February 23, 2006 | Read Time: 3 minutes
Six months after the California attorney general started an investigation into alleged misuse of funds at the J. Paul Getty Trust, in Los Angeles, Barry Munitz has resigned as the group’s chief executive.
Mr. Munitz agreed to waive any severance package and to pay the trust $250,000 “to resolve any continuing disputes” between him and the foundation, according to a statement issued by Getty.
It quoted Mr. Munitz as saying he was proud of his work at the trust, adding, “I’m taking this action so both the institution and I can move forward.”
A spokesman for the trust said neither Mr. Munitz nor any other Getty official would comment further.
Newspaper Articles
Controversy at the Getty Trust, which has assets of $8.6-billion and is the nation’s wealthiest operating foundation, was sparked by a series of articles in the Los Angeles Times. The articles raised questions about the compensation provided to Mr. Munitz, who made $1.2-million in fiscal 2004, and the perks he received. The newspaper said the trust provided Mr. Munitz with a $72,000 Porsche and that he had used trust money to do favors for friends.
In August, two months after the articles were published, trust officials acknowledged that they had met with investigators from the California attorney general’s office who were seeking information about Getty’s financial activities.
The Times, citing a confidential memo written by the general counsel to the trust, reported that the attorney general has requested records dating back over the past eight years dealing with compensation and expenses paid to Mr. Munitz, as well as payments for his wife and gifts to members of the trust’s board.
The newspaper added that state officials have also asked for documents connected to criminal charges pending in Italy against Marion True, the Getty museum’s former curator for antiquities, accusing her of conspiring to purchase looted artifacts. Ms. True, who has pled not guilty, is on trial in Rome. She resigned from the museum late last year.
In October, the Getty board announced that it had hired a lawyer to conduct an independent review of the trust’s operations, including Mr. Munitz’s spending, as well as the criminal charges Ms. True faces in Italy. The findings of that review were the topic of a board meeting just before Mr. Munitz’s resignation, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Professional Association
Aside from the state inquiry, the trust also faces questions from the Council on Foundations, the association that represents more than 2,000 of the nation’s grant makers. The council has placed the trust on probation while it seeks more information from the organization regarding charges of fiscal misconduct, marking the first time the council has taken such action against one of its members.
The organization could also face new questions after newspaper reports that two other executives were paid large severance packages in the past two years.
According to The New York Times, Deborah Gribbon, director of the museum, was paid $3-million in the fall of 2004 when she resigned after a series of disputes with Mr. Munitz, and Jill Murphy, Mr. Munitz’s chief of staff, received $250,000 when she left her position last year.
John Giurini, a spokesman for the Getty, said the trust could not discuss the payments because both severance packages are covered by confidentiality agreements.
Mr. Munitz headed the trust for eight years. Before he took over as its chief executive, he had been chancellor of the California State University system. He was an adviser to two former California governors, Pete Wilson and Gray Davis.
Deborah Marrow, director of the Getty Foundation, will serve as interim chief executive while the trust’s board searches for a permanent replacement for Mr. Munitz. The Getty Foundation is an arm of the trust that distributes grants to support the arts; the trust also runs the J. Paul Getty Museum, in Los Angeles, in addition to other cultural programs.
