How sad for the 140 people LFC provides services to. I hope they all are able to find another agency that will fill the gap.

Sad yes but ultimately the Millerick is responsible and should be held accountable.

I agree, he should be accountable. If charges are warranted, (embezzlement or fraud?) I hope he gets the penalty he deserves. Similarly, I wonder if the board holds some responsibility for todays action. I'm curious whether the State would have suspended funding if the board had followed the former Board President's recommendation and fired Millerick. Perhaps the State has no confidence in the management since they didn't act and thus ended funding?

Or it's possible that no one knows what is actually happening because they've never bothered to ask the dedicated staff who care for these individuals on a daily basis. Forming an opinion after knowing all the facts, instead of merely accepting what the media reports, is why Life Focus still has the strong support system it has always had intact. Ignorance breeds more ignorance. Ask some questions and use your brains before swallowing the tabloid media as fact.

Millerick and his family & Director's should be ashamed to have let it to get to this point. It would have been at least been a little honorable if he, wife, daughter, son-in-law, the timesheet keeper and over paid Grant Writer had resigned earlier, still not too late but to continue to deny their dishonesty is beyond contempt. These poor families and their disabled adults have had their trust broken not to mention the hard working staff who showed up to work daily believing they were achieving in their mission with the disabled. Money corrupts, yes, it has also corrupted those close to Mr. Millerick who sought his favor and advanced their careers.

Mistakes were made. That is clear. But the board and the executive staff at LFC are working hard to fix the problems and move forward. The only people that will be hurt by DDS pulling their funding are the 140 individuals and their families that have gone to LFC over the past 30 years. As a family member of a LFC client, I cannot express how deeply upset and frustrated I am with the fact that the state is blowing this so out of proportion and trying to shut down an organization that has helped so many families who deal with mental disability day in and day out. No one is perfect. Instead of making rash decisions and prematurely pulling funding for LFC, why don't you give the board a chance to figure out a comprable solution so everyone wins. Think about who will really suffer if LFC closes!

 I wish, I wish .. he would have paid by now.  You must have also seen & read all that's reported out there  in the Herald & local papers, etc, the filled comments pages, anyone who's from Charlestown or anyone reading the newspapers can only be disguisted by what has happened & question why and who knew what & when? The comment below is from the Herald (March 8th)  where one article drew something like 140 comments, certainly news worthy stuff. Came from Notshocked  - "There is so much more going on at the Life Focus Center. Jack has hired his Daughter as the legal director. His daughter has not even passed the state bar yet. I beleive she is making over 65,000. His younger boys work there when not in school and get 40hrs a week and make more money an hour than those employees who have been there for several years and cant get 40hrs. It's ashame he stole all that money and the employees not Jack's family have not received a pay raise in years. If Jack and his wife truly cared about thier clients they would both resign and all thier families members should resign as well. Charges should be filed."  Lets hope the insiders continue but it is probably too late now as their jobs appear to be gone?

John Smith - are you seriously quoting from the Herald comments pages and trying to pass that off as fact and/or news? That's truly inspirational. I can tell by your level of intelligence and compassion that youve spent a lot of time in the human services field, working with those individuals, which is why you're writing under multiple aliases on the "blogs" - clearly the 21st century's replacement for actual journalism. What a contribution you make to society - again, truly inspirational. Not shocked at all.

Please take the time to read the full report issued by the Auditor's Office. The report can be found at http://www.mass.gov/sao/Audit%20Reports/2012/201145473c.pdf. You will be shocked ! The DDS would be incredibly remiss in their obligations to the taxpayers of the Commonwealth if they continued to fund the LFC while Jack Millerick and his extend family remain at the helm. That Jack Millerick continues to hide behind Larry Rasky and his team of high paid flacks is sickening. If Millerick has nothing to hide, then why wont he submit to a full interview by a media outlet ? We need to ask ourselves who is paying for Rasky ? And why is the LFC Board allowing this to continue ?

