I was 17 in 1996, when I responded to an ad in the Parkersburg News and Sentinel about a telemarketing job. The next day I was interviewed, hired and that is when the indoctrination began. I was instructed to lower my voice at the end of sentences to sound authoritative. We were taught to always assume the sale, or in this case, the donation. Police organizations like the Fraternal Order of Police, State Troopers Associations, International Union of Police Association and hundreds of other groups hired Civic Development Group to raise money on their behalf. They didn't seem to mind the fact that CDG kept 85-90% of the total money raised on their behalf. Why TF not, you ask? Well, basically because 15% of what CDG could raise was more than 100% of what they could raise without CDG. CDG had implemented EIS call processing systems to dial thousands of numbers per minute and route answered calls to fundraising telemarketers employed by CDG like the ones seen on the HBO documentary "Telemarketers". The New Jersey call center featured in the HBO Documentary was one of sixty CDG call centers, most of them located in impoverished regions of Appalachia. CDG knew there would be an endless supply of telemarketers in areas throughout West Virginia because CDG paid better than McDonalds and it was safer than the coal mines. You did not have to be physically fit, pass a drug test, or go through any sort of criminal background check. The end result was an interesting mixture of people, some good, some bad, all poor to working class...except for the higher-tier managers and owners David Keezer and Scott Pasch.
I blew the whistle on CDG by creating an exposé website as a project for a Business Communication class at West Virginia University-Parkersburg in 2001. I continued blowing the whistle off and on for 9 more years, until the final cases were concluded, CDG was dissolved, and the owners were permanently banned from telemarketing. In 2006 or 2007, I was rehired by CDG and I worked there briefly investigating a loophole that CDG used to claim 100% of the money raised went directly to the organizations. That "loophole" was actually not a legal loophole and was in fact illegal and fraudulent. After discovering this Professional Management Consultant agreement, I quit, published a new exposé website, and was interviewed by Paul Van Osdol of Pittsburgh Channel 4 News for my latest whistleblowing and gonzo investigation of CDG. Shortly thereafter, I was contacted by the Federal Trade Commission, and I explained the PMC agreement to them as I understood it. I also put the FTC in contact with former managers of CDG who were willing to help in the FTC's investigation. FTC attorneys Mark Josephs and Joel Brewer may remember my contribution to this case. In 2008, I was contacted by California Deputy Attorney General Tania M. Ibanez in regard to the California Organization of Police and Sheriff's fundraising call center ran by CDG and located in Morgantown, WV. I gladly assisted her investigation.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Stay tuned for updates.