ATTN: Everyone, concerning Riley and his position as CFO

[Kelgan al'Moranwin]

There are no words. None.

I didn't know Riley as long or as well as many of you, but he is a man I considered a brother as a DM and for whom I had great respect. "Had" being the operative word. I understand not wanting to ask the Tower as a whole for help publicly given his position as our CFO and on the Board, but I would have expected that he at least let the Board know about the trouble he was in simply as an accountability measure and that he ask DM in Chambers for help if he was desperate enough to embezzle from this community. I know he cared for many of us very deeply, and I'm glad that he at least had the integrity to own up to what he had done when confronted with this. I'm shocked, angered, saddened, and torn by this. But none of those words, nor their collection, really capture how I'm feeling just now.

As I say, there are no words.

Going forward, I know FB is going to be difficult between all this and the damage from Sandy. If we can help, please let us know.

I also have confidence that the Board will be considering how best to move forward and ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. While I don't like playing Monday-morning quarterback, it feels like there was a failure of accountability here, that something could have been done that wasn't to find this sooner. I will wait for a full report on this situation before coming to a judgment on the matter.

 

[Eireann Namar]

I'm pretty shocked and angry right now. I certainly never expected Riley to steal from the Tower. I hope we can move forward with some new financial policies to keep this from happening again.

 

[Shaerlyn Storna]

I don't even have anything to say.


BUT I do want to thank Mother and the admins and everyone for handling this situation so quickly, for keeping us involved (because this does affect everyone) and for staying positive and banding together through this. It's so sad that at a time in our lives where we should be focused on those in need in NY and other areas that were affected by the storm, Instead we are having to deal with these other issues.

Throughout it all, the Tower still stands. <3

What she said. The fact we have to deal with this now, at the time of one of the worst storms in our nation's history, it's just.. There are members in dire straits right now, for reasons outside their control, who have NOT stolen hundreds (thousands?!) of dollars from their friends. Is there a forum to focus on them somewhere?

 

[Zashara Sho'am]

First, thanks to Admin for telling everyone and working to fix it right away. Thanks to Viv and Caerwyn for using their personal funds to help make sure the Tower stayed solvent and that events could continue as planned.

However, I think that after this all settles down, we're going to have to take a public look at why this happened and how we can prevent this from happening again. The point shouldn't be to assign blame. I don't really want to assign blame, it doesn't serve a purpose. Taking an honest look at hiring practices, financial practices, checks and balances, accountability, and pretty much everything, is something that needs to be done.

 

[Catt Heckathorne]

Shaerlyn, there is a thread in General for the hurricane updates.

I have no further words to say on the matter itself. What I would like to say, though, is that I am SO PROUD to be part of this community. We've stood together through so much, including this. On any other website if this had happened and been posted in the public sphere as this event has been, four letter words would be flying fast and furious very quickly.

Tai'shar Tar Valon!

 

[Lauraine al'Thone]

I have refrained from saying anything in this thread because I needed to sort out my feelings on this. I suppose I should be angry but right now all I am capable of is sadness. Sadness for the community, for friendships lost and for the people who are now struggling with fall ball plans. Events are not cheap and some folks have been saving up for monthes to attend fall ball.

That being said, I want to point out that I don't think this is the thread for posting about what a great guy Riley used to be. As someone who lost hundreds of dollars, I know I don't care how awesome he was.

 

[Jeffan Caliarthan]

I think people aren't understanding exactly how much was taken. There were 38 people paid and registered for Fall Ball. There were two types of tickets: those staying at the hotel ($300), and those staying outside of the hotel ($100). Let's be conservative and assume that the split is about 50/50. That adds up to $7,600. On top of that, add the money that we'd normally have in the account, and you'll start to understand exactly how much was stolen.

 

[Imzadi Hopewind]

Have no words right now...

:grouphug

 

[Manon Lumen]

...

 

[Tazren Talamar]

I understand the problem with having to trust someone with finances. I was a member of the Student Union Board at my school, and we actually have a person who works half-time, and is an educated financial person, who does our financies, gives us reports and statements and such. And the board more or less only used that information to make budgets and such. Before my time there were a lot of problems, because the former finacial professional was really bad, made lots of errors, and as such, the entire economy of the organisation was catastrophica for a period. There was no embezzlement ... but still the problem of having to trust someone with it.

And if the person you've hired says, as a professional, "everything is fine, here are the reports, look at the numbers", and there are underlying issues that makes those numbers incorrect, it's really difficult to know. Of course, you find out (hopefully) at the end of the year when an external agency reviews the financies. Or, as in our case, when we got a new person hired she found all those faults and fixed them. It's still difficult to question someone who's a trained professional at financies, when you yourself are not.

 

[Alaria Celentari]

While I'm still in shock over this, I've been thinking a lot since I found out last night and I want to make a few comments.

We are a strong community, and we will survive this, but it will take a long time to recover (not just financially, either) and we all need to be patient and supportive with each other and our admins - not just today and tomorrow in the immediate aftermath, but over the next months and years.

I feel that as a community we deserve to have an apology and an explanation from Riley himself. I fully support the action our admins have taken, but to move forward, I think we need to understand why this happened so that we can
better support our leadership so it does not happen again.

My final thoughts are complicated, and I'm not sure that I can express this as well as I'd like. I am slightly concerned by Riley's removal from the Library, even though I can't quite put a finger on why. I think it has to do with a couple of things - the importance of preserving our history, even if it is painful, so that we can all learn from it and understand why we are what we are; that I have never believed that wrong actions, no matter how severe, should completely erase the good that a person has done or their accomplishments, and Riley was a significant figure in this community for a very long time; that a damnatio memoriae is a dangerous precedent to set, especially in the initial reaction to crisis...

