Nightmare on the Isle of Sans Souci: Part V — What is Christopher’s Voice?

Christopher’s Voice is a charity set up by New Rochelle Police Detective Christopher Greco and Tracy Greco, the parents of their son Christopher Greco, who is a youngster with non-verbal autism.

Christopher’s Voice has a tax identification code, EIN 82-1035009, and received a determination letter that it is operating a private operating foundation on March 31, 2017. The United States Patent and Trademark Office approved a Service Mark for the Christopher’s Voice on January 9, 2018.

The purpose of the non-profit has shifted over time from the filing of its application for tax-exemption or the IRS determination letter of tax-exempt status.

Promotional material distributed by Christopher’s Voice and the ProPublica charity database lists Christopher’s Voice, Inc. as a philanthropic entity, a 501(c)(3) whose purposes are to: 

• Support programs, providing recreational activities focused on autistic children and young adults
• Assist families financially by defraying the costs of unreimbursed medical equipment, home, and child care
• Provide financial aid to children and youth, under the age of twenty-one (21) for betterment of their living conditions
• Support programs which provide first responders with items beneficial to their interactions with autistic individuals
• Financially support legal advocacy to protect the legal rights of autistic individuals
• Provide autism training to first responders
• Provide GPS & other locator systems
• Engage in fundraising activities in furtherance of all of the aforestated

On the Christopher’s Voice, Inc. website today it is described as a philanthropic entity, whose purposes are to:

• Support programs providing recreational activities focused on autistic children and young adults
• Assist families financially by defraying the costs of unreimbursed medical equipment, medical services and dental care
• Provide first responders with training and items beneficial to their interactions with autistic individuals
• Financially support legal advocacy to protect the legal rights of autistic individuals
• Prevent wandering of autistic children by providing search and locate equipment
• Support local special education classrooms to help enhance the lives of autistic students

As indicated in bold text, the non-profit no longer includes two of the original goals (provide financial aid to children and youth, under the age of twenty-one, for betterment of their living conditions and engage in fundraising activities in furtherance of the stated goals — although they do) and has added a new goal (support local special education classrooms to help enhance the lives of autistic students).

We could find no mention in IRS filings, promotional material or the Facebook page of Christopher’s Voice engaged in financially supporting legal advocacy to protect the legal rights of autistic individuals.

The Christopher’s Voice website and Facebook page describe an eclectic list of activities that are unrelated to the stated goals of the charity: paying rent for unemployed people, giving money to the New Rochelle Special Education PTA (SEPTA), obtaining display advertising (billboards) to cross-promote a for-profit business named either after Detective Christopher Greco or his son (the Christopher’s Voice website claims both).

What does the Christopher’s Voice website say they spend money on?

Christopher’s Go Bags:

Bags with sensory toys, coloring books and a resource document for first responders to refer to when encountering a child with autism during a call for service. We could find no public information as to what precisely is in the bags, the costs associated with a bag, how many bags were purchased and how many bags were distributed.

GPS Systems And Perimeter Alarm Systems

Technology to prevent wandering and locating of autistic children. The GPS system described recently on the Christopher’s Voice Facebook page is AngelSense. The equipment and a one-year service plan costs $400. We could find no public information as to how many GPS systems or security systems were purchased since 2017, at what cost, or how many were given away since 2017. Based on past reporting, former New Rochelle Police Detective Vincent Mirabile, who held one of the first fundraisers for Christopher’s Voice at Cousin’s Cigars in 2017, was in the business of installing security systems.

Un-Reimbursed Medical Cost and Attorney Fees:

Defray the costs of equipment, medical care and legal services for children with autism. We could find no public information on any such spending.

Autism Shield Training:

Training taught by P.O.A.C. (Parents of Autistic Children of Ocean County Inc.) on how to detect and respond to calls for service for first responders. P.O.A.C. provides free training for parents, educators, police officers and first responders. As P.O.A.C. provide autism training at no charge to police officers and first responders, it is unclear why Christopher’s Voice is taking credit for paying for P.O.A.C. training.

Keychains

Images displayed, but no actual sales promotion online.

Re-Useable Grocery Bags

Grocery bags from Spectrum Designs sold for $5.

Images displayed, but no actual sales promotion online.

Failure to operate in accord with stated exempt purposes in the original application for exemption may result in an organization losing its tax-exempt status. Non-profits can amend their stated exempt purpose, but we were unable to locate any record that such an amendment was filed for Christopher’s Voice.

Charitable organizations can add a disclaimer with a solicitation to the effect that the organization reserves the right to use money as it sees fit.  Or, if it is for a budgeted purpose, they can add a disclaimer that any funds received over and above the budget of the solicited purpose will be put into the general fund for operating expenses; donation receipts should reiterate this point.

Christopher’s Voice has engaged in spending of donor contributions outside the framework of both the original goals and the restated goals.

The way in which donation spending decisions are made appears to be entirely up to Christopher Greco and Tracy Greco, the only active board members in 2019. No board members, including the Grecos, were active at all in 2018 based on the 990 forms.

