Boy Scouts Claimed 1,800 Phantom Members

The Boy Scouts’ Los Angeles Area Council has been claiming 45 nonexistent troops with 1,800 members, an irregularity that has led to the firing of one Scout employee and the resignation of another, a spokesman for the organization said Wednesday.

The inflated membership rosters were revealed in an audit by the national Scouts organization. The audit was requested by the local group after an inquiry uncovered the same problems--all in an after-school program for disadvantaged youngsters. The results were announced Wednesday by local Scout spokesman Terrence Tibor.

“We are not satisfied with what had been occurring,” said Tibor. “We requested the audit and have dropped these units from the Scouts’ membership roster.”

The inquiry began after a fired Scout director alleged to corporate and civic leaders that the council routinely inflates membership rosters by listing “phantom troops” to attract larger donations. Frank Madrid, who oversaw the after-school program in Lennox, Inglewood and parts of South-Central Los Angeles, also accused the local council of other irregularities.

However, the national audit, which also examined allegations of misuse of funds, turned up “nothing wrong” in the Los Angeles council’s other programs and operations, Tibor said.

Membership is one of several factors that influence donations from United Way, the Scouts’ single biggest contributor.

The council had listed 8,484 Scouts in the after-school program before the audit. Overall, nearly 71,000 Scouts are enrolled in the Los Angeles area, according to a February report by the national office.

Madrid said he was fired in January after he became increasingly vocal in alleging that the Scouts inflated membership rolls and exploited Latino youths by signing them up with no intention of mounting a program.

Scout officials say he was fired for poor job performance.

Madrid also claimed that the Scouts discriminate against Latinos, saying Lennox children were called derogatory names on a camping trip last year and had food withheld.

Tibor said the audit found no evidence of anti-Latino bias or harassment. Boy Scout officials have acknowledged problems with the camping outing but said they have been addressed.

The audit included random checks of Scout units and outreach programs, Tibor said.

However, Tibor said, neither Madrid nor four people who had worked under him were among those contacted.

Madrid was critical of the audit’s methods and findings.

“It was a whitewash,” Madrid said. “It was something that was expected. What’s needed is an independent, investigative audit.”

Tibor said no phantom units were in Madrid’s former area.