Man Charged For Billing Suit As ‘Marine Water Pumps’

Hey, they finally charged that guy from the Independence Seaport Museum. The Inquirer’s John Schiffman on former seaport head John S. Carter:

Prosecutors charged Carter yesterday with swindling the museum out of more than $1 million worth of top-shelf goods between 1997 and 2006, a time when he was paid about $300,000 a year and lived rent-free in a museum-owned townhouse in Society Hill.

Carter allegedly engaged in a brazen but clumsy effort to cloak many misdeeds, charging a $1,100 suit as “marine water pumps,” a $935 root canal operation as “boat supplies,” and $6,400 worth of gym fees as “meetings.”

Yeah, well maybe if the Seaport Museum offered its employees dental insurance this wouldn’t have happened. Or maybe the employees have to pay and Carter just didn’t opt in.

Ex-seaport museum chief charged [Inquirer]

John S. Carter’s Problems Drop Slightly To 87

The money madness at the richest of all our cultural institutions, the Independence Seaport Museum, continues today! Yesterday, the news broke that the museum was suing its former president, John S. Carter, alleging he defrauded the organization of $2.4 million.

John S. Carter’s response: “I can’t passed the bar, but I know a lil’ bit, that you can’t illegally search my shit.” Okay, okay. What he really said was, “Ask my lawyer.” And his lawyer said he is “completely stunned” by the lawsuit.

But it’s not that John S. Carter’s attorney is saying he’s totally innocent. No, the two sides were attempting to negotiate a settlement when the lawsuit was filed. Quoth Mark Cedrone:

“There’s no question that John [S.] Carter did some things he probably shouldn’t have, and we’d like to try and remedy that, but he’s not responsible for stealing $2.4 million.”

So, you know, he stole some stuff, but not $2.4 million of it, it seems. Also, it should be “Try to remedy that,” I think.

Lawsuit stuns lawyer for fired port-museum chief [Daily News]

John S. Carter Has 99 Problems

Hey, did you know the Independence Seaport Museum is made of money? I mean, not literally, of course, although that particular situation is represented at right. (See, they haven’t had any renovations in a while, so the building is still covered with the old $100 bill.)

The museum accused its former president, John S. Carter, yesterday of defrauding the company of $2.4 million dollars. Wait. The Independence Seaport Museum has $2.4 million to defraud? I mean, no offense, but, ah, what?

The Seaport Museum also paid Carter $301,000 a year. This is more than the Art Museum head makes and approximately 330,000 times my salary. And yet he still allegedly stole — this is a legal term — “a ton of shit” from the museum, including these:

The suit said he also used a museum credit card to pay $1,315 to a sailmaker, saying it was an Enticer expense - “even though Enticer does not have sails.” [...]

In 2003, Carter claimed $16,771 worth of charges purportedly related to a meeting of the International Congress of Maritime Museums in England. But Carter’s credit-card receipts indicated that he and his wife were not in England, but instead had visited the French Riviera.

In 2004, the couple claimed $7,854 to attend the same conference in Europe, saying they had been to London, Nice and St. Tropez. The problem: The conference is held every other year. It didn’t meet in 2004.

Damn. I got to get myself a job blogging for the Independence Seaport Museum.

Ex-head of Seaport Museum accused of fraud [Inquirer]