Although a great deal has been going on behind the scences, I have had to withhold comment on the Hermitage settlement and related matters until the final legal document was filed. The settlement specifically did not include any clause preventing public disclosure; the floodgates are now open.

As part of the Hermitage's settlement with me, they agreed to pay $7,500. I hasten to add that I did not make any personal profit from the sordid situation. All the money went towards my attorney's fees, and my fine lawyer, Mike Fleischman, was worth every penny and much more.

But the Hermitage check bounced. Sky high. Now, to me, it's hard to think of anything more foolish than writing a bad check to the opposing lawyer when you're trying to settle a lawsuit; that kind of stupidity or hubris is just begging for trouble. You'd think after your bank contacts you about bad checks for thousands of dollars, you would immediately correct the problem. But no, the Hermitage notified my attorney they had written a bouncing check, and then were silent. Frankly, along about Day 5 Post-Bounce, I had visions of turning it over to Barbara LaWall's office. Only when threatened with a new lawsuit did they produce the cash.

Why would an organization that's so cleverly and efficiently run, and as prosperous as the Hermitage write a bad check? I'll let the board members answer that themselves; here's a copy of the email from Tom Tulowitzski, the former board president and current teasurer, to Taylor Heidenheim.

From: THOMAS TULOWITZKI
To: Taylor Heidenheim - Comcast
Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 9:58 AM
Subject: Bounced check

Taylor,

I just found out that the $7,500 settlement check bounced because there were not sufficient funds at the time in the account. There is $9,320 in the account right now, and I have requested an additional $20,000 to be transferred from our money market account. This appears to be a timing thing, where at the time the check hit the bank for payment, the account was a little short. I don't want to take the chance of writing another check until the new $20,000 appears in the account (probably Monday or Tuesday), or the same thing could happen.

Can you notify Adam and explain what happened, and let him know that a replacement check will be written as soon as the new money has shown up in the account. We can hand-carry the check to Adam's office or to the other attorney's office if that works better.

I don't have visibility to our checking account balance, but I have spoken with Peggy, our rep at Alliance Bank, and she is going to get us password access to see the balance on-line. I'm not sure who is keeping a check register, if anybody, so I am working with Emily to get that figured out.

We should get you authorized to sign checks as well. Do you have a copy of the signature form that was passed out last meeting.

Tom

If you look at the "Who's Who" page of the Hermitage website, you'll see yet another board member is gone. Lori Lundberg's name has disappeared from the masthead. That's the third departure since April, following Dick Blanchard and Judy Showers. For a board that only has 5 members, that's a pretty heady turnover. If you've been following this for any length of time, you'll know that what has been happening is that there is an ugly triumvirate of board members (Taylor, Tulowitzski, Zack), who together with the prized Executive Director have ridden the organization into the ground. On a board of five, three is a majority. So the board has cycled through member after member after member in the other positions, each lasting a relatively short time until the true situation became clear, and then exiting stage right.

This resignation is interesting, because it takes board below the minimum required by their by-laws; at least, that's the minimum number required in the last set of by-laws the general public laid their eyes on. And since the board now meets privately at an unpublished time and location, doesn't make available to the public their meeting minutes, and doesn't publish their by-laws, who knows what new rules they've created for themselves.

When this all started, the coalition consulted several lawyers about how to get the board out. Due to the odd legal structure of the Hermitage Board (the old board selects the new board, and all seats are by board approval, without participation by volunteers, staff, donors or sponsors), the only two ways to remove board members are to demonstrate out-and-out legal fraud, or force them out through public humiliation. Gross incompetence and hideous management, no matter how appalling, are not enough to force a legal coup. So we have had to go the other route of making public the Hermitage's dirty laundry, hence this blog, letters, interviews, etc.

And then, at the beginning of August, something fell into my lap which I think will demonstrate to even the most staunch Hermitage supporter that it's time for the three old boys to go. Because of certain legal restrictions, I've had to wait until the wheels of justice finish turning before I can make this public. And those wheels turn excruciatingly slowly. But turn they do and my hope is that VERY shortly, that will change.

If Ms. Parker-Hotchkiss or Ms. Lundberg would be interested in talking, please contact the webmaster.