Johnson's Wife Is Part Of New Grants Board

The wife of Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson is on the board of a private charitable organization that has taken over management of a troubled community grants program in which Johnson has played a direct role.

Leslie Johnson joined the board of the Prince George's Community Foundation in January, two months before her husband announced that the group would be brought in to help oversee the National Harbor Community Outreach grants fund.

That fund, run by a seven-member committee, was created as a goodwill program to support local projects. It is financed by donations from Milton V. Peterson, developer of the $2 billion entertainment and residential complex being built along the Potomac River in the southern end of the county. The county executive appointed three of the committee members.

The Washington Post reported last month that more than $181,000 -- about a quarter of the $700,000 distributed -- has gone to organizations with which committee members and Johnson have close ties. Additionally, during his reelection campaign last summer, Johnson personally delivered at least $10,000 in grants to politically powerful churches that had not applied for the funds.

After disclosures about how the grant money was being spent, Johnson announced that the Community Foundation would partner with the grant committee to improve accountability and oversight. Johnson did not disclose at the time that his wife was among the foundation's board members.

Leslie Johnson, who works as a hearing officer for the District's Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, would not comment Friday.

Established in 1994, the Prince George's Community Foundation is a nonprofit group that raises and manages money for other nonprofits in the county.

Details of the partnership with the National Harbor grants committee still are being settled, but ultimately, the foundation's board will have final say in who receives the grants, foundation officials said.

"It is my hope that the community foundation can come in and help both clarify and provide transparency and accountability to a process that seems to have been flawed," said Peter Shapiro, the foundation's vice president and a former Prince George's County Council member. "Not only are we not responsible or accountable for what happened beforehand, we don't want to be," he said.

He said Leslie Johnson's presence on the 21-member board will not affect its ability to "operate professionally."

"It doesn't feel like a problem to me," he said. "The county executive's wife is one of a number of board members."

The National Harbor grants stem from an agreement reached three years ago between the county and Peterson. The county agreed to provide millions of dollars for roads and sewers needed for the development, and Peterson pledged $350,000 a year for 10 years to support community projects.

A review of the grant list by The Post found that in some cases, money was going to projects headed by members of the grant committee. Funds were also going to groups that did not seek them, and the committee reported giving out at least $27,500 to organizations that said they never received the money.

The committee, for example, reported giving $20,000 to the county chapter of Christmas in April, which fixes homes for low-income elderly residents. But Mary Kucharski, the group's executive director, said it received no funds.

After those disclosures, Michael Arrington, who keeps the National Harbor committee's records, said last month that he would investigate "whether some of the authorized charities may not have received their checks." Arrington did not return calls seeking comment.

As of Friday, Christmas in April had not been contacted by anyone from the National Harbor fund, Kucharski said.

It remains unclear whether the National Harbor committee will remain intact once the foundation steps in, Shapiro said. "Considering what has occurred, it would appear to be cleaner if it were a fresh group of faces," he said.

Desiree Griffin-Moore, executive director of the Community Foundation, said anyone involved with the review and disbursement of the grant funds "would have to disclose any affiliation they may have" with applicants and "would have to recuse themselves from deliberations."

Peterson is set to contribute another $350,000 to the fund this month.