Rush & Marta Limbaugh's "Charitable" Sunrise Foundation
In 2003, Rush and his then wife, Marta, registered the Sunrise Foundation Inc. with the Florida secretary of state, online at sunbiz.org.
The Limbaughs contributed $350k and donated $260k, mostly to individuals "in need". The 2003 990 is online at the Foundation Center's 990 Finder.
The Limbaughs donated a whopping $40,691 worth of ceramic heaters and air conditioners to the troops in Iraq. Seeing as the Limbaughs were renovating their multi-million dollar Palm Beach estate at the time, I'm sure they got a really good deal on those heaters and a.c. units.
Gee, who knew Rush Limbaugh so generously supported the troops as early as 2003? And how did he know the Defense Department wasn't supplying our men and women in uniform with even the most basic needs for living in Iraq? Did he pass this information on to his fans?
Hard to tell what he did for them the following year because the foundation's 2004 990 is not available online. Either the Limbaughs failed to file one or the amounts were so small that Guidestar and the Foundation Center didn't pick up the 2004 990.
Julia Barnett of Boynton Beach was the recipient of $23k in funding from the Sunrise Foundation. Seeing as Boynton Beach is not known to be an especially impoverished neighborhood, what could have made Ms. Barnett eligible for more than 50% of the total amount donated to the troops in Iraq? I wonder if she is one of Marta's relatives or if she is one of Rush's dope dealers.
Juan Erazo of West Palm Beach, recipient of $17k from the Sunrise Foundation, actually sounds more like he could be Rush's connection. I don't have access but I'm sure someone else can check Erazo's criminal background.
Noemi Arencicia bagged $11k. I'd put her on the list of potential suppliers along with Jestine and Larry Matthews of Lake Worth who also took home $11k
The list goes on and on.
After looking at the 990s filed by many of these so-called philanthropists, I am certainly not surprised when I find questionable donations or expenses but laundering money through your charitable foundation and taking a tax deduction to finance your drug habit and pay off your dope dealers takes the cake.
Rush Limbaugh has brass balls, I'll say that for him.
Do Rush and Marta live in the dark where noone can see?
June 21, 2006 2:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
LOL - I don't know about living in the dark but for awhile, Rush was living in a fog. From the registration, it appears that Marta Limbaugh is now Marta Maranda of Coral Gables She must have remarried because I don't think Maranda was her maiden name.
Rush resigned as an officer and director in 2005 and replaced by Sarah Poole of Jupiter.
The largest donation, $52k, was made to the Children's Case Management Organization which is a legitimate not-for-profit and its 990s are online.
Operation AC, Inc. is a legitimate charity and the 990s are available online. I have some questions about the organization's finances and disclosure but they have nothing to do with Rush Limbaugh. Frances B. and Matthew J. Mayo have created a nice little business for themselves with Operation AC.
Of course, I don't know for sure that any of donations went to Rush Limbaugh's dope dealers but the way the grants are recorded is somewhat unusual and individual amounts are relatively high. No explanation is provided for the grants such as "education", "medical" or "housing".
Limbaugh's addiction became news in late 2003. The books were in care of Marta and she may have had to pay some of his debts quickly and quietly or a desperate Rush paid by check if he didn't have cash. In either scenario, the Limbaughs should have disclosed what they did to the Palm Beach district attorney which they very well may have done.
I am curious about the 2004 990 and why it is not online. The 2003 990 was filed promptly and in 2004, the same officers and directors were in place. Given the quesions that arise from the 2003 990, my interest is certainly justified.
I've been looking at a lot of 990s lately and the potential for abuse is unlimited. Take a look at my posts on Mitchell Wade's and Brent Wilkes' foundations or Parents In Charge, right winger Ted Forstmann's foundation that employed Araianna Huffington for one year.
The IRS is hamstrung when it comes to investigating not-for-profits as result of chronic underfunding by Congress. That's too bad because a lot of tax revenue is being siphoned off through these entities.
Giggle, giggle - I bet Rush Limbaugh never thought that anyone would be looking into his foundation's 990 from three years ago.
June 22, 2006 12:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Robert Meyer at Renew America has a hunch that Rush Limbaugh is "very generous in his private life but doesn't make his deeds public knowledge". He goes on to ask why no one ever mentions Rush Limbaugh's charity work. Consider it done, Mr. Meyer.
Meyer refers to Limbaugh's "hefty donation" to leukemia and lymphoma research. I'd be happy to mention it, too, if I could find it. The Limbaughs did not donate to leukemia and lymphoma research in 2003.
June 23, 2006 1:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Club G'itmo" gear is no longer available for sale at the online Rush Limbaugh Gift Shop and the link to "Club G'itmo 4 Kids" is out of service! A "Club G'itmo' baseball cap could become a valuable collector's item in a matter of days!
I'm "rushing right" over to the Rush Limbaugh Show and investing $55 of my birthday money in a premium membership to "Rush 24/7". Rush's archives are a treasure trove of right wing rants that can be used to throw back in the faces of conservatives for years to come if the recent Rumsfeld interview is an indication of what kind of material is in Rush's vaults.
