ASPCA – Squandering Money Instead Of Saving Lives

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186 – August, 2025

By Amy Fernandez

You know that old saying about fooling some of the people all of the time? It’s true, and the latest news on the ASPCA unequivocally confirms that bit of social insight. I’m referencing the incendiary complaint filed by Gordon Lavalette, the recently terminated ASPCA CFO and senior VP. It’s safe to say he left on less-than-good terms, based on his lawsuit which alleges libel, slander, and violations of the New York Whistleblower Law (Labor Law section 740).

Lavalette is a New Jersey resident, which is why this lawsuit was filed in New Jersey rather than New York, where the ASPCA is headquartered. Both states have whistleblower statutes; that’s the basis of the wrongful-dismissal claim. In a nutshell, section 704 states that employers may not retaliate against an employee who “discloses to a supervisor an activity, policy, or practice of the employer that the employee reasonably believes is in violation of the law, rule, or regulation, or that the employee reasonably believes poses a substantial and specific danger to the public health or safety….” There’s a lot more to it, but that bit is sufficient to lay out the basics of this story. Allegedly, Lavalette got on the wrong side of the ASPCA for the part about “Objects to, or refuses to participate in any such activity, policy, or practice.” That claim may be meritorious, but that’s not so interesting from our perspective. No, ­it’s the underlying allegations about substantial ASPCA misuse of donated funds… that stuff deserves a closer look.

The story starts on March 15, 2021, when Gordon Lavalette was hired as the ASPCA’s new CFO (the Ides of March–possibly a tip-off to how this was going to go). Responsibly managing the cash is the linchpin of any business, but it’s even more crucial when all that cash–­and in this case there is a lot–­is generated through public donations. Essentially, those millions of donors are this corporation’s shareholders. The ASPCA, contrary to the behavior outlined in this complaint, is not playing with house money.

Click here to read the complete article
186 – August, 2025

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Posted by AnthonyA on Aug 13 2025. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.