Shifting goals matter for any charity because donors may give to support the charity’s stated goals only to find their contributions are not being spent as anticipated and/or donors may not wish to support the new goals. This is especially true if the charity is not spending all of the donations received before a change in its goals.

How Does Christopher’s Voice Compare to Other Charitable Organizations?

To make informed charitable contributions, donors can consult numerous charity watchdog and advisory websites such as Charity Navigator, Guidestar, Charity Watch and the Better Business Bureau’s BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

Donors can also check the charity’s own website for information about its mission, a list of the board of directors, and its latest financial reports.

“If the site does not have those details, it is sending you a message that the organization is not very transparent,” says Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer of BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

The IRS recommends but does not require that non-profit tax-exempt organizations link their last three annual information returns (IRS Form 990) and their application for tax-exemption or determination letter of tax-exempt status to demonstrate a commitment to transparency and to make it easier for those seeking financial information to view these documents. Many charitable nonprofits post these documents from a link on their website.

The Christopher’s Voice website states its mission and lists its board of directors but fails to mention that most board members are not active participants in board activities.

The site provides no financial information whatsoever: no annual information returns (IRS Form 990), no application for tax-exemption or determination letter of tax-exempt status, and no financial reports of any kind. As a result, donors visiting the website have no way to know how much money has been raised or spent.

Although the Christopher’s Voice website does not have financial information, we found one link buried in their Facebook page on Guidestar which requires an account to view 990s.

Christopher’s Voice, like any tax-exempt organization, is required by law to provide its three most recently filed annual information returns (IRS Form 990) and their application for tax-exemption upon request. We have so requested but no records have been provided. We will update this article with any response.

Public charities generally file either Form 990 (Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax), Form 990-EZ (Short Form Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax), or submit online Form 990-N (Electronic Notice “e-Postcard” for Tax-Exempt Organizations not Required To File Form 990 or 990-EZ).

The Christopher’s Voice website says the idea for a charity — initially focused on addressing the issue of “wandering” by children with autism — originated in 2013 after an incident where the Greco’s son wandered along the beach at the Jersey Shore. We could find no public records of related charitable activity from 2013 to 2016.

Current IRS rules require that for tax years ending on or after December 31, 2010, an organization may file Form 990-EZ if its gross receipts are normally less than $200,000, and if its total assets are less than $500,000 at the end of the year.

If the organization’s gross receipts are $200,000 or greater, or if its assets at the end of the tax year are $500,000 or more, the organization generally must file Form 990.

If the organization’s annual gross receipts are generally $50,000 or less, the organization may in lieu of Form 990 or 990-EZ submit Form 990-N.

Some public charities, including churches and certain church-affiliated organizations, are not required to file Forms 990 or 990-EZ.

Although the Christopher’s Voice website does not contain or link to IRS records, the ProPublica charity database does have three years of records for Christopher’s Voice.

2019-990-EZ (Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax)

2018-990-PF (Return of Private Foundation)

2017-990-PF (Return of Private Foundation)

To evaluate whether Christopher’s Voice is an effective and transparent charity, we performed a lookup on several leading charity websites.

Charity Navigator is a leading evaluator of charities, which measures charitable organizations by taking the average of each of over three years. Charity Navigator takes as its premise that charities exist to provide programs and services, and that the expectations of givers are fulfilled only by allocating most of their available budget on charitable missionsthat work towards achieving their goals in such a way the donor can actively see money being put to its intended use. Based on data in the 990 information returns, Charity Navigator compares charities using several metrics.

Program Expense Percentage

Calculated by taking the program expenses and dividing it by the total expenses incurred. This cannot be calculated for Christopher’s Voice because the organization has not had one consistent program over the years to evaluate.

Administrative Expense Percentage

Calculated by taking the program expenses less expenses for administrative work and dividing it by the total expense. This cannot be calculated for Christopher’s Voice because the organization has not had one consistent program over the years to evaluate.

Fundraising Expense Percentage

Calculated by taking the total fundraising expenses by the total expenses. This cannot be calculated for Christopher’s Voice because the organization either lumps program expenses with fundraising expenses or reports one fundraiser when there was more than one (e.g., a 2019 Summer Concert at Hudson Park).

Fundraising Efficiency Ratio

Calculated by taking the total expenses by the total contributions. This cannot be calculated for Christopher’s Voice because the organization either lumps program expenses with fundraising expenses or reports one fundraiser when there was more than one (a 2019 Summer Concert at Hudson Park).

Charity Navigator which focuses on financial metrics, accountability, and transparency lists Christopher’s Voice as “Not Rated”. The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that they have not yet evaluated the organization.

Charity Navigator Scores — Encompass Rating System

Overall Score: Not Currently Scored

Encompass Scores are calculated from one or more Beacon Scores. Christopher’s Voice is either not eligible for a Beacon, or a Beacon is not yet available.

Finance & Accountability Score: Not Currently Scored

Christopher’s Voice cannot be evaluated by the Encompass Rating methodology because it files Form 990-EZ, as allowed by the IRS for charities with less than $200,000 annual revenue.

