In January, Wayne LaPierre, who built the NRA into a lobbying juggernaut and got himself pretty wealthy in the process, resigned from the NRA. He was forced out as CEO because he (and other execs) had been grifting off donations to NRA - unbelievably, a non-profit - for all sorts of expensive perks. Millions of dollars worth of perks.
Where'd the money go?
LaPierre claimed that $275K worth of Zegna suits were merely "costumes I wore on TV." Even if he was only costuming himself in midrange Zegna suits, the ones that cost a mere $5K, that's still 55 suits. Sure, old Wayne was CEO of the NRA for 30 years or so, so that's fewer than two suits a year. But how many $5K suits does one man need?
When I was in suit-wearing corporate mode, I paid plenty for a few of my power suits - some I bought for the equivalent (gulp!) of $1.4K today. But those pricey suits wore like iron.
They would have lasted forever if I'd been willing to wear them forever, which I wasn't. Over time, when dressing for success went more casual, I occasionally wore the skirts with sweaters, and those power menswear jackets with slacks. That didn't last long.
But the suits would have.
Why did Wayne LaPierre need all those suits??? Inquiring minds...
I will say that my pricey suits did travel very well, and I'm guessing the Zegna suits did the same for LaPierre, even though I suspect he never had to tote them around in a carry-on suit bag, hoping to find a place to hang it. And he did do an awful lot of traveling all over the place.
He spent $107,620 for a vacation to the Bahamas in 2016, where he stayed on a superyacht that had a personal chef and personal watercraft. (Source: NY Times - February 23, 2024 - A )
Hmmmm. I don't think he would have needed those formal suits in the Bahamas. Don't the men wear salmon-colored blazers and bermuda shorts when they dress up for dinner? Or is that Bermuda I'm thinking of?
LaPierre also expensed gifts for his family, and a "mosquito control package" for his home. Maybe that was expensable because you wouldn't want the CEO of the NRA to be on TV scratching his ankle because of a mosquito bite, would you? Sounds like a justifiable expense for me.
Alas, the State of New York feels otherwise, and less than a month after LaPierre resigned his position, he was found guilty in a civil jury trial of engaging "in a yearslong pattern of financial misconduct and corruption."
“For years, Wayne LaPierre used charitable dollars to fund his lavish lifestyle, spending millions on luxury travel, expensive clothes, insider contracts, and other perks for himself and his family,” Ms. [Letitia] James [NY AG] said in a statement. “Today, after years of rampant corruption and self-dealing, Wayne LaPierre and the N.R.A. are finally being held accountable.”
Jurors found that Mr. LaPierre had misspent $5.4 million. He has repaid some of that sum, but must still repay $4.35 million. Mr. [Wilson] Phillips [NRA] must repay $2 million. (Source: NY Times - February 23, 2024 - B)
The good news is that LaPierre will be out $5.4M. The bad news? The money goes back into the NRA coffers so they can spend more money on buddying up with politicians to make sure that killers who want to shoot up grammar schools have ready access to weapons of mass destruction.
Explain to me again how the NRA is a non-profit?
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