It just sucks when you have employees that reaklly love there jobs and get screwed in the end i know a friend that has been there almost 5 yrs, and tried ti get 40 hrs but didnt happen so tgey hire kids at 40 hrs with no experience and does nothing but eventually they will get screwed as well kso good luck

Page 31 of the report states the following:

5. INADEQUATE INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER TIME, ATTENDANCE, AND PAYROLL
ACTIVITIES RESULTING IN UNDOCUMENTED PAYROLL EXPENSES OF $1,150,801
We found that LFC has not established adequate internal controls over its staff attendance and
payroll-related activities. Specifically, contrary to the terms and conditions of its state contracts,
six members of LFC’s administrative staff, including the agency’s Executive Director and
Deputy Executive Director, do not document their attendance or the activities on which they
worked. As a result, there is inadequate assurance that all of the $1,150,801 in compensation
provided to these six staff members during the period covered by our audit was proper. We also
found a number of issues with LFC’s payroll activities (e.g. approximately 42% of the timesheets
submitted by staff for fiscal year 2010 were not signed by their supervisors).

That's a heck of a lot of money !

@johnmurphy- you must have a kid or family member in the program to be so concerned about the content of the audit report right? Why else would someone be so
concerned with this issue? Im sure youre intimately familiar with every report posted on the auditors website andthe amounts owed by every agency audited - many of which are in the millions interestingly enough - and the full amounts owed by each agency audited. What a great use of someones time! Sounds like a disgruntled ex or even a current employee with an axe to grind ... Maybe you and "John Smith" both struggled with a failure to advance your career and spend time cruising the web to attack others rather than working towards bettering yourself. What a good use of valuable time.

Page 14 of the Auditor's report states the following:

We also noted a number of highly questionable expenses that appeared to be
personal rather than business in nature. For example, a significant number of expenses were incurred in the state of New Hampshire, where LFC’s Executive Director informed us that he has a residence. During fiscal year 2010 alone, we found that the Executive Director used his credit card to make 629 purchases totaling $69,118, of which 153 totaling $26,934 (39% of total
dollars) were for out-of-state purchases made primarily in New Hampshire. Many of these expenses were for purchases at restaurants, or retail stores on weekends such as Staples, Home Depot, BJ’s Wholesale Club, or at various gasoline stations. Other than the expense for computer equipment discussed below, there is no documentation to substantiate the nature of the purchases or their relation to LFC’s business activities. Moreover, all of the out-of-state stores where these items were purchased have locations within six miles or less from LFC’s office in Charlestown, making these New Hampshire expenditures unnecessary.

629 Credit Card expenditures totaling more than $69,000 ! Even Larry Rasky could not possibly explain these types of expenditures away, no how much Mr. Millerick and the LFC Board pay him with out tax dollars.

Thee are a great number of non-Millerick (the-not-family-or-close-friends-group) who are dedicated professional individuals who have hands on experience with their clients everyday. I know someone who works there. This person is sick at heart for the clients, families, and the NOT highly compensated employee base who will likely lose their jobs. Please do not take lightly the impact thsi has (whether right or wrong) this has on the clients and their families. A majority of diabled people find solice in structure and familarity. The impact to them is heart-wrentching. I am sure all the Millerick folks have money in the floorboards. They won't be the ones who suffer...they will laugh all the way to the bank. It was great gig, Jack!

My guess is that the center will not close...This is just a ploy to finally force Mr.Millerick out.I give it to Friday for Jack to step down.

A little too late to try and step up...such a sad sad story.

Susan, well said. Iti's always the folks who provide direct service to people with disabilities who get taken out with the people focused on their own advancement rather than the consumers. Indeed, my pal's mum and I had a conversation about the scenario that will play out for the consumers. Let me tell you, it is heartbreaking at the very least. Let's hope that everyone that is working so hard to keep this vital resource for our community can pull it off. I know Rep. O'Flaherty and his staff are on it. Larry Rasky's agency is one of the best in Boston. I know professionals who work and who have worked for him; he is a classy guy. However: he doesn't work for nothing and he's not cheap. How the hell are they getting away with hiring him to the tune of $10,000 (an amount that was quoted to me by someone who knows and won't be identified)? If they hired the big guns, you know they are in big trouble. Yep.

Every single person who is related to the Millerick should be fired...and the organization should be held accountable. This includes the Board of Directors who must not understand their role. The Board of Directors is as responsible for this outrageous misuse of funds as the MIllericks Family and Friends Plan. The husband, wife, daughter, sons, son-in-law, daughter's college friend, secretary and her husband...the list goes on and on. And I will bet that not a one of them has ever stepped foot in the building or knows the names of the clients they are "supporting".
I would love a 25 hour work from home gig as a Grant Writer. For $183,000 over three years, I'll bet I could have done better than $6000 in Grants.

