First AME pastor's spending examined

[Liberal_in_LA]

This is one of the most prominent churches in Los Angeles.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fame30-2008nov30,0,6755798.story

First AME pastor's spending examined

John J. Hunter used church credit cards for personal items, an audit finds. He denies any wrongdoing.
By Teresa Watanabe
November 30, 2008

The pastor of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the oldest and most prominent black congregations in Los Angeles, used church credit cards to pay for at least $122,000 in personal expenses over a three-year period, including jewelry, family vacations, clothing and auto supplies, according to documents and church sources.

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It was not clear how Hunter, who receives a six-figure salary and use of a $2-million church parsonage in Encino, would repay the money. In addition to his debt to the church, he also faces a substantial debt to the federal government. Tax authorities have filed federal tax liens totaling more than $309,000 against Hunter and his wife, according to documents obtained by The Times.

Hunter said the bulk of the back taxes owed are mostly unpaid Social Security taxes, penalties and interest spanning 17 years. He said he had legally opted out of the Social Security system, as ministers are allowed to do, but that the IRS had no record that he had done so and assessed the taxes. He opted back into the system a few years ago, he said.

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Founded in 1872, First AME is the first congregation established by African Americans in Los Angeles. But it became a civic powerhouse with the arrival in 1977 of the Rev. Cecil L. "Chip" Murray, a high-spirited minister who transformed what had been a staid congregation into a center of social and political activism.

Murray retired in 2004 and was replaced by Hunter.

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Hunter's financial issues have alienated some church members, who say they were dismayed by reports of what they viewed as lavish spending at a time of great economic need in the community.

Between January 2005 and January 2008, Hunter's spending included more than $6,000 on clothes, $3,000 on auto supplies, more than $2,000 on jewelry, $1,000 on bicycles and more than $10,000 on personal purchases during church-sponsored trips to India and China, according to documents obtained by The Times.