Impact & Results Score: Not Currently Scored

This score estimates the actual impact a nonprofit has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact. Christopher’s Voice cannot currently be evaluated by the Encompass Rating Impact & Results methodology because either (a) it is eligible, but Charity Navigator has not yet received data; (b) Charity Navigator has not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (c) its programs are not direct services; or (d) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.

Leadership & Adaptability Score: Not Currently Scored

This score provides an assessment of Christopher’s Voice’s leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization’s mission. Christopher’s Voice is currently not eligible for a Leadership & Adaptability score because Charity Navigator has not received its L&A survey responses.

Culture & Community Score: Not Currently Scored

This score provides an assessment of Christophers Voice’s engagement with the constituents it serves, a practice Charity Navigator terms Constituent Feedback. When organizations listen to constituents, they are able to better deliver on programs and meet the needs of stakeholders. A future version of this Beacon will also assess an organization’s people operations and its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion metrics. Christopher’s Voice is currently not eligible for a Culture & Community score because Charity Navigator has not received Christopher’s Voice’s Constituent Feedback data.

CharityWatch uses a letter-grade rating system that also looks at the percentage of overhead spent on programs, the cost of fundraising, and other measures of efficiency. A-rated charities generally spend at least 75 percent or more on their programs; F-rated charities generally spend below 50 percent.

Christophers Voice is not listed in the CharityWatch database.

BBB Wise Giving Alliance provides charity reports, which help donors review charities and find a trustworthy charity to support. The Better Business Bureau also conducts charity assessments to help charities improve their practices and demonstrate trust. BBB Wise Giving Alliance requires charities to meet 20 standards, including adequate board oversight and strong conflict-of-interest policies, as well as the requirement that they spend at least 65 percent of their total expenses on their charitable programs and no more than 35 percent of their total contributions on fundraising.  

Christophers Voice is not listed in the CharityWatch database (Give.org)

Forbes Magazine uses three criteria to evaluate a non-profit charity based on how much of what they raise goes to charitable expenses, the efficiency of their fundraising and their next excess and provides benchmarks based on a database of 100 top charities.

Charitable Commitment

Calculated by taking how much of a charity’s total expense went directly to the charitable purpose (also known as program support or program expense), as opposed to management, certain overhead expenses and fundraising. The average in 2016 was 85%.

Fundraising Efficiency

Calculated by taking the percentage of private donations left after subtracting the costs of getting them. The average in 2016 for all 100 charities was 89%, meaning that it cost 11 cents to raise $1.

Donor Dependency

Calculated by taking the ratio of revenues to expenses. A higher ratio than 100% means the charity had more expenses than revenue. The average for the list in 2016 was 86%, meaning that the typical charity banks 14% of donations for the future.

A Form 990 is due on the 15th of the fifth month after the organization’s taxable year. As the taxable year for Christopher’s Voice ends on December 31, the Form 990 is due on May 15 every year. On April 9, 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-23, which granted nonprofits and foundations the opportunity to extend the filing due date out to July 15, 2020. Additionally, Form 8868, “Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File an Exempt Organization Return,” can be filed to request an additional extension until November 15, 2020.

According to Pro Publica, Christopher’s Voice filed its 990 form for 2017, due on May 15, 2018, on February 13, 2019; filed its 990 form for 2018, due on May 15, 2019, on January 13, 2020; filed its 990 form for 2019, due on May 15, 2020, on May 15, 2021.

Until Christopher’s Voice produces their 2020 Annual Information Return (990), there are three publicly available returns: 2017, 2018, and 2019 which disclose the following:

Total Revenue for Christopher’s Voice

2019 — $62,097.00

2018 — $40,062.00

2017 — $26,831.00

Total Expense Christopher’s Voice

2019 — $35,384.00

2018 — $10,166.00

2017 — $4,297.00

Giving Expense Christopher’s Voice

2019 — $32,130.00

2018 — $8,354.00

2017 — $4,248.00

Based on the 990 data on Revenue and Expense, the Forbes metrics can be calculated. Overall, the metrics for Christopher’s Voice based on a three-year average is far below the charities in the Forbes database.

Charitable Commitment (Forbes Avg. 85%)

Christopher’s Voice 2019 – 66.97%

Christopher’s Voice 2018 – 55.00%

Christopher’s Voice 2017 – 64.52%

The three-year average for Charitable Commitment by Christopher’s Voice stands at 53.36%, more than 31 basis points below the Forbes average.

Fund Efficiency (Forbes Avg. 89%)

Christopher’s Voice 2019 – 42.27%

Christopher’s Voice 2018 – 248.06%

Christopher’s Voice 2017 – 28.73%

The three-year average for Fund Efficiency by Christopher’s Voice stands at 195.89%, more than 96 basis points abovethe Forbes average. Based on other sources information such as the Christopher’s Voice Facebook page, this figure appears to be skewed.

