By Jay Conley

Archives Reprint

    Last week's indictment of Richard Burrow on federal fraud charges and perjury is not expected to have any major adverse effects on the National D-Day Memorial Foundation's ability to raise funds, the foundation's president said.

    Some longtime supporters and Burrow defense lawyer John Lichtenstein have said the 12 new charges of fraud and perjury placed against Burrow will only further damage the nonprofit D-Day Foundation's ability to raise funds.

    But D-Day Foundation president William McIntosh said the foundation has shown it can successfully operate the memorial, which is in Bedford. The foundation has proved it by paying down its construction debt and continuing to find ways to honor D-Day veterans.

    "The people who in the last 2 1/2 years who have supported the memorial ... are satisfied that the memorial is still doing that," he said. "I have no reason to believe that any of the support that we have is deteriorating."

    Burrow was president of the foundation for five years during the $25 million memorial's planning and construction. He resigned shortly after it opened on June 6, 2001. A few months later, in October, the foundation's board of directors asked authorities to investigate after learning it was $5 million in debt. Then a majority of the board's members resigned, saying a new board should be formed to resolve the foundation's financial problems.

    Construction of an English garden with a statue of Dwight D. Eisenhower was put on hold along with future plans for a multimillion-dollar education center.

    Burrow was later charged with four counts of fraud in connection with the methods he used to obtain bank loans and state taxpayer-funded grants. At his December 2002 federal trial, the jury deadlocked 7-5 in favor of acquittal.

    The foundation sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from November 2002 to June 2003 to work out a repayment plan with its creditors.

    Last week, Burrow was charged with eight new fraud charges, plus two perjury charges for allegedly lying under oath while testifying in his own defense at his trial.

    McIntosh would not comment on the new charges against Burrow. But he said enough time has passed that donors to the memorial can feel confident that the foundation is working hard to pay off its debt.

    Since June of last year, McIntosh said the foundation has raised about a half-million dollars to pay down its debt, which stands at about $3 million. In 2003, about 110,000 people visited the monument.

    "There's nothing sexy about it. We're slogging along. But we are making progress," McIntosh said.

    Amounts of recent gifts have been significant, said McIntosh, ranging from $25,000 to $100,000.

    The foundation also has raised money by selling and displaying 87 plaques that commemorate D-Day veterans. The plaques sell for $5,000 each.

    For a $25,000 donation, the memorial will also install plaques that honor military divisions that participated in the invasion.

    McIntosh said the remainder of the English garden as well as the education center will be built once the construction debt is paid off.

    Until then the memorial will continue to honor D-Day veterans and educate younger generations about the sacrifice made by those veterans, McIntosh said.

    This month, the foundation did away with its parking fee and instituted an admission fee. Adults pay $5; children and students age 6 to 16 pay $3.

    "People who believe in the project are going to support it," he said.

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