JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – John Melia, the founder of the Wounded Warrior Project, is calling for Anthony Odierno to resign from his position as chair of the organization's board of directors. In its response, the WWP board said Melia and his brother are attacking the organization to promote their personal agenda.
It's the latest development for the Jacksonville-based charity under fire for lavish spending and a culture of fear and intimidation.
In a letter released to the News4Jax I-TEAM on Wednesday morning, Melia says a nonprofit must have the trust of its donors, and he says the board's failure to oversee WWP financial matters has resulted in widespread loss of that trust.
Odierno, a wounded Army veteran, has served on the WWP board since 2009, and has chaired the board since 2014.
Odierno currently leads the organization's office of the chief executive officer until a nationwide search finds a permanent CEO. Odierno took on the responsibility after the board terminated CEO Steven Nardizzi and chief operating officer Al Giordano. Nardizzi took over as CEO in 2009, the same year Odierno joined the board. At that time, Melia says he was pushed out of the organization.
Melia said Odierno has failed to execute the duties of his position in the new office of the CEO.
DOCUMENT: Melia's letter asking for Odierno's resignation
In the letter calling for Odierno's resignation, Melia also outlines several other issues he says the board has been aware of:
- The "explosive growth" of the salaries of Nardizzi and Giordano
- The hiring of a fundraising group which Melia says had previously entered into an agreement with the state of New York to settle a claim over fundraising irregularities
- The 2014 grant of $150,000 to the Charity Defense Council
- The 2014 addition of Robert Nardelli to the board of directors
- The shrinking of the board from 14 members to six members
Melia told the I-TEAM on Wednesday that he thinks his call for Odierno's resignation will make a difference.
"Look, if it wasn't for some very courageous whistleblowers, Mr. Nardizzi and Mr. Giordano would still be there," Melia said. "There's absolutely a grass-roots uprising to make sure Wounded Warrior Project is restored to the former good work that it used to do."
Melia founded the WWP on a shoestring budget in 2003 in the basement of his Virginia home. The day after the board announced the firings of Nardizzi and Giordano, Melia stepped forward, saying he was interested in rejoining the organization he built as CEO. Melia offered to work for free for the first six months.
Melia told the I-TEAM earlier this month that he believes part of the reason he was pushed out was that he capped executive salaries at $199,000. He has since called for an end to the charity's bonus program, a salary freeze, and a pause on advertising using combat-wounded veterans to make money for the charity.
Tuesday night, Melia announced the board had canceled a meeting scheduled for next week with him and his brother, Jim Melia, an FBI agent and co-founder of the WWP.
Wednesday morning, a board spokesperson released a statement explaining the meeting was canceled because the Melias had publicized the meeting. The board said a condition of the meeting was that it remain confidential and not be publicized.
The board statement also said the Melias are attacking the organization to promote their personal agenda. It said the board has and will continue to act decisively to move the organization forward.
"We certainly do have a personal agenda," Melia said Wednesday. "I wish they had a personal agenda. I wish that they cared enough about wounded veterans and their families and the donors that the organization serves to do the right thing.
"This organization is a public charity," Melia continued. "They think that we're not going to fight, and the fact of the matter is we are going to fight. And we are going to see Tony Odierno and other members of the board of directors and senior executives of the organization step down. I was forced out of the organization one time. I certainly will not be forced out again."
Melia sent the letter to Odierno dated March 29, 2016, which he also emailed to the I-TEAM, national news outlets and publicly shared on Facebook. He asked the public to personally email members of the WWP board.
Mr. Odierno.
The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is a public charity. The persons who donate funds to WWP are entitled to have their questions answered regarding the disposition of donated funds. In the interest of Restoring Trust to WWP, John and I have received many questions regarding actions of the Board of Directors. As Founders, we respectfully request you provide answers to these questions regarding your tenure as a member of the WWP Board of Directors. We estimate that answering these questions should require, at most, one hour of your time. Many of these questions require single word answers, which you should be able to answer from memory alone. In the event you are not able to provide answers to all of the questions immediately, we are certainly willing to accept immediate answers to the questions that do not require research. We do not believe that any of these questions require consultation with attorneys or public relations firms.
