Veterans Support Organization review: SCAM 14

I also checked them out after reading about them. I called VSO and talked to people in the program. They change lives not just drink and have club houses.

READ THE FACTS NOT THE OPINIONS FROM THE SHAKE DOWN ARTIST WRITING HERE.

Nonprofit defends methods, donations
By Jorge Fitz-Gibbon • jfitzgib@lohud.com • December 29, 2009

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A Florida-based charity is defending itself against local critics who are questioning the group's fundraising techniques and its donations to veterans' programs.

The Veterans Support Organization on Monday provided dozens of letters it says were written by grateful recipients of contributions as high as $20, 000.

The VSO also provided about $3, 000 and 100 winter coats for veterans in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens since September, said Yvette Cintron, who runs volunteer services for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in the boroughs.

"I think that just makes a lot of the older organizations a little nervous, " Cintron said. "Sometimes it's like a defense mechanism, like it's on their turf."

"But they're trying to get jobs for veterans, " she said of the VSO. "All of this is commendable."

Cintron and VSO officials were responding to an article in The Journal News on Sunday in which local veterans groups and residents raised questions about the group and its fundraising.

Founded in 2001, the VSO enlists homeless residents — not all of them veterans — to dress in military-like fatigues and solicit contributions at shopping malls and shopping centers, including in the Lower Hudson Valley.

The collectors receive 25 percent to 30 percent of the money they raise, a practice that VSO founder Richard Van Houten says provides them with income and services and raises money for veterans.

It's part of what the group identifies as its "work program, " which purportedly provides sales, marketing and entrepreneurial skills.

But that doesn't sit well with some more established veterans groups, who said last week that VSO was nothing short of a scam.

The local groups say nearly all of the money they raise goes directly to area veterans services.

John Nacowicz, a Rhode Island accountant who serves as VSO's national treasurer, said that friction with existing groups is not uncommon — at first.

But he said VSO, which has branches in Rhode Island, Georgia and Florida, hoped it could work in conjunction with them.

"If the local groups want to work with us, we're willing to bend over backward to work with them, " he said.

Nacowicz said VSO puts nearly 70 percent of the more than $1 million it raised annually in recent years back into services.

Based on records provided by the group and on file with the state attorney general and the IRS, much of that includes money that is put back into the work program and into expanding the organization . According to the documents, about 31 percent of the money is donated directly.

A portion of the money goes toward expenses and compensation for the group's executives.

VSO says it's now working on a veterans services center in Mount Vernon.

I've been lucky enough to be given a job by VSO. I was on the brink of losing my house because no one wanted a Vet with PTSD working for them. But after sitting down with the Founder of VSO, I explained that I was a disabled veteran who had mental and physical injuries that kept me from normal employment. He and his staff welcomed me with open arms and gave me the opportunity to provide for my wife and child. I have seen how hard uneducated individuals try to bash the name of VSO through opinions.

"well I looked you up on the interned and saw an article stating you were a fraud."
Ha, well congratulations on looking at an outdated article and having a journalist make up your mind. I promise you, If you research VSO that you will find bad press. But look at the dates, and ask some damn questions. I cannot find a current article bashing VSO, the closest is from over a year ago (and the problems pointed out have been fixed and SOPs have been put in place to make sure they never happen again.)

Ask yourself this: If the Veterans Support Organization was a fraudulent non-profit, then how would we be in business for over 10 years, why would over 50 VAs rave about how we help their local veterans though donations, why would the IRS (as of a 2012 Audit) say that we passed with flying colors and should keep on doing what we are doing, how were we able to give over 400 veterans jobs in 2012, how are we able to house nearly 150 HOMELESS VETERANS.?

Too many people are not taking the time to ask the right questions, . We give 70% of the money we raise to our IN HOUSE PROGRAMS. we house veterans, we give them jobs as a stepping stone for better opportunities, we hove item/gift card donations to the VA and even have a grant program for vets in need. I have seen first hand how VSO helps veterans. I would have lost my home marriage and possibly my life if not given the opportunity to better myself.