Donor Dependency (Forbes Avg. 86%)

Christopher’s Voice 2019 – 50.85%

Christopher’s Voice 2018 – 284.61%

Christopher’s Voice 2017 – 26.00%

The three-year average for Donor Dependency by Christopher’s Voice stands at 39.75%, more than 46 basis points below the Forbes average.

The 2018 number is another outlier. Based on other sources information such as the Christopher’s Voice Facebook page, this figure appears to be skewed.

Overall, Christopher’s Voice rates poorly on the Forbes measures, in particular how much of what they raise goes to charitable expenses.

Perhaps the simplest measure is how much money raised is spent on meeting the stated purpose of the charity — money raised less expenses and charitable spending — and how much is left over at the end of the year (what a for-profit would call “profit”).

Excess Deficit

Christopher’s Voice 2019 — $27,176.00

Christopher’s Voice 2018 — $25,268.00

Christopher’s Voice 2017 — $23,776.00

Beginning Balance

Christopher’s Voice 2019 — $49,044.00

Christopher’s Voice 2018 — $23,776.00

Christopher’s Voice 2017 — $0.00

End Balance

Christopher’s Voice 2019 — $76,220.00

Christopher’s Voice 2018 — $49,044.00

Christopher’s Voice 2017 — $23,766.0

Over the three-year period, Christopher’s Voice raised $129,611.00, spent $58,582.00 and put $71,029.00 in the bank.

Because the Christopher’s Voice 990s are not consistent (2019 is a 990-EZ, 2018 and 2017 are 990-PF) and because some lines in the IRS forms are combining fundraiser costs with the purchase of equipment (GPS tracking devices), we cannot cleanly evaluate how much Christopher’s Voice spends on its charitable purpose.

If we treat all expenses as charitable expenses (which they are certainly not) Christopher’s Voice spends 45.2% of its revenue and banks the rest. Charity Navigator rates a charity that spends below 50% of its revenue on the charitable purpose of the charity as an “F”.

With Christopher’s Voice spending far below 50% of its revenue — even including overhead and fundraising expenses — on its charitable purpose, the charity performs very poorly on this important measure.

How are Giving Decisions Made by Christopher’s Voice?

For anyone wishing to be considered for financial assistance from Christopher’s Voice, the website says no formal application is available:

“If you would like to apply for financial assistance, please send an email with your hardship and what you require assistance with. (i.e., tracking equipment, fencing, security…etc.)… the board of directors will meet as needed to review and vote on all requests”.

The independence of the Christopher’s Voice Board is questionable as it appears to be compromised of friends and business associates of Christopher Greco. No non-Greco board member appears to be particularly involved. There have no meetings of the full board since the year Christopher’s Voice got their tax-exempt organization determination letter from the IRA in 2017.

As one current board member put it, “I don’t do much of anything”.

The Christopher’s Voice Board is composed of seven members: Christopher Greco, Tracy Greco, Ruth Kraft, Esq., Warren Roth, Esq., Tom Raptis, Michael Mastrogiacomo and Jennifer Di Cosimo.

Jennifer Di Cosimo is the Executive Director/Finance Director of the Hallen School, with extensive financial and accounting experience. She is also President of the Sans Souci Pool & Tennis Club Board. Michael Di Cosimo, her husband, is President of the Sans Souci Pool HOA Board, where he serves with Sans Souci Pool HOA Board Vice President Christopher Greco. Readers will recall the Treasurer for both boards is Philip Colasuonno, a convicted felon who was sentenced to federal prison on charges related to multi-million dollar tax fraud and bank fraud.

Tom Raptis is a retired New Rochelle Police Detective who worked with Greco at the New Rochelle Police Department. Raptis retired from the New Rochelle Police Department on December 31, 2020, after more than 30 years. He is listed online as a Board Member at Christopher Greco Appraisal Services, based in New Rochelle, New York.

Hon. Ruth B. Kraft is an employment and labor law partner of Vigorito, Barker, Patterson, Nichols & Porter. She had a long career on the bench, most recently at the New York State Department of Labor, with chambers in Brooklyn.

Warren Roth, Esq. is an attorney who represents primarily municipal workers such as police officers, firefighters, corrections officers, union workers, and teachers.

Michael Mastrogiacomo is a principal with the accounting firm of Caputo & Associates, CPAs P.C. His clients include Real Estate Professionals, Restaurants, Retail Operations, Construction Contractors and Individuals. He is a Registered Agent, authorized to practice before the Internal Revenue Services. Michael Mastrogiacomo prepared the 990 returns for Christopher’s Voice in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

In 2017, all seven board members are described on the Christopher’s Voice 990-PF, working 2.0 hours per week. After that, everyone but Christopher Greco and Tracy Greco are described on the 2018 990-PF and 2019 990-EZ as working 0.00 hours per week.

Knowing the answer for Raptis and DiCosimo, we reached out to Mastrogiacomo, Judge Kraft and Roth via phone and email to better understand their connection to the Grecos and confirm they are still on the Board.

Mastrogiacomo and Kraft did not respond to phone calls and emails. Roth responded right away to confirm he was still on the board but that the 990 forms were accurate, that he did not do any work on the board. He said, when asked, he has made phone calls to raise money.