Bottom line - we need to find a way to stop this action by the State! Let's get rallied, Charlestown...
Sal LaMattina, 617-635-4000
Gene O'Flaherty, 617-722-2396
Sal DeDominico, 617-722-1650
Danielle Fitzgerald (Mayor's Liaison to CT), 617-635-3549
Governor Patrick - 617-722-2350
Unbelievable! The program participants suffer - and NOT the bad guys! What about the other employees? Shame, shame, shame.

Just to be clear, I mean the employees who didn't steal and commit fraud. You know, the good guys.

@Joseph. Sorry to disappoint you but no, I am not Jack Millerick. I am, however, a very concerned family member of a LFC client who is fearful that people are going to get so wrapped up in their anger directed at mistakes of the past that they aren't giving anyone the time or opportunity it takes to create a solution that will benefit LFC and the clients in the most positive way. I'm not making excuses for what has been done, I'm just asking that people stop and think before they spew hateful comments about people and situations when they do not have all of the facts. Reading an article in the Herald and taking it at face value does not make anyone an expert on this topic. Its a waste of my time and effort to get caught up in the back and forth of this argument so I will end with my original comment which is that it is crucial that people focus on WHO are the actual victims of this situation...the clients of LFC and their families if DDS pulls their funding and the center is forced to close. For those of you who don't have a family member at LFC or know the community closely, I can honestly say wholeheartedly that this center, including Jack and his family members, has been a pillar of stability and support for my family and created an environment in which my aunt has been able to feel confident, have a sense of self worth, and build true friendships. The REAL crime would be to take that away from her and so many others.

Shouldn't there be legal action here? I mean, it is alleged that a million tax payer's dollars went into director's pockets at LFC.

Taxpayer money!!! They should be shut down until the problem is fixed. No program, no matter how valuable theiy are should get away with this loss of the people's
money. Grand theft...payback and jail with no future social security checks for that family.

Wow my heart breaks for all these clients at Lfc. Jack millerick has worked with my family for years with our children and i am honored to call him my friend . I am a licensed CPA and have conducted numerous audits. This Lfc audit is so small and it amazes me that someone is determined to go after jack with this one. Remember what goes around comes around and when the dust settles the truth will come out. I am heartbroken for all the wonderful employees including every single millerick cause in the end those clients will be lost without jack his family and all the wonderful employees at Lfc. I truly hope whoever is behind this comes forward and admits it was a mistake to cause all of this mess because of anger. Anger is such a wasted emotion and will get you know where keep fighting Lfc and jack millerick

With all due respect, the board of directors should have demanded his resignation when the improprieties were disclosed by the state. Not have given him a raise, not have hired a PR firm but taken clear decisive action. The best interests of the board were the clients of LFC, not Millerick, his family or his staff who defrauded the tax payers.. I would suggest that the board members should as they say lawyer up. Heep o big trouble come down the tracks for them...

I have read the report. There seems to be somethings that could be questioned, and some things that are questioned because guidelines were not written out. I think it is odd that you may use a vehicle for instance, but you have to have the guidelines in writing. So, since the guidelines are not in writing the use is not allowed. Do the city, state, police,school etc... all have guidelines in writing about their take home cars? So, it is not the use that is in question, it is the paperwork was not in place. Same with those that worked on the maintenance, it seemed that nobody questions their work or wether it was completed, more that the proper documents were not in place. Again, it seems if you read the report, which is boring at best, the major concern was not where the money went, but rather the lack of paperwork. The fact that one state agency knew that the center was buying a wheelchair van and smart tables for the facility, should not be another questionable expense. I wonder if any state agency could hold up under this kind of scrutiny. For the sake of all involved and those who are familiar with the program know, this facility does great work for their clients.

Thanks to Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty for continuing to take the lead on keeping the Life Focus Center opened and in Charlestown. Mr. O'Flaherty is meeting with DDS and has asked to meet with LFC families/loved ones as soon as possible.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20220420state_nixes_life_focus_project/

Too bad Charlestown could have used some more affordable housing...
Curious how many other enterprises Millerick et al had going too...

