Word: bennett
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Philanthropist Laurance S. Rockefeller believed in John G. Bennett Jr. So did singer Pat Boone, Philadelphia Mayor Edward Rendell and former Treasury Secretary William E. Simon, as well as an array of institutions ranging from the University of Pennsylvania to the Nature Conservancy to the National Museum of American Jewish History...
Albert Meyer, an accounting professor at Spring Arbor College in Michigan, did not believe in Bennett, however, and therein lies the tale of how an elaborate Ponzi scheme came unraveled, leaving Philadelphia, Wall Street and the cozy world of nonprofit organizations reeling in embarrassment...
...Bennett, 57, is chief executive officer of the Foundation for New Era Philanthropy, a charity based in Radnor, Pennsylvania, which he began in 1989. A former drug-program administrator who advised nonprofits on management and fund-raising techniques, Bennett became a popular and influential figure in Philadelphia's philanthropic and cultural circles, thanks in part to the prayer breakfasts he often held. New Era soon became the answer to a lot of prayers: Bennett promised the organizations and individuals he approached a 100% return on their contributions within six months, thanks to anonymous donors who would match their gifts...
...Bennett was only doing what Charles Ponzi did in Boston back in 1919, paying back one wave of investors with money he received from ensuing waves. Like Ponzi, Bennett was something of a civic hero for a while, and like Ponzi, he was careful not to draw attention to himself with a flamboyant life-style...
Regatta Bar. The Charles Hotel, One Bennett Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge. 876-7777. John Patitucci Quintet on Thursday, April 27 and Friday, April 28. The James Cotton Blues Band on Saturday, April 29. The John Payne Quartet and Sax Choir on Tuesday, May 2. Myanna on Wednesday...