In other words, according to the IRS records. and what we heard from Warren Roth, it is fair to say Christopher’s Voice is a two-man band.

This might explain the seemingly capricious nature of decisions to spend money on largely undocumented, ostensibly charitable purposes outside their original application for tax-exempt status for things like paying rent for individuals, handing out $1,000 checks to employees of the City School District of New Rochelle which has an annual budget of $290 million, buying dog vests, allowing third parties to raise money in their name with vaguely worded and illegal claims about how much money generated by an event would be turned over to Christopher’s Voice, the charity’s abysmal record of putting funds raised to charitable purposes and the limited spending on charitable purposes described in their original application for tax-exempt status such as GPS tracking systems and security systems.

Tracy Greco sits on the Executive Board of New Rochelle SEPTA and Christopher’s Voice and has been involved in transferring funds from one to another. Christopher’s by Chef Joe, where Tracy Greco works, and where she is an investor, has advertised raising money for New Rochelle SEPTA.

Christopher’s Voice had departed from its stated charitable purpose — spending less than half the funds raised and banking the rest for no stated purpose.

How Transparent is Fundraising for and by Christopher’s Voice?

In 2017, reporting on the appearance of charity fraud involving former New Rochelle Police Detective Vincent Mirabile, a close friend of Detective Christopher Greco, we spoke to Seth Perlman, an expert in charity law based in New York City.

Perlman said that for anyone raising money in New York State, there is an affirmative filing obligation, requiring full disclosure and an explanation of how those funds are being spent or distributed.

“A fundraiser is required to state the amount of money going to the designated charity on the tickets purchased for the event,” said Perlman. “Also, the fundraiser must contract with the charity and be formally permitted to raise money for that charity.”

Perlman also commented on 50/50 raffles offered by Mirabile.

“The prize has to be specific,” said Perlman. “A 1099 tax form must be issued to the winner.”

Perlman said the failure to abide by state law may indicate charitable fraud and could possibly be a criminal matter.

Christopher’s Voice has routinely failed to abide by state law with their fundraisers and fundraisers held by others for the benefit of Christopher’s Voice.

A particular deceptive practice is misrepresenting the percentage of funds raised that will be used for charitable purposes. A third-party fundraiser must accurately disclose the percentage of funds that will go to the charity. Telling a potential donor all proceeds go to the charity is deceptive unless 100 percent of the money raised will go to the charity. Law enforcement agencies warn potential donors to watch out for statements such as “all proceeds go to charity.” This can mean that money left after expenses will go to the charity where expenses could exceed revenue — in other words, no “proceeds”.

Christopher’s Voice Reusable Grocery Bags

“all proceeds to Christopher’s Voice”

These Facebook posts do not make clear how much of the $5 will go to Christopher’s Voice and much to Spectrum Designs.

“as a non-profit 100% of our profits go directly back to our mission”

These Facebook posts do not make clear what “100% of our profits” means, how much of the $5 will go to Christopher’s Voice and much to Spectrum Designs.

Because Christopher’s Voice is a non-profit does not mean “100% of our profits go directly back to our mission”. The 990s for 2017, 2018 and 2019 report that well below 50% of funds raised by Christopher’s Voice were spent on charitable expenses. The use of the term “100%” when the actual amount of funds raised spent on “our mission” is below 50% appears deceptive.

Moonlight Cruisers Car Show

In July 2018, a car show held at Iona Prep was promoted with the words “FUNDRAISER”. Promotional flyers to do explicitly state the beneficiary of the fundraiser, but displays the words “CHRISTOPHER VOICE” and “100% GOES TO THE CHILDREN”.

The phrase “100% goes to the children” appears to be even more deceptive than “all proceeds”. What children? 100% of what? There is a charity named “Christopher’s Voice” but no charity named “Christopher Voice” that we could find— that is not a matter of a typo but a legal distinction.

This particular event raises a related issue.

One of the organizers of this car show event is Robert Delitta, a Mount Vernon Police Officer. In the past, Delitta was involved in a car show (illegal in multiple ways) in and around the New Rochelle Chevrolet dealership on Main Street. Other people present were associated with Cousin’s Cigar Lounge. New Rochelle Chevrolet is a Christopher’s Voice sponsor. There have been legal issues with Delitta’s failure to obtain open-air permits, noise issues, trespassing issues, traffic issues, un-permitted food vendors and more. Calls to complain about these car show events resulted in a response by New Rochelle Police Officers, in other words, members of the New Rochelle PBA. Christopher Greco has been the President of the New Rochelle PBA for about 8 years. 

These and other relationships are similar to issues with the New Rochelle Police Foundation, created by Former Police Commissioner Pat “Good Guy Discount” Carroll.

Both Carroll and Greco were/are in positions where they could help or harm a local business, and both sought/seek money or in-kind contributions from those same local businesses.