I posted a comment on 01/12/10 and I regret that comment. After talking to newspapers, and veterans in New York State, I am 100 percent sure that the Veterans Support Organization is a huge scam that we New Yorker's need to stop as soon as possible. This article is from December 27, 2009. It talks about how there scam is run. Please read below.

Mall solicitors irk local veterans groups

Richard Liebson and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon
rliebson@lohud.com

They kind of look like soldiers, standing in The Westchester mall in their store-bought camouflage fatigues. But they aren't.

The first hint that they have nothing to do with the military is that their "uniforms" bear no rank, insignia or unit patches. The dead giveaway comes when they ask you for a cash donation to help veterans — active-duty service members are prohibited from panhandling.

For the past several weeks, members of the Veterans Support Organization have been soliciting money at The Westchester and other Lower Hudson Valley sites, claiming that they're providing holiday meals for local homeless veterans and making donations to veterans hospitals and other local programs to help veterans.

The fact is, 25 percent to 30 percent of what they collect goes into their pockets, as part of what the VSO describes as a "work program." The group's founder admits that many members have never served in the armed forces and could not provide proof that the VSO has made any contributions to local veterans.

Financial records obtained by The Journal News show that about 31 percent of the more than $1 million they took in annually nationwide in 2007 and 2008 went to veterans assistance and services. Much of the rest is listed as "programs" expenses used to pay for rent and office supplies, travel costs, subcontractors and compensation for VSO executives.

Although the group's literature lists an address in Mount Vernon, that office has not yet opened.

"I've never heard of them, " said Roger Paulmino, team leader of the Department of Veterans Affairs Outreach Center in White Plains. "They've never contacted us about making a donation or providing any kind of service. At this time of year, there are a lot of bogus groups out there. I usually advise people to contact the Attorney General's Office if they have suspicions."

Joe Waldron, commander of White Plains American Legions Post 135, was more blunt.

"It sounds like a scam to me, " he said. "Even if they're contributing 30 percent somewhere, that doesn't seem like much to me. And if the people collecting the money are keeping 25 percent of the take, that's very suspect activity. I think the state attorney general should take a look at them."

Waldron said his post raises $35, 000 to $40, 000 through its bar and uses the money to host parties and activities for patients at the Montrose VA hospital, a scholarship program and donations to local charities. "Virtually all of our money is spent on local veterans and community charities, " he said.

VSO insists it helps

Josh Bittleman, program and housing coordinator for the VSO New York chapter, maintained that nearly 70 percent of the funds raised by VSO helps veterans by expanding the organization and its varied services.

"We understand that the local groups sometimes don't like other groups coming in the area, " he said. "And that's just the way it is. We understand that."

Bittleman insisted that the VSO is helping veterans. He said it has pumped nearly $300, 000 into its planned learning center in Mount Vernon. Next week, he said, the group will donate 100 winter coats through the Veterans Affairs hospital in the Bronx.

Ivette Ocasio, program management officer at the Bronx hospital's volunteer services office, said she was not familiar with the VSO, or aware of its plan to donate coats.

"Normally, our office would be processing that type of donation, '' she said.

Bittleman said the donation was being made to a hospital outpatient program that is not overseen by Ocasio and offered to provide an invoice for the coats.

The Veterans Support Organization was founded in 2001 by Richard Van Houten. A Brooklyn native, Van Houten said he served in the Army from 1983 to 1991 and worked as a salesman for Schwan's Ice Cream after leaving the service. He started the VSO after a back injury left him with extra time on his hands.

"It wasn't for the money. I didn't start this to make money, " said Van Houten, who now lives in Florida and draws a salary from the VSO. "As a matter of fact, for the first seven, eight years, I took very, very minimal from it. Very minimal. Because it wasn't for that. It was just to stay busy."

Substantial growth

VSO has grown substantially in recent years. The group has chapters in Florida, Rhode Island and Georgia, and moved into New York over the past year. It runs Veterans New Life Haven, a homeless shelter in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and will move into the 8, 500-square-foot space at 31 South St. in Mount Vernon. It also plans to expand into Tennessee and Texas.

"So it's growing, " Van Houten said. "It went from me and another guy to like 250 people that are actually with the group right now."

