Charity Theft Sparks Two Deaths

by Gary Snyder

Bethesda-based Cystic Fibrosis Foundation technology specialist was told that computer equipment was missing, that it was suspected that he took it. Leadership suggested that they probably would have to call the police.

The next day the technologist drove to the Potomac home of an executive at the foundation. The executive was not there. But his wife, Carolyn Mattingly, was. Andrew Racca killed her, drove off in his Mercedes-Benz and fatally shot himself, police said.

Mattingly’s husband, C. Richard Mattingly, is the chief operating officer of the nonprofit foundation. He has been involved in cystic fibrosis work for decades, having met a young girl with the disease while working as a college intern for the governor of Kentucky, according to a story on the foundation’s Web site. “I remember the innocence of the little girl that needed help,” he is quoted as saying.

Supervisors at the foundation discovered the possible thefts during a recent audit, according to initial findings of the police investigation. The supervisors confronted Racca on Monday.

The next day, Racca apparently slashed four tires of a car at the Mattinglys’ home before he killed Carolyn Mattingly, police said.

Police received a call about a single car colliding into a tree off Piney Meetinghouse Road at River Road, authorities said. The driver turned out to be Racca. A handgun was found in the car.

At almost the same time, about 2:34 p.m., authorities received a call about a residential fire at the Mattingly home — about two miles away. Firefighters extinguished a small fire in the garage and found Carolyn Mattingly’s body inside. (source)

Nonprofit Imperative gathers its information principally from public documents...some of which are directly quoted. Virtually all cited are in some phase of criminal proceedings; some have not been charged, however. Cites in various media: Featured in print, broadcast, and online media outlets, including: Charity Navigator, Vermont Public Radio, Miami Herald, National Public Radio (NPR), Huffington Post, The Sun News, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Wall Street Journal (Profile, News and Photos), “Betrayal”, (a movie), NBC (on Charity Fraud…TBD), FOX2, ABC Spotlight on the News, WWJ Radio, Marie Claire, Ethics World, Aspen Philanthropy Newsletter, Harvard Business Review, Current Affairs, Charity Navigator, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, St. Petersburg Times, Board Room Insider, USA Today Topics, Accountants News, Newsweek.com, Responsive Philanthropy Magazine, New York Times, Portfolio Magazine, The Virgin Islands Daily News, NANKAI (China) BUSINESS REVIEW, National Religious Broadcasters newsletter, The Charity Governance Blog, American Chronicle, Palm Beach Post, Detroit Free Press, Oakland Press, Nonprofit World, Socially Responsible Business Forum, PNNOnline, Ohio Nonprofit Resources, Nonprofit Good Practice Guide, Nonprofit Startup Guide, Nonprofit Blog, National Coalition of Homeless Newsletter, Finance and Administration Roundtable Newsletter, MichiganNonprofit.com, CORP! Magazine, Crain’s Michigan Nonprofit, ncrp.org, PhilanTopic, Nashville Free Press, Nonprofit Law Blog, Seniors World Chronicle, Carnegie Reporter, Assoc. of Certified Fraud Examiners Examiner, msnbc.com, Worchester (MA) Telegram and Gazette, Carnegie Corporation of America, EO Tax Journal, Wikipedia: Non-profit Organizations; Parent: Wise Austin, Accountants News, Veterans Today, Answers.com, Far-roundtable, #Nonprofit Report, nonprofithelpnews, nonprofit news; National Enquirer, Northwest Herald, The HelpWise Daily, The #Nonprofit Report, Wikipedia (Nonprofit Organization), Answers.com, Nonprofits: On the Brink (2006) Silence: The Impending Threat to the Charitable Sector (2011)