact Dusty Rhodes at drhodes@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 2, 2008.
