On Thursday, the Wounded Warrior Project's board of directors fired its two top executives, following an earlier CBS News investigation into the organization's lavish spending on parties and conferences.
CEO Steven Nardizzi and COO Al Giordano were fired after a meeting in New York, CBS News reports. Their investigation found that the Wounded Warrior Project, which has raised more than $1 billion since 2003, spends 40 to 50 percent of donations on overhead, compared to other veterans charities with overhead costs of 10 to 15 percent.
CBS News spoke with more than 40 former employees who said the outrageous spending started after Nardizzi took over as CEO in 2009. In 2014, the Wounded Warrior Project brought in $300 million in donations, and spent $26 million just on employee conferences. At parties, the alcohol flowed, the former employees said, and at one conference, Nardizzi rode in on a horse and rappelled down the side of a building. "It was extremely extravagant," one said. "Dinners and alcohol and just total excess. I mean, it's what the military calls fraud, waste, and abuse."
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Sources told CBS News the board of directors received the early results of a financial audit, and they are mulling over hiring a retired senior military officer to take over leadership of the organization.
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