Tom Monaghan's Banana Republic
Tue, Apr24, 2007 - Category: University
The most dangerous place in the world for a
journalist to investigate the administration of Tom
Monaghan is San Marcos, Carazo, Nicaragua.
With issues on his Nicaraguan campus like...
- financial irregularities
- an employee who refers to his secretary as 'whore' (Spanish equivalent)
- a disbarred lawyer who teaches business law and offers legal advice
- an employee whose house was surrounded by gun-drawn police
- secretly-taped conversations
- a faculty member's dog poisoned by a chemical uncommon in Nicaragua
... one is left asking "How deep does this rabbit hole go?"
With issues on his Nicaraguan campus like...
- financial irregularities
- an employee who refers to his secretary as 'whore' (Spanish equivalent)
- a disbarred lawyer who teaches business law and offers legal advice
- an employee whose house was surrounded by gun-drawn police
- secretly-taped conversations
- a faculty member's dog poisoned by a chemical uncommon in Nicaragua
... one is left asking "How deep does this rabbit hole go?"
The story of Tom Monaghan, Ave Maria College of the Americas (AMCA), and College President Humberto Belli - the former-Marxist who fought alongside the CIA against the leftist Sandinista government - is a book unto itself.
David Ahntholz, Naples Daily News (here) - Annunciation Mass, March 27, 2007
From right: Tom Monaghan, Nick Healy, Jane Healy, Humberto Belli
Much deserves scrutiny at AMCA.
A partial list of allegations include the following:
+ AMCA workers are paid approximately $100/month, not provided health insurance, prohibited from eating in the AMCA cafeteria, and prohibited from forming a union. It is said that a Franciscan brother who tried to create a union among the workers was suddenly removed from AMCA without explanation.
+ Students recently paid for a 3 credit philosophy course that only met for 31 contact hours (rather than 45 contact hours).
+ AMCA routinely buys only 2-10 books per course even though some classes may have as many as 30 students. AMCA administration allows photocopying of entire textbooks to help maintain enrollment. It is said that financial aid is often spent on luxury items and at a popular Managua bar (Hipa Hipa). According to National Catholic Reporter, "the dorms are plagued by problems of alcohol and drug abuse."
+ New employees for the 2006-2007 academic year were told (incorrectly) by AMCA administration that their salary was immune from American taxes.
+ Severance was denied to some employees.
+ AMCA makes a significant profit during the summer by renting the campus to Protestant Christian evangelists, a relationship that some feel to be in opposition to the stated Catholic mission of the school.
+ An AMCA Assistant Professor of Business Law, Patrick S. Werner, was disbarred in Wyoming (1988) and Michigan (1989) for having "committed serious acts of professional misconduct including the misappropriation of funds from his trust and his failure to account for approximately $14,000 entrusted to him in a bankruptcy case" (Attorney Discipline Board, Wayne County, MI). Werner was hired by the Nicaraguan campus back in 1993 when it was still under The University of Mobile, sponsored by the Atlanta Baptist Convention; Werner then served as Executive Director of Student Services and Operations.
+ A former faculty member claimed that he was intimidated by gun-toting men, night-time thuggery, search/seizure, and a poisoned pet to keep him quiet about AMCA's administration.
+ A majority of students no longer trust the university leadership. Some employees are fearful, disgusted, and have claimed "whistleblower status" for protection.
In the coming weeks, AveWatch will develop these stories.
In the coming days, the focus will be on AMU-AMCA operations.