Aug 27, 2004  |  By: JOE CREA  | COMMENTS     

Facing a deficit of a half-million dollars, officials with the National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Organization abruptly laid off all 14 of its employees last Friday, according to a former employee who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The source said none of the 14 employees had been paid in two weeks and that they lost their health benefits two months ago. A LLEGO board member declined to comment.

Employees received a letter from LLEGO officials dated Aug. 25 on Friday of last week informing them that they were being fired, the source said. The former employee also said that employees were not paid for accrued vacation time.

The source said that Gloria Nieto, LLEGO's interim president, discovered the $500,000 deficit after conducting an audit of LLEGO’s finances shortly after taking over last month from former LLEGO president Martin Ornelas-Quintero, who left in July to spend more time with a recently adopted child. The audit was reportedly conducted in conjunction with the Gill Foundation, a backer of the now defunct group.

LLEGO has not issued a formal announcement regarding its apparent closure. Nieto said she could not comment.

LLEGO’s revenue in 2002 was $2.8 million and Ornelas-Quintero’s salary, at the time, was $68,960.

Ornelas-Quintero headed the organization since 1996, when it had fewer than a dozen employees and a budget of $500,000.

LLEGO received financial support from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Gill Foundation, the Human Rights Campaign, American Airlines, and other corporate and private sponsors, according to its Web site.