Business owners knew with Carroll and his Police Foundation, if you ran a business in New Rochelle and wanted “free” on-street parking near your store or restaurant without your customers getting parking tickets you could support the Police Foundation, if you wanted an entire parking lot (e.g., Alvin & Friends), you could commit to raise $10,000 a year and buy yourself a seat on the Police Foundation Board.

If you want to operate a car show, apparently, you can just claim the event is for the benefit of Detective Christopher Greco’s charity and give him a $1,500 check. If you want to illegally sell cigars in a public park, you could hold a fundraiser for Greco’s charity.

Of course, if you do not play ball, you run the risk that “courtesy parking” can be withdrawn and “enforcement” ramped up.

The very nature of law enforcement officers operating in this manner is coercive — where the “request” for contributions is literally from a person with a gun and the power of arrest — and looks a good deal like extortion; an “offer” to contribute looks a good deal like a bribe. 

The conflicted and coercive nature of law enforcement officers being involved in certain activities is precisely why New York State banned police officers from certain activities. For example, active duty police officers are not permitted to manufacture or sell tobacco products (a law ignored or skirted by Vincent Mirabile), the same goes for the manufacture or sale of alcohol (a law apparently ignored or skirted by Chris Greco).

What’s the Deal with the State Liquor Authority and Christopher’s by Chef Joe?

§128 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law prohibits police officers from involvement in the sale or manufacture of alcoholic beverages.

By all appearances, Detective Greco has an ownership interest and/or involvement in the restaurant known as “Christopher’s by Chef Joe” located at 2382 Boston Post Road in Larchmont, NY 10538.

The relationship between Greco’s restaurant and Greco’s charity is openly declared yet murky. 

The Christopher’s Voice website says the “Christopher” in “Christopher’s by Chef Joe” refers to Detective Greco in one place and refers to Greco’s son in another place.

Nowhere is the relationship between Christopher’s Voice, Greco’s non-profit, and Christopher’s by Chef Joe, a for-profit restaurant, clearly stated.

In May 2020, Christopher’s Voice announced their “latest” billboards. Three billboard ads subsequently appeared promoting both Christopher’s Voice and Christopher’s by Chef Joe (we are interested to obtain photos of these billboard display ads).

There is only one liquor license in the SLA database at 2382 Boston Post Road in Larchmont, NY 10538: La Riserva, the former occupant of the building.

On August 1, 2021, we filed a complaint with the New York State Liquor Authority about Detective Greco’s involvement with Christopher’s by Chef Joe.

To: William Crowley

From: Robert Cox

Date: August 1, 2021

RE: Christopher’s by Chef Joe

Per our email conversation, I would like to report the following.

Pursuant to §128 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law regarding prohibition of police officers involved in the sale or manufacture of alcoholic beverages, please be advised that upon reason and belief, New Rochelle Police Detective Christopher Greco has an ownership interest / involvement in the restaurant known as “Christopher’s by Chef Joe” located at 2382 Boston Post Road in Larchmont, NY 10538.

A search of the New York State Liquor Authority database lists only one license at that address, for La Riserva Restaurant, Inc. It is listed as “inactive”. As a result, I cannot say whether the restaurant operating as “Christopher’s by Chef Joe”, which opened in October 2020 even has an SLA license or who the principal is on any such license.

§128 states: “it shall be unlawful for any police commissioner, police inspector, captain, sergeant, roundsman, patrolman or other police official or subordinate of any police department in the state to be either directly or indirectly interested in the manufacture or sale of alcoholic beverages” by way of his ownership interest / involvement in Christopher’s by Chef Joe.

Based on my reporting on Greco over the past year, I believe Christopher Greco is “directly or indirectly interested” in the “sale of alcoholic beverages”. Photos above were posted to Facebook.

Greco has attempted to portray publicly that he is not involved in the restaurant by claiming his wife is an investor in the restaurant but not him. In an article in Westchester magazine, Joe Giordano, Chef Joe in Christopher’s by Chef Joe, states Tracy Greco has an ownership interest in the restaurant. Elsewhere, she is described as an employee of the restaurant involved in event sales.

In this, Christopher Greco appears to rely on the subdivision in §128 which states: “A person may not be denied any license granted under the provisions of sections fifty-four, fifty-five, fifty-nine, sixty-three, sixty-four, seventy-nine, eighty-one, or article seven of this chapter solely on the grounds of being the spouse of a public servant described in this subdivision.”

Upon reason and belief, Christopher’s by Chef Joe is operated, in part, for the benefit of Christopher’s Voice, a non-profit organization created by Christopher and Tracy Greco. The name “Christopher” Voice in Christopher’s Voice refers to the non-verbal autistic son of Christopher and Tracy Greco. In the recent past, a series of billboard ads were displayed in the New Rochelle/Larchmont area jointly promoting Christopher’s Voice and Christopher’s by Chef Joe.

For these and other reasons, I am reporting to the New York State Liquor Authority what I believe to be a violation of §128 by New Rochelle Police Detective Christopher Greco.

If you require supplemental information, please call me at 914-325-4616.

Sincerely,

Robert Cox

Publisher

Talk of the Sound

More Questions on Fundraising for and by Christopher’s Voice?

