He used United Way of America spinoff companies to buy and decorate a $430,000 apartment on New York’s Upper East Side and purchase a $125,000 condominium in Miami. He flew multiple times on the Concorde.
The United Way paid more than $90,000 for his limousine service because, Mr. Aramony told The Post, “I can’t afford to be waiting for cabs.”
Prosecutors said his worst transgressions against United Way of America involved his relationship with Lori Villasor. She was 17 and Mr. Aramony was 59 and married when they began dating in 1986. (He separated from his wife in 1988; they divorced in 1992.)
Mr. Aramony used United Way money to take vacations with Villasor and his other mistresses to Paris, London and Cairo. He bought his girlfriends manicures, bottles of champagne and bouquets of yellow roses. For Villasor, he purchased a fax machine so that she could send him love letters in his office.
Mr. Aramony resigned from United Way of America in February 1992, after The Post stories were published.
During Mr. Aramony’s 1995 trial, four of his former lovers testified against him. In his defense, Mr. Aramony’s lawyers noted that a few weeks before he left United Way, board members gave him a unanimous vote of confidence. Ultimately, his lawyers called no witnesses. He was sentenced to seven years in a federal penitentiary.
William Aramony was born July 27, 1927, in Jewett City, Conn. His parents were Lebanese immigrants. His father was a traveling clothes salesman.
Mr. Aramony was a 1949 graduate of Clark University in Worcester, Mass., and received a master’s degree in 1951 from the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work.
After Army service, Mr. Aramony worked for United Way in Columbia, S.C., South Bend, Ind., and Miami before serving in the organization’s executive offices.
His first marriage, to Bebe Nojeim, ended in divorce.
Survivors include his wife, Gail Manza of Alexandria, whom he married in 2002; three children from his first marriage, William S. Aramony and Robert Aramony, both of Alexandria, and Susan Kanelidis of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and seven grandchildren.
In an interview, Robert Aramony said his father helped develop a mentoring program while he was in prison.
Putting his white-collar background to good use, Mr. Aramony helped prepare inmates for job interviews once they were released. He told his fellow prisoners that the key to success was to hold your head high, speak honestly about your past mistakes and explain with confidence why you are ready for a new opportunity.
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