ON APRIL 1 OF THIS YEAR, THE Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, OR "ACORN" AS IT IS GENERALLY KNOWN, FORMALLY DISBANDED.
THE ORGANIZATION, FOUNDED IN 1970 BY WADE RATHKE AND GARY DELGADO, HAD A MEMBERSHIP OF 400,000 MEMBERS AND 1,200 CHAPTERS IN OVER 100 U.S. CITIES WHEN IT WAS DEFUNDED BY CONGRESS IN OCTOBER 2009 AFTER A SERIES OF FRAUD ACCUSATIONS AND A HIGHLY PUBLICIZED VIDEO PURPORTING TO SHOW EMPLOYEES HELPING A PROSTITUTE AND HER PIMP CONDUCT ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES.
THE CLAIMS MADE IN THE VIDEO HAVE SINCE BEEN FOUND TO BE LARGELY FABRICATED.
THIS PAST THURSDAY, PUBLIC INTEREST LAWYER AND JOURNALIST JOHN ATLAS CAME TO BLUESTOCKINGS BOOK STORE IN MANHATTAN TO SPEAK ABOUT HIS RECENT BOOK: "SEEDS OF CHANGE, THE STORY OF ACORN". WBAI FRED NGUYEN WAS THERE AND HE FILES THIS REPORT: