Hurricane Katrina’s wrath of death and destruction has brought
the Red Cross into the forefront of the nation’s consciousness.
Hollister – Hurricane Katrina’s wrath of death and destruction has brought the Red Cross into the forefront of the nation’s consciousness.
However, a local Red Cross former executive director fears her embezzlement conviction and the recent merger of the San Benito and Monterey County chapters may slow the donation of funds to the local chapter.
Charron Contival, a 30-year San Benito County resident who was recently put on felony probation after pleading no contest to misusing chapter funds in 2001, continues to proclaim her innocence although she took a plea bargain offered by the District Attorney’s Office. Contival claims health problems and a lack of money for attorney’s fees influenced her decision to plead no contest to the felony charge.
However, she believes the publicity over her situation has instilled residents with a sense of apprehension about the organization’s legitimacy.
“A lot of people don’t go any deeper than the headlines. They look at it and think, ‘They’re just out of control and why should I donate?’ Instead I’ll donate to the Salvation Army,” Contival said. “I think there’s a big mistrust in the community.”
But local Red Cross representatives say Contival’s concerns are misplaced and San Benito County residents have come through for Gulf Coast survivors. San Benito merged with the Monterey County chapter several months ago in an attempt to salvage San Benito’s financially-strapped chapter.
“I would disagree with her that things are looking bleak,” said Laura Kershner, public relations manager for the Monterey/San Benito chapter. “We are seeing people step forward in legions. We’ve had a number of people come through our new door (in Hollister). I don’t think that sour grapes is the way to go.”
San Benito County residents have donated upwards of $40,000 since Katrina, a Category 4 hurricane, slammed into the Gulf Coast last week and left New Orleans and many other coastal cities under water and thousands of people displaced and dead. Nationwide, Americans have donated about $440 million for Katrina victims, although the Red Cross hopes to reach $1 billion, Kershner said.
“I think a few bad apples don’t represent the organization as a whole,” Kershner said. “This chapter has a very good history of meeting the needs, not only locally but across the nation. We are taking measures to ensure donor intent is honored and that we provide relief to victims in this horrible disaster.”
Red Cross executives have said the scandal wasn’t a direct reason for the two chapter’s merger, and Contival confirmed that talk of combining the two chapters abounded even when she was the director. Kershner said combining the chapters was the only way to save San Benito’s floundering chapter after several years of mismanagement and poor financial planning.
Kershner said any money that comes in for hurricane victims goes into a Hurricane Katrina disaster fund. Money donated to the Red Cross for future disasters is deposited straight to the bank to avoid mismanagement, she said.
District Attorney John Sarsfield charged Contival with embezzling more than $20,000 with a chapter credit card during her tenure as interim executive director from about 2001 to 2002. Sarsfield also said there is a possibility she stole from 9/11 funds designated to aid victims in the catastrophe on par with Katrina’s natural wrath.
But Contival, who adamantly denies taking donated funds from the 9/11 fund. And, she said three audits were performed during her tenure, and she passed all of them with flying colors.
However, her case trudged through the legal system for nearly three years. When she discovered she would need to come up with $24,000 to cover her attorney’s fees for a trial, she threw in the towel.
On top of the felony charge, which stuck her with three years felony probation and 120 days bound to an electronic monitoring system, she also pleaded no contest to a felony tax evasion charge, which came with a similar sentence. Contival said she did not file tax returns for two years.
“I’m not happy with having to take the plea agreement, but life is full of hard choices,” said the self-employed freelance writer. “I was between a rock and a hard place, and I saw absolutely no other alternative.”
Although Contival now has no involvement with the Red Cross, she said she loved working with the organization and the many generous volunteers who give of their time and energy to the nonprofit group. She disagrees with San Benito’s merger with Monterey because she believes San Benito will be slighted in the event of a large-scale disaster, and believes she was blamed for the chapter’s dismal financial status.
“They need a scapegoat and I’m a convenient one, I understand that,” she said. “I’m glad to see that San Benito County residents are donating. When there’s a disaster they give their hearts out… but I think this whole thing has had an impact. San Benito County residents have really long memories and that’s a really unfortunate side affect of this whole thing.”
Anyone who would like to donate monetarily for victims of Hurricane Katrina should call 1-800-HELP NOW, or online at www.redcross.org and specify that the donation go directly for Hurricane Katrina victims. To volunteer or for more information, visit the Hollister office of the Red Cross located at 357 Fifth Street, next to City Hall.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