But the organization has drawn criticism, in part for its mode of fundraising. VSO enlists down-and-out residents to stand outside shopping centers and in shopping malls and take contributions. Van Houten said the workers are recruited from America Works Inc., a national multi-service agency with a regional office in New York City.

The collectors are dressed in military fatigues with the group's logo emblazoned on the back, although many are not veterans. They also get a cut. Van Houten said they get 25 percent to 30 percent of what they bring in, depending on what they raise.

VSO officials said the sidewalk collection duties are the foundation of what the organization sells as its "work program, " which purportedly provides sales, marketing and entrepreneurial training, said Bittleman, the VSO program coordinator.

"Let me tell you this much, " Bittleman said. "When we get them they're living in homeless shelters. And when they leave us they're living on their own and independent, and in the interim we're housing them and we're also feeding them and they're also working, which they weren't doing. And most of them transition into employment."

"So you want to call it raising more money, you can, " he said. "It definitely does that. But it pays for their ability to not be in a homeless shelter or on the streets under a bridge. And that's where most of them came from."

Van Houten said periodic checks on their activities, sealed collection containers and the use of "marked bills" are routinely used as controls against theft. He also argued that it's not necessary for all of the collectors to be veterans — all they need, he maintained, is a desire to help.

"This is one of the things that makes us different, " he said. "I don't believe you have to be a veteran to help veterans. It's just like cancer. To raise money for cancer, you don't have to have it."

He also said VSO is careful not to have the collectors wear regulation fatigues. For instance, he said, they wear baseball caps and not regulation flat-top hats.

"Those fatigues are for unity, " Van Houten said. "We do not wear rank on them. We've gone to a lawyer. You can buy them at Walmart. You can buy them at any Army and Navy. You can walk right in and buy them, and a lot of people do wear them."

'IT'S LIKE A CON''

Armonk resident Bob Romano, who has seen VSO members collecting cash in The Westchester mall, said the fatigues deceive people.

"I'm not a veteran, but seeing these guys really made me angry, " he said. "When you see guys in uniform, you feel a debt of gratitude for the people who put their lives on the line to protect us. So of course, you want to give something back to them. For these guys, who aren't even veterans, to be doing something like this. It's like a con."

Bittleman said the VSO is legally prohibited from hiring only veterans, but said about 90 percent of the New York collectors are former military. The fundraising duties, he said, help foster people skills and lead to more complex duties, such as "booking" a store for fundraising or even negotiating leases for the group.

The VSO houses more than a dozen veterans in the area, and has enlisted at least that many for it's regional work program, Bittleman said. He said the group also provides emergency funding for vets through America Works and local VA offices. He did not provide specific examples, citing privacy.

In all, the organization brought in more than $1 million in 2008, and more than $2.5 million this year, according to John Nacowicz, a Warwick, R.I., accountant who serves as VSO's national treasurer. The New York Attorney General's Office, which monitors and oversees charities, said VSO is current in its filings. No complaints or investigations are on file.

A review of VSO's tax-exempt filings with the Internal Revenue Service for 2007, the most recent year available, shows that the organization raised $1, 040, 984 nationwide that year and spent $951, 175. The expenses include $491, 614 in "program services" and $403, 229 in fundraising costs. Those costs are applied to expanding VSO's operations, something the group sees as providing services to veterans.

According to the records, $311, 656 — or roughly 31 percent — went to direct services. The document said the money went toward "new television for needy veterans, reading materials, and coffee program at the VA. Help for homeless Vets: clothing, food and transportation. VA patient emergency financial help." It does not state specifically where the money was spent.

Officers get $116, 265

The records note that $116, 265 went to "compensation of current officers" in 2007, including $53, 810 to Van Houten.

"I collected a very minimal salary for seven years of doing this, " Van Houten said. "Now I work seven days a week. I put in more time in a week than most people put in in three weeks."

Nacowicz, VSO's treasurer, said highlighting the 2007 numbers would be unfair to the group.

"The numbers, actually, if we went back and redid them more appropriately, that number would probably be a lot higher, " he said. "It's just because we were new back then and we didn't understand the process. Now we're a little more adept and we're getting larger and we've got these audited statements."