1. What is the current cost to WWP for the services of Abernathy MacGregor?
2. What is the current cost to WWP for the services of the Korn Ferry executive search firm?
3. Have you or any other Board member ever attended a WWP "all-hands" type event? Where and when?
4. Were you or any other Board member present at the Broadmoor during the "all-hands" event in 2014?
5. When did you first become aware of any criticism of excessive executive salaries, excessive overhead, or lavish events at donor expense?
6. How many meetings of the Board of Directors have you attended?
7. Have any of these meetings been held at locations which could be described as "luxurious" or as a "resort?"
8. Have you or any other Board member ever attended a Board meeting in Beverly Hills or have you or any other Board member ever stayed in a hotel in Beverly Hills on WWP business? What was the name of this hotel and what is the approximate date of your travel?
9. When you or other Board members traveled to these meetings, what was your method of travel?
10. Have you or any other Board member ever traveled by air in any status other than economy on official WWP business? Where and when? How were these airplane tickets paid for?
11. Have you ever witnessed any employee of WWP traveling in any class other than economy when traveling to or from an official event?
12. Regarding the terminations of Messrs. Nardizzi and Giordano, please answer the following:
a. Were they fired or allowed to resign?
b. Were any of the parties to the separation made to sign either non-disparagement or non-disclosure agreements?
c. Was either of the parties provided or promised any remuneration, severance, or any other thing of value other than the salaries they were owed up to the date of their separation?
13. Why was the size of the Board of Directors allowed to decrease to six members?
14. How were new Board members chosen?
15. Were you involved in the decision to choose Mr. Robert Nardelli as a member of the Board?
16. Were you aware of Mr. Nardelli's business record in regard to his terms as CEO of Home Depot and Chrysler? Were you aware that Mr. Nardelli has been named, "One of The Worst CEOs in America" by some publications?
17. Has the Form 990 for the 2014-2015 term been prepared?
18. Do you know how much Mr. Nardizzi and Mr. Giordano were paid in salary and bonuses for calendar year 2015? What were the amounts?
19. Where did the 2015 "all hands " event take place?
20. Are you aware that WWP censors comments of persons posting on Facebook when the persons commenting disagree with WWP? Do you know the reason I was blocked from posting comments on Facebook? Do you plan to direct the staff of WWP to allow me and other blocked persons to resume posting on the WWP Facebook page?
We would like to thank you in advance for your prompt attention to these questions. We believe that increased transparency is a key component in the effort to Restore Trust. We look forward to receiving your response to this letter. As always, you may respond to us by the telephone numbers and email addresses that we have previously provided to you.
Sincerely,
John A. Melia
James J. Melia
John F. Melia, Colonel, United States Army (retired)
A spokesperson for the WWP's board of directors then released this following response:
At a time when every employee at WWP is working so hard to pull together and focus on the important work done by the organization, the Melias are attacking the organization to promote their personal agenda. Unfortunately, this is a pattern that has repeated itself consistently over the last few weeks, even as the Board made every effort to find ways to work collaboratively toward achieving the same goal, as it has done with many individuals and organizations recently who are passionate about our mission. That included arranging a meeting with the Melias recently at their request, on the condition that it was confidential and not publicized, which is customary in such conversations. Within twelve hours of confirming the date and time of the meeting, there were multiple news reports describing John saying that he was meeting with the Board in New York on April 4. It is crucial to the proper functioning of the Board and the WWP that we can rely on those with whom we are dealing. The Melias' conduct in this instance, and others, is not in keeping with how we wish to do business and unfortunately the Board had to make the decision to cancel the meeting.
"The Board has and will continue to act decisively to move the organization forward. That has included appointing an interim COO, and initiating a search for a permanent CEO. Obviously, the WWP is in a transition phase, but we will continue to do what is best for the organization and not anyone's personal agenda."
When asked if Odierno would be stepping down, the spokesperson simply said, "No."
Asked what he would say to Odierno if they did meet, Melia said: "I would say, 'Tony, I still believe that you're a hero of our country. You made an enormous sacrifice, as have your parents, for this nation. But you dropped the ball here. You were the leader of this organization; this happened on your watch.'"