By Tyra Braden
The Morning Call
Copyright 2007 The Morning Call, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
PLAINFIELD, Pa. — Lawyers have promised today will bring an end to testimony — some of it contradictory — in the saga of whether the Plainfield Volunteer Fire Company is entitled to all, most or part of the money its Ladies Auxiliary has raised.
Northampton County Judge Paula A. Roscioli will then sift through reams of paper — mostly financial documents and transcripts — to help her reach a decision in the case, which began in late 2005 when the fire company filed a civil lawsuit.
Pamela Fingerhut of the state attorney general’s office told Roscioli on Tuesday that her office believes the auxiliary is a “support organization” designed to assist the fire company, so the fire company should get all the money.
However, the judge is not bound by Fingerhut’s decision.
The attorney general became involved in the lawsuit in October because each of the nonprofit groups had accused the other of wrongdoing. Fingerhut participated in the latest round of testimony, which began a week ago today. Unlike her counterparts, Ralph Bellafatto, who represents the fire company, and Bob Sugarman, one of three attorneys representing the auxiliary, Fingerhut generally asked only a handful of questions of each witness.
The final witness scheduled is Thomas Huff, the auxiliary’s accountant. He testified for several hours over two days last week but was unavailable Tuesday. Huff, who has charged the auxiliary $53,500 — which doesn’t include his trial testimony — said the auxiliary is not a support organization by IRS definition. A support organization is required under the law to give 85 percent of what it makes to the group it supports.
The auxiliary has said the fire company demanded all of its money, but Lois Hefferle, the fire company accountant, testified Tuesday that the firefighters made a demand for 85 percent before filing the lawsuit. Auxiliary members have testified they offered to increase their monthly contribution from $5,000 to $8,000, but the firefighters said no.
Auxiliary members also said they agreed to pay for a new firetruck, but instead of writing a check to the fire company, they wanted to give the money directly to the truck dealer. The firefighters said no.
Tensions continued to increase between the two groups when the firefighters said they wanted to hire caterers so they could hold fundraising events on days the auxiliary didn’t have events booked for the social hall. The auxiliary members disagreed, saying their work had paid for the equipment and they didn’t want anyone else using it.
Teri Alfero, a part-time fire company employee, testified Tuesday that after the auxiliary stopped using the social hall, the firefighters had to spend about $75,000 to remove moldy carpeting, replace air-conditioning units and clean. The auxiliary, Alfero said, left the building in “deplorable” condition.
Before adjourning Tuesday, Roscioli said she wanted to know how much of Huff’s fees, compiled since he was hired in 2005, came about because of the trial and how much represented general accounting work he did for the group. Likewise, the judge said, she wanted to determine if fees the attorneys had charged were reasonable.
In October, when the attorney general stepped in, Roscioli ordered the trial attorneys to stop taking money from their clients. Auxiliary attorney Virginia Hardwick at that time said the auxiliary had spent about $117,000. Last week, auxiliary attorney Sugarman told Roscioli the amount was $67,000, but Bellafatto said the auxiliary had paid $94,500. In October, Bellafatto said the fire company had paid him $5,225 in fees and $3,000 in court costs.
On Tuesday, Sugarman and Bellafatto told Roscioli they wanted to have a separate hearing to discuss legal fees. Roscioli initially said no because she wanted to bring an end to the case. After hearing from Sugarman and Bellafatto, however, she relented and said she would take up the matter another time.