Former Air America Executive Worked For Bronx Club
Filings with the Internal Revenue Service show that the recently resigned vice president of finance of the liberal radio network Air America, Sinohe Terrero, served previously as director of finance of the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club in the Bronx, a nonprofit organization that transferred $875,000 to the network.
Air America said yesterday that the network does not comment on personnel matters but confirmed that Mr. Terrero resigned August 26, citing an offer of employment at another organization. Currently, he is consulting for the network until it replaces him.
The city's Department of Investigation and the state attorney general are looking into what officials called "inappropriate transactions" by Gloria Wise, which received much of its annual budget of $29 million in city contracts and grants. The investigative agencies are said to be examining the transfers to Air America.
Mr. Terrero began at the liberal radio network in January 2004 and would have been an employee there when more than $700,000 was received from Gloria Wise.
An attorney representing Mr. Terrero, Daniel Ollen, said yesterday: "Mr. Terrero is a witness in the proceedings, not the target of any investigation."
Mr. Terrero, 30, was brought on at Air America by its former chairman, Evan Montvel Cohen, who at the time also worked at Gloria Wise, as director of development.
Officials of the network, including its biggest star, the comedian Al Franken, and its CEO, Danny Goldberg, have said Mr. Cohen engineered the transfers. Last week, the current owner of Air America, Piquant LLC, wired the remainder of the $875,000 to an attorney-controlled escrow account to be released to Gloria Wise when the Department of Investigation authorizes payment.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Mr. Cohen repeated that no one at Air America, including Mr. Terrero, had any knowledge 0of the four separate transfers when they took place, between late 2003 and early 2004. Mr. Cohen called Mr. Terrero "a very capable financial manager."
A spokesman for Gloria Wise, Martta Rose, confirmed that Mr. Terrero was employed at Gloria Wise between 2000 and 2002 as director of finance.