These are just thoughts that occurred to me and I felt the need to express openly, and I hope they don't step on anyone's toes because that is certainly not my intent...

Yours in the Light,
Alaria

 

[Sa'areah Britthorn]

Jeffan, your posts are appreciated, but I think at this point it doesn't do much to debate on whether $1 or $1 million was taken. The fact remains that this thread is for people to share their thoughts, and/or suggestions to the Tower so that we can heal from the damage dealt. Personal or otherwise, apportioning blame based on a financial scale is not necessary in this case.
If people wish to share their thoughts on how nice Riley is or was, or not, then we can allow them to do so.

 

[Jalen te'Kreg]

I'm definitely concerned about checks and balances too, but I'm gonna take a deep breath and let the execs work their magic. They're a group of hardnosed professionals, really, and it's best to let them work it out as they're furiously doing right now.

As an aside: I've written a few papers and done a fair amount of research on financial impropriety. It's one of my core competencies simply thanks to a fascination with it. I don't imagine this'll make anyone feel much better, but this kind of event is a pretty typical growing pain for an organization like us. If confronted in the correct manner (public disclosure, assembling qualified professionals to create new policies, public announcement of new policies) it typically leads an organization to evolve into a more efficient, professional entity. And that's what I'm seeing in motion right now. I don't expect this to make anyone feel less violated, and I'm not saying it to dismiss anyone's emotional reaction. I just want to say that this kind of event is very normal for an org in our shoes and it looks to be leading us into a better place, even though it's a crisis right now.

 

[Sorcha Al'Verdan]

Damn. I'm not just sad for us, I'm sad for Riley that he's in a position where he felt the need to do this. I know there is no way to fully repair this rift, but I hope that someday we'll try.

 

[Jeffan Caliarthan]

Understood. I simply think that the membership has a right to know exactly how much was taken, since it is their money. However, I will defer to you, Membership Sedai 2.0!

 

[Willow al'Meana]

I'm personally appalled and disgusted by this. I understand financial trouble but this shouldn't have been his solution under any circumstances. Just... wow. I completely agree with the board's decision and would have done the same thing as the board and execs were I in their position.

 

[Shaerlyn Storna]

Sa'areah, I respectfully disagree. A hundred dollars is a grandly different thing from $8,000+, for the simple fact that each and every one of us who donated in the past fund drive that RILEY exhorted us to donate to.. we all had our money stolen to pay for.. what, his personal debt?

I don't know about you, but I am in not great financial shape, and yet I still donate money to entities I choose for various reasons. NAMI, an organization that helped my family when my brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, a Parkinson's foundation that may someday discover better treatment or even a cure for the disease that's ravaging my father (my hero).. these are the ONLY organizations last year to which I donated more than I donated to the Tower. It matters that he stole money from everyone like me, not just a little pittance off the top.

I understand some are going to be angrier than others, but those of us who are more angry have as much right to feel what we feel and express it as those who are less angry.

 

[Aryawnah Federov]

That adds up to $7,600. On top of that, add the money that we'd normally have in the account, and you'll start to understand exactly how much was stolen.

This is why I am so beyond irate. It wasn't just a little bit of money. It's not like he was desperate to fill a propane tank or pay electirc bill. It wasn't a few hundred dollars that he could have hoped to borrow and pay back quickly. It was several thousands of dollars. And if he'd been having financial troubles that badly, he had to know that he was going to get caught and did it anyway. He knew what he was doing to all those people going to Fall Ball. Not to mention any of the other finances that have to be covered for running the site. And now, there's the money that Mother had to take out of her own pocket to bring us back to zero. I've known Riley since we joined the site over 10 years ago. I'm sad that he has to be banned from the site. But he asked for it. We are a community that loves our fellow members and we would bend over backwards for each other. All he had to do was ask. I know it's hard. Asking for help is. And sadly, he took the cowards way out and stole from those people who would do anything for him.

I know that what our fantastic admin team was equally hard, and I give gigantic kudos to them for dealing with it in such a timely manner. And to everyone attending Fall Ball, you have my deepest sympathies. I truly wish there was something more that I could do for you.

 

[Val a'Shain]

This is a community largely based on trust. The drawback to that is that once in a while someone turns out to be not quite as trustworthy as we all assumed. It is bitter but it has happened before, and if we want to continue to run as we have, it will happen again. The tower will survive, no matter how much money is involved.

There are two questions that come to mind. What are the direct consequences for the financial position of the tower? I see several people willing to donate, no doubt we could raise enough funds to solve any immediate financial problems, but the need for this is not clear to me from the above.

The second question that comes to mind is whether or not banning Riley is a good idea. Riley deeply disappointed a lot of people including me. He should be, and probably is, thoroughly ashamed of himself. It is quite obvious that he will not be able to continue in any official position in the tower. In fact, this place is going to be very uncomfortable for him right now. That being said, outright dismissal is very much against the spirit of this place. What Riley has done probably involves a substantial sum but it is money. It is *only* money. We've allowed people (back) on the site who have done the most dreadful things to other members and forgiven them. Liars, cheats, people who would do the most absurd things to get attention, sympathy or money. Surely the site can deal with someone who'd commit fraud as well.

See what you can do to get your money back, demote him, make him do penance in some form but do not dismiss him. In fact, if would grace this community if, once the dust has settled, we would see if there was anything we can do to help him. Riley has been here for more than ten years, he is dedicated to this site, kicking him out is too easy for everybody involved.

 

[Alaria Celentari]

See what you can do to get your money back, demote him, make him do penance in some form but do not dismiss him. In fact, if would grace this community if, once the dust has settled, we would see if there was anything we can do to help him. Riley has been here for more than ten years, he is dedicated to this site, kicking him out is too easy for everybody involved.

I have been thinking along those lines as well...