Staying with the story
The Springfield News-Sun has provided ongoing coverage of the Union Club of Springfield’s financial issues and dealings with the Attorney General’s charitable law section dating back to 2012.
Union Club instant bingo by the numbers
$1.95 million: Instant bingo sales in 2014 license year
$420,000: Bingo profits in 2014
76: Charitable organizations received more than $100,000 in donations in 2014
The Union Club of Springfield continues to fight for its bingo license after an independent hearing officer recommended to the state that it not be renewed.
About $1.95 million in bingo revenue continues to be the club’s primary source of income, in violation of state law, according to a report submitted to the Ohio Attorney General. The report recommends the license not be granted because there is good cause to believe the Union Club will continue to operate charity bingo outside of the law.
More than $100,000 in annual scholarships and other donations could be lost if the more than 80-year-old nonprofit can no longer sell instant bingo tickets.
But whistle-blowers who have challenged the club on its financial dealings and continue to push for the recovery of more than $1 million in alleged missing money say they support the state’s decision.
“We agree with the hearing examiner’s report and we would hope that the Attorney General adopts the hearing examiner’s recommendations,” said Dan Harkins, attorney for Jimmie Howard and several other former club officers.
They say shutting down the bingo tickets would ensure that no more money is misspent, and any recovered missing money could be used to still support charity in the community.
“The asset recovery would enhance the amount of money that could be used for charity,” Harkins said. “Our understanding is that that investigation is ongoing.”
He expects a report from state investigators by the end of the year.
Union Club President Jerry Numbers declined to comment when reached this week, citing pending litigation.
The club has until Sept. 28 to submit objections to the report and recommendations, which Numbers said has been done.
Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office has repeatedly declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
Director of Major Litigation Fred Nelson will make a final decision on the bingo application.
The club has had a license to sell instant bingo tickets since 2006, but the state sent a letter in March saying it planned to reject its 2015 renewal application.
State law says for charitable organizations that offer instant bingo at a retail location, the primary revenue cannot be the tickets themselves.
But on its 2014 application to renew its bingo license, the Union Club disclosed that between Nov. 1, 2012, and Oct. 31, 2013, gross receipts from instant bingo totaled more than $2.7 million while gross receipts from all other retail sales was about $500,000.
The club was granted a temporary license for 2014 and told they needed to stop selling pull-tab instant bingo tickets on certain days to make sure the bingo revenue didn’t exceed other revenue.
After sitting down with state attorneys last year, club members said they were under the impression they could add receipts from daily raffles or “sign-ups” into their revenue reporting.
The Union Club reported $1.95 million in instant bingo ticket sales for 2014, and $1.94 million in other retail sales, including the additional raffle earnings. Bingo sales still made up 50.13 percent of its gross receipts, prompting the state to deny the 2015 license renewal.
A hearing was held in August, overseen by Columbus attorney Andrew Cooke.
Cooke’s report agrees with the Attorney General’s assertions and recommends the license not be renewed.
“The Attorney General established the sale of instant bingo was Union Club’s primary source of retail income gross receipts from all commercial activities,” the report says. “Union Club also included money from ‘sign-ups’ and ‘pools’ in its calculation of all other retail income, which was not authorized under (state statute, Ohio courts or the Attorney General). Finally, Union Club continued to sell instant bingo in 2014 and the first quarter of 2015 when daily instant bingo gross proceeds exceeded other retail sales gross receipts, in violation of the requirements set forth (by the Attorney General’s office).”
The report notes that in a meeting between club trustees and state attorneys last year, Assistant Attorney General Julie Pfeiffer advised raffle revenues could be used, but another attorney advised they couldn’t.
“The testimony suggested Ms. Pfeiffer’s comments were made to the other assistant attorney general, not to Union Club board members,” Cooke said.
In 2012 the club was split in two following an investigation into reports of missing money and as part of an agreement with the AG’s office to ensure money raised from bingo and other games was used for proper charitable purposes. Its bingo license was suspended for 10 days in 2013 and they were fined for operating illegal gambling machines.
The club gave away about $100,000 in 2014 scholarships and grants to other charitable groups.
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