However murky the relationship between Christopher’s Voice and Christopher’s by Chef Joe, the fundraisers held for the benefit of Christopher’s Voice are even murkier.

Based on a review of the Christopher’s Voice Facebook page, we counted 26 fundraisers either held by Christopher’s Voice or by others for the benefit of Christopher’s Voice.

In three years of public 990 forms, Christopher’s Voice reported just one fundraiser: Voices for Christopher.

Voices for Christopher was a summer concert fundraiser, an outdoor event held in Hudson Park. “All proceeds” were to be donated to Christopher’s Voice. On the charity’s Facebook page, they stated $11,375 was raised.

The 2019 990-EZ Return says $34,417 was raised on expenses of $5,141 for an excess (“profit”) of $29,276 on the one event (8/10/2019).

The event itself raises questions: how was Detective Greco able to rent out a popular public park on a Saturday in the summer — peak day at peak season. Did Greco obtain a permit and pay a permit fee? Who paid the park staff cost? Who managed parking behind the bandshell? Did Christopher’s Voice and all the vendors have lawful permits and liability insurance for $2,000,000 naming the City of New Rochelle as beneficiary? One Facebook post said Christopher’s Voice would donate $1,000 each to six special education classrooms; another post says $1,000 would be given to eight special education classrooms. Did Christopher’s Voice have approval to raise funds for the City School District of New Rochelle, and did the New Rochelle Board of Education formally accept the $6,000 to $8,000?

To better understand this, we obtained the entire file on the event from the New Rochelle Department of Parks & Recreation Department.

The first page of the permit application states the event is to benefit Christopher’s Voice, but the second page says, “Benefitting NR School District Special Ed”.

The City School District of New Rochelle does not, as a rule, authorize organizations to hold fundraisers in its name. The District has a $290 million dollar budget and holds their own “annual fundraiser” every May called the school budget referendum where they seek approval to raise property taxes as needed.

Even if the New Rochelle Board of Education wanted Christopher’s Voice to raise money on its behalf, there would still need to be a board resolution authorizing the fundraiser and another resolution accepting the funds and, in this case, the funds would not be segregated to benefit Special Education but be entered into the General Fund.

We checked, none of this happened.

As a result, the only way the 6 to 8 checks for $1,000 each were deposited and cleared is if they were payable to some other person or organization; if they were made payable to the 6 to 8 teachers, Christopher’s Voice would have to provide 1099 forms to each teacher and those teachers would have to declare the $1,000 checks as income. There are obvious tax implications and a question of employees accepting funds ostensibly on behalf of the school district.

The Park Department files show the permit fee was waived by the City Manager.

The event sold space to standard vendors for $75 and $250 for food vendors

Standard Vendors

• MD Resource Management
• Anna and Jack’s Treehouse
• Wallauer Paint
• Kids On The Go
• Tutoring Solutions
• Madeline and Laura’s Homemade Gifts
• Gypsy Box Designs
• AWOFF T-shirts and hats.
• Paparazzi Accessories and Jewelry
• Wha Rang Taekwondo demonstrations.
• Origami Owl
• Empire Harley-Davidson
• Dave’s Cast of Characters (rides)

Food Vendors

• Dubrovnik Restaurant
• Mr. Softee
• Deanna’s Pizzeria
• smallcakes
• Westchester Burger / Graziellas Italian Kitchen
• Road Grub

Based on photos taken at the Voices for Christopher event, posted to the Christopher’s Voice Facebook page, we identified three vendors that were not in the Parks Department file — no waiver, no insurance and no business permit.

The Wooden Spoon

UPDATE: Nick, The Wooden Spoon

We were never asked to provide insurance info nor were we asked to fill out any paperwork. I believed that to be because it was a charity event and that we weren’t cooking (it was a free lemonade stand). We believed, at the time, the event was completely legitimate and for a good cause. We often donate to local charities and to events for local teams.

Pizzazles

Cousins Cigars

Not only is there no waiver, no insurance and no business permit for Cousins Cigars, but the City of New Rochelle confirmed that the sale of tobacco products in a public park is prohibited.

The other 25 fundraisers since 2017 are as follows:

