On March 5, 2003, the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation released a report entitled:

WASTE AND ABUSE BY ASSOCIATED HUMANE SOCIETIES.

If you have not yet read the report and its related news release, please do so at...

http://www.state.nj.us/sci/ahs.htm.

If nothing shows up, just hit your "refresh" button.



This report was the culmination of over 5 years of efforts by a small group of animal welfare activists familiar with the Associated Humane Societies (AHS) operations to (1) obtain wide-ranging, public recognition of the horrendous mismanagement at AHS, and (2) to effect positive change in the organization on behalf of the animals.



The SCI report states that animals in AHS' care have been forced to endure deplorable kennel conditions, inhumane treatment at the hands of workers and nonexistent or inadequate medical care. The animal welfare community is called upon NOW to fight for these animals and call for immediate action to be taken to protect them.



While we have accomplished the first of our goals, we are still a long way from the second. Assemblyman Neil Cohen (D-Union) is calling for NJ Attorney General Peter Harvey to place AHS into receivership to protect AHS’s nearly $12m in assets and ensure they are used in the best interests of the animals. While former Executive Director Lee Bernstein has officially stepped down, he is still “a consultant” to AHS, and the organization is still under the control of individuals and Board members hand-picked by Bernstein.



For all of us that care about the animals in AHS’s care past, present, and future, it is imperative that we appeal to Attorney General Peter Harvey to place AHS’s assets into receivership, to pursue appropriate civil and criminal charges against AHS executives and Board members, and to work to assure that a new Board and management team

is brought together to run AHS in the future.



Now is the time to get your voice heard… Please call, fax, and/or write Attorney General Peter Harvey and ask him to take swift action toward AHS to prevent any further abuses to the animals. Mr. Harvey’s contact information appears below, as well as a sample letter which you may use to state your case. Feel free to add to the letter any personal experiences that you may have had with AHS.



Please also call, write, or fax your State Legislators and ask them to join Assemblyman Cohen in calling for swift action against AHS in light of the scathing SCI report. You can find the names and contact information for your state legislators at...

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/mem...earch.asp.

Again, you may have to hit the "Refresh" button.



On behalf of the animals… thank you!

And, thank you from the former AHS volunteers

For more information, contact:

ccaylordiaz@earthlink.net



CONTACT INFORMATION:



Attorney General Peter Harvey

Office of the Attorney General

PO Box 080

Trenton, NJ 08625-0080

609-292-4925 - phone

609-292-3508 - fax



For email: go to ...

http://www.nj.gov/lps/formmail.htm and complete the form, cutting and pasting the desired text.

SAMPLE LETTER/FAX/E-MAIL:

Dear Attorney General Peter Harvey:



As you know, the SCI released last week a report on the Associated Humane Societies (AHS) finding that the management, over the past 21 years, has “engaged in questionable financial practices, conflicts of interest, mismanagement and negligent animal care to the extent that the organization effectively lost sight of its core mission.”



AHS has stolen from the very public who funded it through donations intended to be used on behalf of the animals. I am one of those persons whose trust and money were effectively stolen by AHS. I implore you to take action now to make sure that the waste and abuse ends, and that those responsible are held accountable.



With nearly $12m in assets at stake, there is no time to waste. Assemblyman Neil Cohen has called for you to place AHS into receivership to protect these assets until the organization can be reorganized. I encourage you strongly to follow Assemblyman Cohen’s recommendation and seize control of the assets, as the core management team of AHS remains essentially unchanged.



Please act today to end the waste and abuse, and to start AHS back on the road to regain the public’s trust.



Respectfully,



YOUR NAME

YOUR ADDRESS

Town, State, Zip Code