Miss R.
I have a very dear friend who is a consumer. Like you, my friend's family is suffering the horror you are facing with your child, as are all the other clients' families and loved ones. As a retired Boston teacher of kids with disabilities, and a parent, I offered to help. That's my only agenda: to help my friends and, if I can, help some of the consumers as well.

I contacted Rep. O'Flaherty when the rumblings started about the LFC closing to voice my concern and ask for some help for my friends. He was already all over it and quietly working with the Auditor, DDS and the AG's office. Indeed, he has offered to meet with parents as soon as the meeting with the Executive Director and DDS occurs on Monday @2 at the LFC. I'd also like to say that my friend/consumer lives outside of the district; so, this is far from political posturing on his part. Indeed, I took the time to download and read the report in its entirety and I would like to agree to disagree on the 'facts'. However, you, my consumer friend's family and Rep. O'Flaherty agree on one thing. We are committed to the consumers and keeping the LFC in Charlestown: period. My mother told me many years ago: "Don't always believe what you read in the paper". She was pretty smart, don't you think?

I nominate Donna O'Brien as the next executive director.

Donna: if not executive director you should be a paid patcher, love reading your articulate and always right on posts!

I no longer live in Charlestown and don't know the people involved wtih LFC but have worked "in the field" for some time. Regardless of what happens to management the people this agency serves cannot be punished for someone else's crime and that's what closing this center would do. Changing to another program would not be just a hardship. It's not an exageration to say for some it would reverse years of progress and be a loss that would take years to recover from. (if they are even able to). If a lack of oversight caused this to happen then anyone connected with the oversight should go. Someone else take over handling the money and let the direct care staff continue on with their work. Maybe some good can come from this and the staff who are typically under valued can make a better living. I don't know the details for LFC but at most agencies the direct care staff are the most underpaid in the agency. They will be the first to say they don't do it for the money but maybe after the financials are taken care of the staff and the consumers will have everything they need. This whole thing is very sad though - I always looked at LFC as one of the good guys. (but I have only interacted with the great caregivers so I guess I'm still right. I only hope they can keep their heads up and keep their consumers from feeling all the stress this must be bringing. Good luck!)

The LFC asked that the meeting be rescheduled for today. Stay tuned!

We asked about today's meeting and received only this response: "Life Focus Center and its leadership have committed to fulfilling DDS’s request that they work with them to assure a smooth transition for the care of Life Focus Center’s consumers. They have similarly assured the families of consumers that they will focus on their transition. That is the focus of all meetings and activity between now and mid-June."

I was honored to accompany my dear friends/consumer's parents to the meeting last night. In summary, DDS will do everything in it's power to keep all services to consumers as they are, just under a new provider. He will set up individual meetings for families with the new service provider, too My friends were very satisfied with the outcome for their daughter; There will be increased communication among parents and DDS as the transition begins and beyond. I was very impressed with the DDS staff and their passion for making this right for the consumers and their families. Timmino urged parents/loved ones to put good pressure on their beloved staff to apply for their positions with the new provider since they truly are the people who make this program like a family. Of course, the LFC administration and acting Board Chair were arrogant and argumentative. Seems they didn't read the memo: meeting for PARENTS! Hello: not a meeting for you to defend inexcusable behavior. One Kool Aid drinker tried to tell me the report was full of lies about the expenses. Right. One family shared the story of the wedding extravaganza for the Executive Director's daughter held at the Zelma Lacy. Thus the need for the $30,000 raise, I was told. Maybe the Knights was booked? Oh, and for you Gene O'Flaherty naysayers: Gene had Alexis Tkachuk at the meeting with the State. He's the only one who spoke up. Remember that election day, kids!

What an outrage! How many of these people are on the take?! Why aren't more people upset with this? Why isn't the press picking this up? Get them involved!!!

Johanna Kaiser - Boston Globe - Our Town: johanna.yourtown@gmail.com
WCVB - Investigative Unit - http://www.thebostonchannel.com/station/6283744/detail.html
WHDH - Tell Hank - tellhank@whdh.com
WBZ - I-Team - http://boston.cbslocal.com/show/i-team/
Sal LaMattina, 617-635-4000
Gene O'Flaherty, 617-722-2396
Sal DeDominico, 617-722-1650
Danielle Fitzgerald (Mayor's Liaison to CT), 617-635-3549
Governor Patrick - 617-722-2350