December 7, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
Mark W. Everson, the former president of the American Red Cross, did not improperly use the charity’s money while having an affair with the head of a Red Cross chapter in Mississippi, the Red Cross has announced.
Mr. Everson, who is married, resigned last month after an employee in the national office told the charity’s board about the affair. The board said it had lost confidence in his ability to continue to lead the organization.
The review of Mr. Everson’s spending focused on travel costs and expense reports, according to Carrie Martin, a Red Cross spokeswoman. It was conducted by the charity’s office of investigations, compliance and ethics, under the direction of the general counsel.
“This was just a matter of due diligence,” Ms Martin said. “We started looking into this as soon as we heard the news. It’s a question that is immediately raised in any kind of situation like this, and the Red Cross has a responsibility to determine that there was no misuse of donor dollars.”
Mr. Everson did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
