By STEVEN G. WATSON
A Ridgeland-based chairty is being operated for personal gain, in part because it has the highest paid charity bingo director in the state and reports the least amount of charitable giving, according to testimony during a hearing this week.
Bill Murphy is the highest paid charity bingo director in the state according to testimony at a Secretary of State hearing Tuesday to determine if the charity should be closed.
The charity, Fine Arts Institute of Mississippi or FAIM, operates the Boxcar Bingo parlor in Desoto County and has been under fire in recent months for alleged acts of fraud.
Murphy is currently involved in two appeals - one with the state Gaming Commission and another with the Secretary of State's office.
The state Gaming Commission, which governs charitable bingo, would not renew FAIM's license.
The Secretary of State's Office, which governs all charities, is attempting to revoke FAIM's charitable status.
Tuesday, at an appeal hearing with the Secretary of State's office, Murphy's salary was scrutinized by the prosecution which questioned why FAIM paid him $155,000 in 2008 and spent only $22,000 on actual charity.
Madison County Journal
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