NYT,p1:US Investigating Use of Donors' Gifts to Statue of Liberty

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U.S. Is Investigating Use of Donors' Gifts to Statue of Liberty

By MIKE McINTIRE
Published: April 5, 2004


Federal investigators have begun an inquiry into the National Park Service's dealings with a nonprofit foundation it relied on to handle the reopening of the Statue of Liberty, according to a government official.

The inspector general of the Interior Department, which oversees the Park Service, is investigating how the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation spent donations it raised for projects at the monument and whether it followed federal guidelines on competitive bidding for certain contracts, the official said.

The inquiry, which the official said had begun within the last two weeks, will also explore why the foundation did not spend more of the money it already had for the reopening, instead of mounting a separate fund-raising campaign that has collected nearly $7 million from corporations, the public and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who contributed $100,000 of his own money....

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Officials at the foundation and the Park Service did not respond to messages seeking comment yesterday.

The New York Times reported yesterday that delays by the Park Service and reluctance by the foundation to spend its money have prevented the statue's reopening, two and half years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack forced the closing of major American landmarks. Other sites, including the Washington Monument and the public rooms of the White House, have reopened....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/05/nyregion/05STAT.html