In recent years, the VSO has been commissioning independent audits of its books. According to Nacowicz, those audits show that nearly 70 percent of the money collected is going back into programs — well above the 50 percent threshold that Van Houten said he insists on.

According to Restivo Monacelli, the Providence, R.I., auditing firm, the VSO raised $1, 025, 794, and spent $688, 096 in the year ended Sept. 30, 2008. Among the listed "program services expenses, " $317, 788 went for "donations." The rest was listed as costs for subcontractors, automobile expenses and uniforms, which cost $7, 458.

"They don't seem kosher to me, and it makes me mad, '' said Marine Corps veteran John Preiss, vice commander of Yonkers-based Disabled American Veterans Chapter 16. "All of the money we raise goes to the guys — we've never kept a dime. I think if people want to make a donation to help veterans, they should make it to local groups."

Additionally... (to the original poster)

1) The uniforms have changed because of complaints about wearing military-style uniforms while collecting donations. The change in uniforms has nothing to do with trying to be "snake"-like.
2) 64% went to the vets the first year the chapter was in operation in this area (2009). There were more start up costs that year. In 2010, 87% went to veterans.
3) That's great that you are an Army veteran. I am a Navy veteran and I work for the VSO. So far, I have only met two other employees that are not veterans, and one is the wife of a veteran who also works with the VSO.
4) You appear to be mostly angry that our workers are paid. If you try to shut us down, we won't be paid...that's true. But it's also true that the veterans will not benefit from the money we raise. And the veterans who are benefiting from working at the VSO will end up living through your tax dollars rather than by donation.

Google "Disabled American Veterans Scams".

/link removed/

You can find dirt on just about any group.

VSO workers' income is documented through the IRS just like any other legitimate employee. I don't know too many people who carry their tax paperwork around with them, so asking someone to produce it is rather silly.

The VSO is perfectly legal but so was Al Capone. Who put him behind bars? It was the IRS. In a TV interview in Florida: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcZsT1AUVB4 VSO president VanHouten admits he pays his men 30% of the take. "Let us put you in our program" he states. If they truly are employees, they must receive a W-2 and the VSO must pay FICA to the Feds and workers comp to the States. If they are not employees, the IRS considers them to be independent contractors in which case the VSO must give them and the Feds a 1099-MISC. The next time you see one of them, ask them to show you the above documents. Remember the IRS gives a 10% reward of the unreported taxable liability. Use IRS Form 211 to collect it.

Also the people that raise money for the VSO are all on our work program. They were all homeless or on the verge of being homeless and if it wasn't for the VSO to offer the work program would be homeless or the good people of RI taxes would be paying to house them and or pay for some type of state or govt assitant. We at the VSO have offer this work program to help not only the person raising the donation but also veterans. VSO gave over 3 million dollars last year to veterans across the US. If you stop and talk with anyone of the people you see raising donations for the VSO and ask how the fundraising work program has helped them and changed their lifes you will hear how it is not only helping them but veterans in the state they are doing it. We at the veterans support organization do not hire professional fundraisers we want the public to meet in person when they donate the person they are helping everytime they hand a donation to one of the VSO work program paticapants. Please do the research on VSO and visit our websit at www.theveteranssupport.org and come up ewith your own opinion. I promise you will see and be proud of what VSO has done across the nation for our veterans

By the way the past manager was releived for not dining his job. His job consisted of going to all the areas that the VSO raises donations in. Being one of our bylaws are that VSO has to donate in all areas that VSO raises money in. He also slacked on meeting the other groups in these areas and letting them know what VSO does and explain how we can work together. The past manager did not leave for FL. He was relieved. VSO donated 64.9 % last year which is very good for a non profit of the VSO size. If anybody does research on any other group you will see the % that VSO donate is very good. Yes the Providence VA does like the VSO because what we have done for our veterans and will continue to do in RI, MA, NH, and Maine. The new manager will be traveling to these other states and building our relationship with the VAs and other groups. All we ask the public to do is do your own research on VSO and don't Believe any non factual statements made by people.

