Attorney: Memorial fund for slain officer never created or controlled by the Hideout

Some residents of The Hideout may have been misled into believing that the Jose Duran Memorial Fund was a creation of the Board of Directors of the Lake Ariel community following the murder of its public safety officer, Jose Duran, on September 28.  Jose Duran, 56, was killed by the alleged defendant, Lucas Gartrell, who is being held at Wayne County Prison. The Fund was intended to offer financial support for his widow, and his three children. 

On Saturday, January 17, the attorney for the Hideout Property Owners Association (POA) told residents at a regularly scheduled board meeting that the Fund was incorporated by Brian Carchedi, the president of the Ryan's Angels and husband of former Board President Andrew Miller.

Ed Hoffman, the Hideout attorney, said that the Fund continues to be operating as a non-profit, but it’s unclear at press time if anyone else besides Carchedi is on the board of the non-profit fund. 

“It’s been confirmed by Honesdale National Bank that The Hideout, as an entity, doesn’t actually have an account at the bank and hasn’t had an account at the bank since 2006” Hoffman said in a public statement to residents gathered at The Hideout Lodge and online. 

In the wake of NEPA News’ investigative report triggered by complaints by Duran’s widow, Tinesha Duran, Angel Alliance released a statement late Friday addressing its role in the fund. 

“We want to clarify that Ryan’s Angels Ltd. d/b/a Angels Alliance has no affiliation with, nor involvement in the Jose Duran Memorial Fund. Our organization operates independently and strives to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and professional conduct in all that we do.”

(That statement, though, did not mention anywhere that Carchedi, as president of the Ryan's Angels is the founder and operator of the “Jose Duran Memorial Fund”).

The Angel Alliance statement published on Facebook also addressed the current status of funds raised in Jose Duran’s name.

“At this time, approximately $11,576.00 remains in the Jose Duran Memorial Fund. This total includes the 50/50 proceeds raised at the Angel’s Alliance fundraiser of Night at the Races; we did not conduct any other fundraising in Jose’s name. To date, Mrs. Duran has received $30,000 from the memorial fund. At the time that she received it, there was an additional $6,000 which was pending deposit from the motorcycle ride. At that time, Mrs. Duran was advised that once the remaining funds cleared the account, the remaining balance would be sent to her."

“We share the community’s desire to see the remaining funds released to Mrs. Duran and her family as soon as possible. However, Angels Alliance does not have the authority to release funds held in the memorial account without authorization from the The Hideout Board of Directors. We remain willing to assist in any way possible to help move this process forward.”

Representatives of The Hideout also confirmed that the association did not create the memorial fund and that advertising related to the fund was not approved by a board majority. They said the announcement and placement of a donation box inside the POA building were actions taken by the former community manager, Judy Kennedy. 

The Board on Saturday related that the ball is basically in Carchedi’s court to release the funds, which disputes the Angel Alliance contention that a vote is needed by new slate of Hideout Board of Directors.

Link: Board Members Resign | NEPA News

“We learned last night on Facebook from Ryan’s Angels and Angel Alliance there is money still in the account, and that money can be released to Mrs. Duran,” Hoffman added. “The board obviously wants the remainder of the donations to be released to Mrs. Duran to make her whole, but the board actually doesn’t have control over the account because it’s not a Hideout account. The board can’t formally authorize release of the funds. This being said, I think every board member up here would say she should be made whole, and she should be provided with the balance of what remains. There’s no dispute here that she should get the money, we just can’t release the money because we have no authority over it.”

Hoffman later reiterated that the Hideout cannot release the funds “because it doesn’t control the money,” adding that the Hideout has no objection to Mrs. Duran receiving the funds created for her benefit.

Link: José Duran Memorial Fund Review | NEPA News

NEPA News is following this story closely and will provide updates as new information is obtained. 

Full audio of Saturday's meeting below: