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Serrano Distances Himself from Arts Group
Seeks Return of Federal Funding from Group He Supported

By HEATHER HADDON

Congressman Jose Serrano has moved to reclaim federal funds he appropriated for a Bronx nonprofit that did little to realize his dream of building a Puerto Rican heritage museum in the borough. 

The group, House of Artful Expression, became a major headache for Serrano after recent news accounts revealed that the group had little to show for the $1.7 million in government funding. According to Serrano spokesperson Ben Allen, Serrano grew concerned about their lack of progress two years ago, but waited to see if they could get back on track.

"I took a chance on a community start-up organization in the Bronx that seemed promising," said Serrano in a statement last month. "It didn't work out, and I very much regret the mistake."

Allen says that, despite requests from director Noemi Santana, Serrano's office refused to try to appropriate additional funds for the last two years because of their growing concerns. "They were giving us reports, but we wanted something more substantial," Allen said. "They didn't come back with anything."

In a phone interview, Santana defended the group's record and financial accounting. "As I've stated over and over again, we have so much great documentation of what we've been doing and what our plans are," said Santana, a former marketing executive from the Bronx. "It's always been our policy to be very open. All of our tax filings are available for public inspection."

The group's tax returns, however, do beg some questions. There are a number of dollar inconsistencies, and few details are given about the nature of their programming. Over half of the group's funding went to salaries, including $82,515 in 2002 to Santana. 

Artful Expression's board is closely tied to Santana and, some have alleged, to Serrano. Board member Francisco Lugovina, Santana's longtime companion, is a businessman and former Bronx politico who was close to Serrano. The Board also includes Santana's daughter and Lugovina's son-in-law.

Allen dismissed allegations that Serrano steered money to his allies, saying that his 
relationship with Lugovina cooled in the 1980s after Lugovina refused to endorse Serrano in his race for borough president. "This impression that he was some kind of crony of the congressman's doesn't jive with the facts," Allen said. "If you talk to the government entity that had authority over this, the clear message you get is there is no illegality here." 

Beginning in 2001, Artful Expression was awarded federal funds to find a property for the museum, known as Casa Cultural Puertorriqueña. While they set their sites on the former Bronx Courthouse in Melrose, the building's owner said he never received a serious offer from them, according to the Daily News.

The group also received $300,000 to establish a theater program in the basement of a former school on East 146th Street, but that never happened. If it had, it would have greatly benefited Lugovina, who was a partner in the company that owned the building, according to the News.

The only project the group seems to have completed is a short documentary on the lives of a number of first-generation Puerto Ricans. But Santana says that Artful Expression has accomplished a lot in its short lifespan, though she didn't offer details. 

"We've been working on behalf of the community," she said. "We're looking to get the record straight on the great job that is being done by us."

The state attorney general (AG)'s office is aware of the situation, though they would not comment further. Santana confirmed that she's heard from them. "[The attention] spurred the AG's office to make a call, and we are working with their office at this time," she said.

Artful Expression also must conduct an audit of its spending by Sept. 30, 90 days from when their federal funds were terminated. The Department of Commerce's inspector general will review it for inconsistencies.

"It will be up to him to see whether actions are taken," said Michael Newman, a 
spokesperson for the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), the federal agency that made the grant.

The congressman's office met several times with NIST to voice their concerns over the project's progress, according to Allen. "They always said nothing was going wrong," he said.

NIST would appear to be an unlikely funder for an arts project as it typically funds research in areas like biometrics and analytical chemistry. But it is under the aegis of the Commerce Department, which Serrano has sway with as the ranking minority member of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary.

Serrano has put in a measure to reclaim roughly $500,000 of the money given to Artful Expression, according to Allen. The congressman's office is now in discussion with several other groups to continue work on Casa Cultural, though Allen wasn't sure where those negotiations stood. Gladys Rosa, a publicist hired by Artful Expression to help rehabilitate its image, said the group intends to continue moving forward on the museum project as well.

While the incident arose at a bad time for Serrano  --  just a month before his son's primary race for a Senate seat  --  Allen says he thinks the worst is behind the veteran lawmaker. "At this stage of the game, we're not worried anymore," he said. "We always knew that the congressman did nothing wrong. [It's] just an unfortunate waste of money."

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