Attorney General's News Release

July 12, 2006

Nixon says directors of St. Louis youth association used non-profit assets for personal gain; seeks reimbursement

Jefferson City, Mo. — Two directors of a defunct St. Louis youth association have used the organization's non-profit assets for the past seven years for personal gain, Attorney General Jay Nixon charged in a lawsuit filed today. Nixon's suit against the Northside Youth Association (NYA) and its board of directors seeks dissolution of the corporation, removal of its directors and a requirement that the directors reimburse all funds they received in exchange for the use of the corporation's assets since 1999.

The primary asset of NYA is 19 acres of land at 12030 Riverview Drive in north St. Louis County. Before the association was administratively dissolved by the Secretary of State in 1999, NYA used the property as athletic fields for youth baseball and football leagues it operated. Nixon is alleging that since 1999, Robert Tun and William Waggoner, the two controlling directors of NYA, have charged individuals and organizations to use the land and kept the money for themselves.

In one such arrangement, the River City Flyers, a model airplane flying organization, paid both Tun and Waggoner for use of the land, performed maintenance on it and paid an electric bill to the defendants that was more than twice the actual amount due to the electric company. The lawsuit says the defendants also received payment from other persons and groups in exchange for their use of the land, including for the storage of landscaping equipment and dove hunting.

“NYA provided athletic opportunities to thousands of youngsters in St. Louis through the leagues it operated,” Nixon said. “Instead of taking the appropriate steps to either resume NYA's charitable operations or to appropriately distribute its assets, its directors opted to improperly use the corporation's assets for their own personal gain.”

When it was organized in 1965, NYA's stated purpose was to organize, supervise and finance athletic training and competition. The corporation was administratively dissolved by the Missouri Secretary of State's Office in 1999 for failure to abide by the requirements of the Missouri Nonprofit Corporation Act. By law, a non-profit corporation that is administratively dissolved must either take the necessary steps to return to good standing with the Secretary of State's Office or close down the operation and develop a plan to distribute the assets.

Nixon is asking the Cole County Circuit Court to:

• Issue preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting the defendants from transferring, selling or otherwise disposing of NYA's assets pending this litigation;
• Issue preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting the defendants from removing or destroying any records or documents pertaining to the business of NYA;
• Judicially dissolve NYA and remove defendants Tun and Waggoner as directors;
• Appoint a custodian or receiver to wind up NYA's affairs and properly dispose of its assets, directing the proceeds to a public benefit corporation with similar purposes; and
• Require NYA's directors to reimburse the corporation all funds they received in exchange for the improper use of NYA's assets.

The Cole County Circuit Court has jurisdiction over cases involving the dissolution of non-profit corporations in Missouri.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818