Rangel charity in trouble

From the NY Post:

Alianza Dominicana, the troubled Washington Heights nonprofit with ties to Rep. Charles Rangel, got hit with a $192,000 invoice after a state audit turned up multiple instances of improper billing, The Post has learned.

The state Office of Children and Family Services audited the nonprofit in 2005, the year it received about $1.2 million in federal funds to run after-school and healthy-living programs for at-risk kids and families, state documents show.

Alianza Dominicana claimed partial salary reimbursements for about eight staffers who actually had multiple job responsibilities beyond the project that was funded by federal welfare dollars, the state found.

The state denied $111,350 in "personal service costs" and "fringe benefits" that Alianza had on its books.

The nonprofit also claimed to have spent nearly $3,000 to bring local kids to the movies, but when state investigators pressed for names of children in that program, there were none, state documents show.

In total, Alianza was ordered to repay the state $192,304 for improperly claimed welfare funds, according to the state. The organization is making regular payments, said a spokesperson for the Office of Children and Family Services.

Alianza's city funding -- $60 million in recent years -- was abruptly cut off this summer after the city Department of Investigation launched a probe.

Alianza Dominicana's executive director, Moises Perez, who did not return a call for comment Friday, has agreed to take an unpaid leave during the city's probe.