FBI Probing Alabama Boy Scout Organization

FBI probing Alabama Boy Scout organization (CNN-AP)

Boy Scout volunteer Tom Willis knew something was wrong when he saw that 20 youngsters on the list for a scouting program all had the same last name: Doe. Willis said it appeared someone was listing fake members to boost enrollment, perhaps to bring in more funding from agencies like the United Way or to make paid Boy Scout recruiters look better. “It was just so blatant. They didn’t even try to make up names,” said Willis, a dentist from Decatur and a former Eagle Scout who serves on the board of the Greater Alabama Boy Scout Council, which runs scouting programs in northeastern Alabama.

Now the FBI is investigating whether the council padded its membership rolls. It is just the latest investigation around the country into whether the Boy Scouts have inflated their numbers.

Truly bizarre. Apparently, this is a widespread problem, with probes ongoing in Texas and Georgia as well.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Hal says:

    Ah, those red state values.

  2. Kent says:

    That it happens is perfectly plausible.

    That it is widespread is an MSM meme in the process of being born. Credible evidence just isn’t being presented by the writer of the article.

    Boy Scouts are a big liberal target, so it is not at all implausible that they would be a big MSM target.

  3. McGehee says:

    No merit badges for them.

  4. Kappiy says:

    Why would United Way be giving money to a youth para-military organization?