I'm rooting for someone with a bit more political pull than me to file a FOIA request with the DoD and find out just how much the DoD pays for an annual subscription to the Rush Limbaugh Show. $10 or $20 or even $30 million?
July 10, 2006 12:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
According to a 7/6/06 Palm Beach Post story by Susan Spencer-Wendel, Dr. Steven Schnur prescribed Viagra for Rush Limbaugh but the prescription was filled in the name of Limbaugh's psychologist, Dr. Steven Strumwasser.
Dr. Schnur's office is in Miami Beach and Dr. Strumwasser's office is in North Miami. Rush sure does travel a distance to get medical advice these days.
If I were looking into Rush Limbaugh's potential abuse of prescription drugs, I'd want to know if Broward County licensed pharmacist, Barry Strumwasser, was related to Dr. Steven and Sindi Strumwasser.
July 10, 2006 7:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
A lot of liberals who obviously don't actually listen to Rush Limbaugh are under the impression that Limbaugh is just an entertainer. Wrong - Limbaugh is an authorized spokesperson for the Bush administration.
Read this transcript of Limbaugh's interview with Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld. The purpose of the interview is to denigrate people opposed to the war and the press. Donald Rumsfeld is having a ball! His snide remarks make it clear that Rumsfeld does not think he represent all Americans, only the right wing ones.
What burns me up is that my taxes support Rush Limbaugh. I'd really like to know how much the Defense Department pays for a subscription to the Rush Limbaugh show.
I'd also like to know if the Defense Department subscribes to "Air America". Randi Rhodes is pretty damned entertaining herself these days and the troops are entitled to hear a difference of opinion.
If Rumsfeld and Cheney go on Rush Limbaugh's show, they should go on Randi Rhodes or Al Franken's show to be fair. But I have a better chance of seeing pigs fly than I do of hearing an update on the war from Rumsfeld on Air America.
BTW, Randi Rhodes served in the Air Force.
July 10, 2006 7:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
To be fair to Rush Limbaugh, I should mention his ever-so-generous Adopt-A-Soldier program in which donors can buy subscriptions to the premiun content on his website at a discount for a soldier.
Rush Limbaugh is a piece of work - he's making money off the troops hand over fist. The DOD pays for his radio show to be broadcast to them and then Limbaugh gets his dopey Dittoheads to spring for a premium subscription to his website for any of the troops that haven't had enough of Limbaugh after three hours a day. All profits go to Rush Limbaugh.
Sounds like a racket to me. Any wonder why Limbaugh supports the war?
As an aside, I have long suspected Rush Limbaugh's ratings are jacked up. Has anyone actually tried listening to him for three hours lately?
July 10, 2006 7:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
False alarm! The Rush Limbaugh Gift Shop is back in business selling "Club G'itmo" gear.
July 10, 2006 8:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Rush Limbaugh and his ex-wife, Marta, seemed to have parted on amicable terms sometime around mid-2004.
Marta Limbaugh, nee Fitzgerald, is now Marta Maranda so presumably she remarried. I don't know the other financial terms of her divorce from Rush Limbaugh but she did set up a trust in her name.
Rush Limbaugh's trust, the RH Trust, administered by NY attorney, Howard Sontag, transferred Palm Beach property valued at $9 million to Marta Limbaugh's trust, also administered by Sontag.
Marta Maranda sold the Palm Beach property for $12 million recently. She also bought a Coral Gables condo for $650k which she uses for her business address. The condo is held in the name of her trust.
Marta Maranda launched four businesses between 11/04 and 2/05, all seemingly having to with media. I am very curious as to the nature of those businesses and who, if anyone, is in business with her.
The corporations and the registration dates are as follows:
Alchemedia, LLC - 11/29/04
Source TV, LLC - 1/4/05
Nationnetwork, LLC - 1/31/05
Omnimusic Television, LLC - 2/11/05
The registered agent for all four corporations is attorney, John McCracken of Jones Foster Service LLC in West Palm Beach. McCracken is the attorney who set up the Sunrise Foundation for Rush and Marta Limbaugh.
Noteworthy is that Marta Maranda is named as "Manager" of all four corporations sharing the same "10 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables" address but she is not listed as an officer or director nor is anyone else.
I might be making much ado about nothing but given the unanswered questions about the Sunrise Foundation, maybe someone should ask a few questions about the nature of Marta Maranda's business ventures.
July 10, 2006 8:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
LLCs DON'T have officers or directors. Wouldn't it be better to understand the issues before making conclusions, express or implied, about them?
Ignorance + Opinion = Democrat Policy
December 15, 2006 1:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Marta Maranda apparently did not remarry but reverted to using a former name after her divorce from Rush Limbaugh, according to this Newsmax story I found on the Freepers website.
July 11, 2006 12:20 PM | Reply | Permalink