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.
