Former ACORN Board Member Wants Answers

This is a rush transcript from "Glenn Beck," May 11, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GLENN BECK, HOST: Now, let's talk to somebody who I may not agree with on politics — I don't really know because I haven't talked with him — but I know he is working at ACORN and I think that's just a left group, but I do agree with the man on principle.

Current ACORN member, Michael McCray: He was a member of ACORN's national board like the women I spoke to on Friday on this program. He, like them, was pushed off the board after they all started asking questions.

Mr. McCray, how are you, sir?

MICHAEL MCCRAY, FORMER ACORN BOARD MEMBER: I'm doing well, Glenn.

BECK: Good. Now, do I...

MCCRAY: It's not about right and wrong, it's about — I mean, left or right, it is about right or wrong. On that, sir, I agree with you.

• Video: Watch Beck's interview

BECK: OK. Now, tell me where I've gotten it wrong — because I don't see this really at all about politics, what's going on in ACORN right now is just about money.

MCCRAY: Well, what I would say about that, Glenn, is that really what you need to look at in terms of ACORN is governance. I mean, what we have is an organization, a venerable organization that had a very beautiful mission and a lot of committed supporters. What's happened over time, though, is that there are certain leaders and senior staff members that have kind of, for the most part, hijacked the organization and they're using it for their own personal games.

BECK: Can you tell me about Dale Rathke and his brother?

MCCRAY: Well, Dale Rathke is the founder of — I mean, Wade Rathke is the founder of the organization, and he is an incredible organizer. And it was his vision that allowed ACORN to progress to kind of where it is today. Unfortunately, with, you know, absolute power comes some corruption, and the board members found out about eight or nine months ago that there had been $1 million embezzlement by his brother.

Now, what the board did at that point of time was that, once the full board found out about it, they immediately moved to terminate Wade and Dale, then they tried to put in place the young ladies that you interviewed on Friday — Karen and Marcel — in order to try to set the record straight and get to the bottom of what happened to the money.

BECK: OK. But there hasn't been any prosecution. There hasn't really been — nobody has really investigated this mission dollar — this missing million dollars.

Nobody has paid for this — criminally speaking?

MCCRAY: That is correct, Glenn. And don't you find it very interesting that even when after word that $1 million embezzlement came out and the fact that board members and executive committee members covered up the embezzlement, that the only people that had been punished were the people that were trying to get to the bottom of where the money go?

BECK: OK.

MCCRAY: Doesn't that seem strange?

BECK: Oh, yes. That's why, you know, I was told on Friday by the two amazing women that were here, I was told on Friday, "Glenn, stop looking at this as politics. It's not politics. It's about money." Can you tell me — because what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to find — I'm trying to find the beating heart of this — this is like hydra. You can cut ACORN off but it just sprouts another head. There are all kinds of affiliated organizations.

Can you tell me at all what CCI is?

MCCRAY: Well, I'm glad you asked that, Glenn. Essentially, CCI — Citizens Consulting, Inc. — is basically the financial nerve center for ACORN and all its entities. So, if you really want to try to follow the money, that's why we requested a forensic examination and financial audit of CCI.

BECK: OK. CCI — can you put that back up on the screen, please? CCI shows one — what a surprise, it's in New Orleans. There's no corruption down there. It shows one address. This is the address that has — that all of the other ACORN entities, they all list this as their address.

So, if you are — correct me if I'm wrong here, Michael — but if you're in one of these organizations and you apply for federal dollars or any kind of dollars, the money goes there?

MCCRAY: Well, Glenn, I'm glad you mentioned that. I mean, that's the main problem. As a matter of fact, the money goes there first.

So, even if you are at a local chapter of ACORN that wanted to, say, you know, some good philanthropist wanted to write a local grant, the local ACORN chapter can't get the grant. Everything winds up being funneled through national and all of the monies come are dispersed from CCI.

Now, CCI says that they pay a small administrative fee. But the problem is, is without an audit, you know, we don't know if CCI gets 1 percent, 50 percent, 90 percent — we don't know. And that's what Karen Inman and Marcel Reid were trying to get their hands on.

BECK: I'll tell you, America, my gut tells me we are somewhere on the path — I don't know where — but we are somewhere on the path of something very dark and sinister here. I don't know who's involved, but I think we're on — we're on the path of something.

And you pray for people like Michael and the people who are still in this organization who say it's been hijacked and it was a good organization, just taken awry for money. You pray for this people because I honestly fear for their safety.

Michael, we will talk to you again, sir. Thank you so much.

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