Everything stated above is true with the exception of the following facts:

1. Bittleman is a professional con man who in his younger days was linked to a murder. He continues to practice his skills of conning others through VSO (Veterans Support ORganization)

http://articles.latimes.com/1991-08-23/local/me-1167_1_brent-johnson

2. Only 15% goes into the 'veterans' pockets. The rest is given too, Bittleman, his wife JAnina Gorin (another con artist who hides behind her kids and the bible while she steals from veterans, and Van Houten who is a piece of worthless garbage.

3. This is how it runs in NYC. Most soldiers are referred to America Works and Carlyle (one of the directors) refers down an out homeless veterans to VSO where him and his son (who works directly for VSO) receive a piece of the large pie for each referral. Of course America Works knows that VSO is a scam but the money pay off is worth it to Carlyle. Once you arrive are hired, and everyone is, America Works can collect from HRA because you are now a client, Carlyle gets a kickback and VSO receives free labor.

You arrive at VSO, where you are charged $40 for cheap plastic boots, $10 for a hat that they have by the box load and $6.00 a week for drycleaning. Although their 990's don't reflect that they are collecting $6 a week from the veterans as well as expensing the total dry cleaning bill.

You are given a bucket and told how to collect as much as possible. In the NYC office you have up to 30 'pretend soldiers' go out each day colelcting money. They each receive 15% of the total take in the bucket.

The vans are driven by whomever has a license that day, whether high, drunk or crazy. No one checks your license to see if its valid nor are any precautions taken to ensure that the driver is capable of driving. Of course the last time I checked the insurance had expired but it doesn't matter because no commercial insurance company would allow another company to just let anyone drive. Yet if you look at their insurance, which is through Hartford Casualty Insurance Compay policy #02SBMUT6250 it has expired and the organization is registered in RI.

When you are hired you are not asked for any documents such as social security number or address so every penny you collect is untaxable. Their are no checks and balances either for the 'veteran' collecting or for Janina and Richard to say how much was actually collected.

4. Tennessee took them to task for not providing what their mission statement states, especially since they are a 501c(3). At the Mount Vernon office the only training going on is how to get more money from the customers. There aren't any checks and balances to determine who needs help, who could use help or how to give help.

5. The organization rents a house in SCarsdale that cost $2m but rents out several rooms to 'veterans' at $150 a week. Unfortunately the renters don't receive a key, can't have company, have to leave the house when the bittleman's leave, have to share a room with another 'veteran' and are so far from local tansportation that they are basically at the mercy of two professional con persons. The good news is because the organization receives rental income they can write the loss off on their taxes and still maintain a high standard of living.

6. Their main goal is to collect money to fuel their life styles. For more information please write vsoanonworker@yahoo.com

Veterans Support Organization needs to be investigated.

December 27, 2009

Mall solicitors irk local veterans groups

Richard Liebson and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon
rliebson@lohud.com

They kind of look like soldiers, standing in The Westchester mall in their store-bought camouflage fatigues. But they aren't.

The first hint that they have nothing to do with the military is that their "uniforms" bear no rank, insignia or unit patches. The dead giveaway comes when they ask you for a cash donation to help veterans — active-duty service members are prohibited from panhandling.

For the past several weeks, members of the Veterans Support Organization have been soliciting money at The Westchester and other Lower Hudson Valley sites, claiming that they're providing holiday meals for local homeless veterans and making donations to veterans hospitals and other local programs to help veterans.

The fact is, 25 percent to 30 percent of what they collect goes into their pockets, as part of what the VSO describes as a "work program." The group's founder admits that many members have never served in the armed forces and could not provide proof that the VSO has made any contributions to local veterans.

Financial records obtained by The Journal News show that about 31 percent of the more than $1 million they took in annually nationwide in 2007 and 2008 went to veterans assistance and services. Much of the rest is listed as "programs" expenses used to pay for rent and office supplies, travel costs, subcontractors and compensation for VSO executives.

Although the group's literature lists an address in Mount Vernon, that office has not yet opened.