• Fundraiser at Dubrovnik (4/22/20) $80 per person, dinner, and prizes (fishing rods, a hunting rifle Yankees and Mets tickets)
• Patsy’s Pizza Thanksgiving Eve Fundraiser (2017, 11/27/19)
• Notre Dame for Christopher raised $30 or 12% of their goal (no date).
• Dine with Us for Autism (4/30/2019)
• An Autism Awareness Month fundraiser raised $5,700 on a goal for the month of $15,000, Sponsors were Caputo and Associates (Christopher’s Voice tax preparer and board member), Butterflies for Jodi, Cruiser Division (car show people), Anna and Jack’s Treehouse, New Rochelle PBA, Maria’s Restaurant (4/1/2019)
• Christopher’s Birthday Fundraiser raised $2,053 (11/14/2019).
• Dine with Us for Autism at Christopher’s by Chef Joe promoted as a “portion of the proceeds” will be donated to the Mamaroneck School Foundation, The Mamaroneck/Larchmont SEPTA and the New Rochelle SEPTA (4/2/2021).
• Santa’s House at 135 Vaneck Drive, sale of hot chocolate (12/19/2017).
• First Annual Thanksgiving Eve Dance Party at Patsy’s Pizza to benefit Christopher Voice, donations used to assist a child with autism. Cover charge of $20 (11/22/2017).
• Sensory Time with Santa $20 per child to get cookies, milk, a craft, and a photo with Santa Claus (12/16/2017)
• Cousin’s Cigars barbecue, $20 minimum donation requested, “all monies raised” go to Christopher’s Voice (9/10/2017).
• Moonlight Cruises car show at Iona Prep says 100% goes to the children, illegal 50/50 raffle, tickets are $20 per car or motorcycle and $5 per spectator (7/22/2018).
• Fourteen Facebook Fundraisers for Christopher’s Voice in 2017. The total raised is $8,199.

Whether as a result of fundraisers or as a straight donation, the Christopher’s Voice Facebook Page refers to the following:

• The Westchester County District Attorney PBA donated money, but the amount was blocked (9/7/2019), related to the autism patch, $1,000 was raised via sale of the patch.
• The Port Authority NY/NJ Sergeants PBA gave $1,000 to Christopher’s Voice (9/1/2020) gave money to the Christopher’s Voice foundation based on the Autism Patch Challenge (there was a 2018 patch available).
• Deanna’s Pizza appears to have made an in-kind contribution of pizza (no amount).
• The Town of Mamaroneck PBA donated money to Christopher’s Voice, but the amount is blocked in the picture (10/12/2019)
• Cruisers giving Detective Chris Greco a check for $1,500 (4/28/2017)
• Hudson Gateway Realtor Foundation gave Detective Greco a check for $1,000 (11/3/2020)
• Port Authority Police NY/NI Sergeants PBA said they doubled ($5,000) the amount from last year ($2,500?) (9/20/2020).

Christopher’s Voice has, at various times, sold items which are described on Facebook:

• Christopher Voice keychains (9/6/2017).
• Christopher’s Voice reusable shopping bags at $5 each with “all proceeds” and “100% of the profits” to Christopher’s Voice.
• Autism Patch sales at Cherry Lawn Farms, the Curtain Shop, Cousin Cigars and New Rochelle Police Department, $10 each, “proceeds to Christopher Voice and selected Special Education Classrooms” (3/29/2019).

Charitable spending can also be found on the Christopher Voice Facebook Page:

• Teachers in a school holding a check but no amount visible (7/1/2019).
• Christopher’s Voice gave away Go Bags to the Bath Township Police Department, Pelham Manor Fire Department, Bedford Fire Department and others.
• Christopher’s Voice gave away an AngelSense device plus one year service worth $400 (3/14/2019).
• Three billboards in three locations in New Rochelle, one month on a New Rochelle billboard typically costs about $4,000 each per month (5/23/2020).
• Christopher’s Voice paid the rent for a local family; delivered three emerging autism sensory kits to police departments in Leesburg, Virginia at Mount Kisco, New York and Fairview, New Jersey; gave an AngelSense system with $400; two Blue pumpkins costing $15.00 each (10/20/2020).

Other items worth mentioning from the Christopher’s Voice Facebook Page:

• Christopher Voice obtained a Service Mark (1/9/2018).
• Joe’s Deli/Boar’s Head named a sandwich for Christopher’s Voice (11/7/2019).
• Christopher’s Voice Facebook page was used to promote sales of New Rochelle PBA journal ads (4/11/2019).
• Autism Training provided by P.O.A.C (7/22/2018).
• Christopher’s Voice PSA aired on 107.1 The Peak and 100.7 WHUD (11/14/2019).
• Golf Silver Sponsorship Andretta Cultural Society (10/2/2017).
• Christopher’s Voice Facebook page talks about says that Christopher’s by Chef Joe is named for Christopher’s Voice; Tracy Greco is in charge of “event coordination and other essential services” (8/6/2020).

Next Steps

These lists are meant to be illustrative, not a comprehensive accounting. There are certainly items not on the list. The point is that Christopher’s Voice does not provide any comprehensive financial reporting, so donors cannot see and understand what the Grecos do with money from contributors. There are steps that can be taken to restore confidence in Christopher’s Voice as mentioned above, but they should start with filing 990 forms in a timely manner and producing annual financial reports on their website. They ought to be scrupulous about following the law when it comes to fundraising, both in being transparent about the money but also not violating laws at the events. They need to match their charitable goals with their actual giving, or at least offer a disclaimer that they will spend money as they like. Furthermore, they need to clarify the connection between Christopher’s Voice and Christopher’s by Chef Joe and cooperate with the SLA investigation.

Most importantly, they need to explain immediately why much of the money raised in 2017, 2018, and 2019 was parked in a bank account at the end of 2019, how much is in that account today and how the rest was spent.

Series: Nightmare on the Isle of Sans Souci