August 18, 2005 | Read Time: 4 minutes
After a series of newspaper articles criticized financial practices at the J. Paul Getty Trust, officials there say they have met with investigators from the California attorney general’s office who were seeking information about Getty’s financial activities.
The meeting comes after the Los Angeles Times published articles raising questions about compensation and perquisites provided to the trust’s chief executive, first-class travel and other expenses incurred by his wife, and a real-estate deal involving the trust and a prominent Los Angeles philanthropist. The trust is the wealthiest operating foundation in the United States, with assets of $8.6-billion. It runs the J. Paul Getty Museum, in Los Angeles, in addition to other programs.
Officials of the trust have denied any wrongdoing.
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 Barry Munitz, chief executive of the trust, as well as payments for his wife, grants, 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 musuem’s curator for antiquities, accusing her of conspiring to purchase looted artifacts. Ms. True says the charges are unfounded.
The attorney general’s office declined to comment on the article in the Times, saying its policy is never to confirm or deny whether an investigation is under way.
The trust issued a statement saying it “will cooperate fully with any investigation. Counsel to the Getty has already met with representatives of the attorney general’s office to ensure that information or documents responsive to any request are produced as quickly as possible.”
Officials of the Getty Trust declined to provide additional comment to The Chronicle.
$1.2-Million Compensation
Mr. Munitz is among the highest paid nonprofit executives in the nation. In The Chronicle’s annual survey of executive compensation at selected nonprofit organizations, he ranked 10th in combined salary and benefits paid to nonprofit chief executives in 2003, when Mr. Munitz received $1-million in compensation and benefits. The trust’s 2004 tax return shows his total package rose to $1.2-million that year.
The questions about Mr. Munitz’s pay come as the Internal Revenue Service has been stepping up its scrutiny of charity compensation.
The agency announced last year that it had started investigating excessive executive compensation at nonprofit organizations, with a special focus on charity officials who are paid more than $1-million annually.
The IRS has not released any information on what, if any, actions it took as a result of that inquiry.
According to the Times, the trust provided Mr. Munitz with a $72,000 Porsche SUV in 2003. The newspaer noted that the car was provided at the same time that Getty was laying off staff members and making other cutbacks, and that the trust regularly paid for him and his wife to travel first class on trips to destinations around the world (including Italy, Australia, Cuba, and Hawaii).
The newspaper also said he used trust money to do favors for friends. Getty Trust officials told the Times its spending policies are proper and do not violate any IRS rules or federal law.
Land Deal
The Times report also says the attorney general’s office is looking into a 2002 sale of property to the billionaire Eli Broad for $700,000 less than its appraised value. The newspaper described Mr. Broad, a prominent businessman and philanthroist, as a close friend of Mr. Munitz.
When the Times reported on the real-estate deal last year, spokesmen for both the trust and Mr. Broad said nothing was improper about the transaction. Mr. Broad declined to talk to The Chronicle about the land deal.
A state investigation would be the latest in a series of troubles for the trust. Deborah Gribbon, the museum’s director, resigned in October because of what the Times described as disagreements with Mr. Munitz over the direction of museum operations. Her position has not been filled.
Ms. True faces a criminal trial in Italy, after being indicted in May on charges of conspiring to receive stolen goods and illicit receipt of archaeological items.
Italian authorities allege that Ms. True laundered goods that were purchased by a private collection and then sold to the Getty Trust in paper transactions that created phony documentation. She has denied the charges.