"I've never heard of them, " said Roger Paulmino, team leader of the Department of Veterans Affairs Outreach Center in White Plains. "They've never contacted us about making a donation or providing any kind of service. At this time of year, there are a lot of bogus groups out there. I usually advise people to contact the Attorney General's Office if they have suspicions."

Joe Waldron, commander of White Plains American Legions Post 135, was more blunt.

"It sounds like a scam to me, " he said. "Even if they're contributing 30 percent somewhere, that doesn't seem like much to me. And if the people collecting the money are keeping 25 percent of the take, that's very suspect activity. I think the state attorney general should take a look at them."

Waldron said his post raises $35, 000 to $40, 000 through its bar and uses the money to host parties and activities for patients at the Montrose VA hospital, a scholarship program and donations to local charities. "Virtually all of our money is spent on local veterans and community charities, " he said.

VSO insists it helps

Josh Bittleman, program and housing coordinator for the VSO New York chapter, maintained that nearly 70 percent of the funds raised by VSO helps veterans by expanding the organization and its varied services.

"We understand that the local groups sometimes don't like other groups coming in the area, " he said. "And that's just the way it is. We understand that."

Bittleman insisted that the VSO is helping veterans. He said it has pumped nearly $300, 000 into its planned learning center in Mount Vernon. Next week, he said, the group will donate 100 winter coats through the Veterans Affairs hospital in the Bronx.

Ivette Ocasio, program management officer at the Bronx hospital's volunteer services office, said she was not familiar with the VSO, or aware of its plan to donate coats.

"Normally, our office would be processing that type of donation, '' she said.

Bittleman said the donation was being made to a hospital outpatient program that is not overseen by Ocasio and offered to provide an invoice for the coats.

The Veterans Support Organization was founded in 2001 by Richard Van Houten. A Brooklyn native, Van Houten said he served in the Army from 1983 to 1991 and worked as a salesman for Schwan's Ice Cream after leaving the service. He started the VSO after a back injury left him with extra time on his hands.

"It wasn't for the money. I didn't start this to make money, " said Van Houten, who now lives in Florida and draws a salary from the VSO. "As a matter of fact, for the first seven, eight years, I took very, very minimal from it. Very minimal. Because it wasn't for that. It was just to stay busy."

Substantial growth

VSO has grown substantially in recent years. The group has chapters in Florida, Rhode Island and Georgia, and moved into New York over the past year. It runs Veterans New Life Haven, a homeless shelter in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and will move into the 8, 500-square-foot space at 31 South St. in Mount Vernon. It also plans to expand into Tennessee and Texas.

"So it's growing, " Van Houten said. "It went from me and another guy to like 250 people that are actually with the group right now."

But the organization has drawn criticism, in part for its mode of fundraising. VSO enlists down-and-out residents to stand outside shopping centers and in shopping malls and take contributions. Van Houten said the workers are recruited from America Works Inc., a national multi-service agency with a regional office in New York City.

The collectors are dressed in military fatigues with the group's logo emblazoned on the back, although many are not veterans. They also get a cut. Van Houten said they get 25 percent to 30 percent of what they bring in, depending on what they raise.

VSO officials said the sidewalk collection duties are the foundation of what the organization sells as its "work program, " which purportedly provides sales, marketing and entrepreneurial training, said Bittleman, the VSO program coordinator.

"Let me tell you this much, " Bittleman said. "When we get them they're living in homeless shelters. And when they leave us they're living on their own and independent, and in the interim we're housing them and we're also feeding them and they're also working, which they weren't doing. And most of them transition into employment."

"So you want to call it raising more money, you can, " he said. "It definitely does that. But it pays for their ability to not be in a homeless shelter or on the streets under a bridge. And that's where most of them came from."

Van Houten said periodic checks on their activities, sealed collection containers and the use of "marked bills" are routinely used as controls against theft. He also argued that it's not necessary for all of the collectors to be veterans — all they need, he maintained, is a desire to help.

"This is one of the things that makes us different, " he said. "I don't believe you have to be a veteran to help veterans. It's just like cancer. To raise money for cancer, you don't have to have it."

