Douglas Perlitz : Open letter to Joseph Berardino, Order of Malta leader and former CEO of Arthur Andersen - "Joe, why won't you help the sex abuse victims in Haiti?"

OPEN LETTER   July 16, 2010   Joseph Berardino Treasurer Connecticut Order of Malta Greenwich, Connecticut   Dear Joe,   I need to be very clear with you.   The children who reported to U.S. authorities that they were sexually abused by Douglas Perlitz, former Executive Director of Project Pierre Toussaint in Cap Haitian, Haiti, need to be fed, clothed and sheltered. http://www.ctpost.com/betrayal/   They need these things now.   Joe, you are the former chief executive of Arthur Andersen, once one of the big five accounting firms, employing 28,000 employees in the US and 85,000 worldwide. So why can't you seem to accomplish the simple task of providing food and shelter to twenty or so boys in Haiti?    You have power and influence within the Fairfield University and Order of Malta communities.   You were the recent chairperson of Malta's annual pilgrimage to Lourdes' (see below).   You are a long time Fairfield University Trustee. You serve as Treasurer of the Connecticut area Malta group.   You have remained a prominent member of Malta in spite of the fact that your Connecticut Malta colleagues, Jeanie and Tom Tisdale, Hope Carter and Madeline Lacovara have all abandoned these homeless, street kids for the sole reason that the boys accused Perlitz of raping them.   Joe, these are the very same people you traveled to Lourdes with. These are the same people you dined and laughed with. In addition, you stood by and said nothing when Joe Miller, the President of the American Malta Association, presented Hope Carter with an award for her humanitarian efforts in Haiti. I am sure you all raised your glasses in a gleeful toast to Ms. Carter.   But, think about this, Joe. If it cost just $3,000 per person for room, board and air travel to Lourdes, this same amount of money could provide nourishing food for each of the boys for 1,500 days, at a cost of two U.S. dollars per day.   I am not suggesting that you should not have gone to Lourdes, but I think it's important to put things into perspective. Even now, President Miller (who told me two weeks ago, "I've got the check in my pocket) is sitting still, doing nothing.   As you may know, a small group of survivors and their supporters from New England raised $2,500 to help provide the boys with some of their basic needs. We are able to cover food expenses through the end of next week, then there will be nothing for the boys.   As I have pointed out before, it is important for the boys to feel cared for and supported. In a real sense, this is the beginning of a therapeutic process for those who experienced the horrific trauma of child sex abuse.   At a basic minimum of U.S. $2.00 per day for each boy, Joe, we need at least $280.00 per week to be able to feed these kids next week and the weeks thereafter. We have a system already in place, but we cannot purchase and distribute the food without funding.   Joe, this senseless and deliberate procrastination on the part of Malta leaders must stop now. Each and every Malta member in Connecticut needs to get off their high horses and get busy helping these kids.   After all, it's the Tisdales, Carter, Lacovara and Rev. Paul Carrier, S.J. who helped bring about the downfall of the Project.   Sincerely, Paul Kendrick Freeport, Maine 207 838 1319   The American Association departed by chartered aircraft on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 to participate in the Annual International Malta Pilgrimage to Lourdes and returned on Tuesday, May 4, 2010.   The Chairpersons of the Association's 2010 Pilgrimage were Gail and Joe Berardino, members of the Order from the Connecticut Area. https://www.maltausa.org/lourdes.php  https://www.maltausa.org/areas.php?area=connecticut