He also said VSO is careful not to have the collectors wear regulation fatigues. For instance, he said, they wear baseball caps and not regulation flat-top hats.

"Those fatigues are for unity, " Van Houten said. "We do not wear rank on them. We've gone to a lawyer. You can buy them at Walmart. You can buy them at any Army and Navy. You can walk right in and buy them, and a lot of people do wear them."

'It's like a con'

Armonk resident Bob Romano, who has seen VSO members collecting cash in The Westchester mall, said the fatigues deceive people.

"I'm not a veteran, but seeing these guys really made me angry, " he said. "When you see guys in uniform, you feel a debt of gratitude for the people who put their lives on the line to protect us. So of course, you want to give something back to them. For these guys, who aren't even veterans, to be doing something like this. It's like a con."

Bittleman said the VSO is legally prohibited from hiring only veterans, but said about 90 percent of the New York collectors are former military. The fundraising duties, he said, help foster people skills and lead to more complex duties, such as "booking" a store for fundraising or even negotiating leases for the group.

The VSO houses more than a dozen veterans in the area, and has enlisted at least that many for it's regional work program, Bittleman said. He said the group also provides emergency funding for vets through America Works and local VA offices. He did not provide specific examples, citing privacy.

In all, the organization brought in more than $1 million in 2008, and more than $2.5 million this year, according to John Nacowicz, a Warwick, R.I., accountant who serves as VSO's national treasurer. The New York Attorney General's Office, which monitors and oversees charities, said VSO is current in its filings. No complaints or investigations are on file.

A review of VSO's tax-exempt filings with the Internal Revenue Service for 2007, the most recent year available, shows that the organization raised $1, 040, 984 nationwide that year and spent $951, 175. The expenses include $491, 614 in "program services" and $403, 229 in fundraising costs. Those costs are applied to expanding VSO's operations, something the group sees as providing services to veterans.

According to the records, $311, 656 — or roughly 31 percent — went to direct services. The document said the money went toward "new television for needy veterans, reading materials, and coffee program at the VA. Help for homeless Vets: clothing, food and transportation. VA patient emergency financial help." It does not state specifically where the money was spent.

Officers get $116, 265

The records note that $116, 265 went to "compensation of current officers" in 2007, including $53, 810 to Van Houten.

"I collected a very minimal salary for seven years of doing this, " Van Houten said. "Now I work seven days a week. I put in more time in a week than most people put in in three weeks."

Nacowicz, VSO's treasurer, said highlighting the 2007 numbers would be unfair to the group.

"The numbers, actually, if we went back and redid them more appropriately, that number would probably be a lot higher, " he said. "It's just because we were new back then and we didn't understand the process. Now we're a little more adept and we're getting larger and we've got these audited statements."

In recent years, the VSO has been commissioning independent audits of its books. According to Nacowicz, those audits show that nearly 70 percent of the money collected is going back into programs — well above the 50 percent threshold that Van Houten said he insists on.

According to Restivo Monacelli, the Providence, R.I., auditing firm, the VSO raised $1, 025, 794, and spent $688, 096 in the year ended Sept. 30, 2008. Among the listed "program services expenses, " $317, 788 went for "donations." The rest was listed as costs for subcontractors, automobile expenses and uniforms, which cost $7, 458.

"They don't seem kosher to me, and it makes me mad, '' said Marine Corps veteran John Preiss, vice commander of Yonkers-based Disabled American Veterans Chapter 16. "All of the money we raise goes to the guys — we've never kept a dime. I think if people want to make a donation to help veterans, they should make it to local groups."

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I also checked them out after reading about them, and I found out that many of their PAID EMPLOYEES collecting donations were never soldiers, some of them are ex-cons, and many towns, communities around New York, Long Island want them gone !. The PAID EMPLOYEES of the Veterans Support Organization wear uniforms with out name tags to make the visual immage to people that they are soldiers and that's just plain wrong. I know of a few good non profits organizations and the Veterans Support Organization is not one of them. If you dont believe me contact news papers, tv stations in Florida and they will tell you all about the Veterans Support Organization and their scheme ways. The Veterans Support Organization is a shame, shame, shame!