Forged letters scandal gets personal

Thanks to The Daily Progress for the editorial “In our culture, faked seems as good as fact” (Aug. 18) and for continual coverage of the forged letter scandal (“Forged letters scandal widens,” Aug. 5; “New letter found in lobbying scandal,” Aug. 19).

Stealing the identity of AAUW, an organization that for 128 years has been advocating to improve the lives of women and their families, is a crime. Unfortunately, I found out last week that not only did this impact the organization for which I work, but it truly disgusted me on a personal level.

I knew that Bonner & Associates had forged the name of the AAUW Charlottesville branch, which disbanded years ago, but I was stunned to discover that the address it had falsified was that of Westminster Canterbury, the continuing care retirement community on Pantops. That was where my mother lived for more than a decade after she retired from the University of Virginia faculty — and where I spent the weeks with her before she died this April.

It’s outrageous that these letters were forged in the first place, but I find it absolutely despicable that they falsified the address of such a reputable continuing care retirement community — home to so many Charlottesville elderly — to further a fraudulent scheme to influence congressional votes.

Misrepresenting people and organizations to Congress is illegal; and the more that is uncovered in this scandal, the more I believe this incident was as premeditated and calculated as it was cynical.

If they thought they could get away with it because no one would know the difference, they were wrong.

I am grateful to The Daily Progress for its investigative reporting, and I fully support Rep. Edward Markey’s investigation into this matter. I urge the supporters of AAUW — and other affected organizations — to take action by contacting their congressional representatives, urging them to support Rep. Markey’s continuing inquiry as well. We need to stand up, voice our indignation and ensure this kind of deception is not allowed to shape public policy in the future.

Jill R. Birdwhistell
Arlington

Jill R. Birdwhistell, Ph.D., is chief of strategic advancement for the American Association of University Women.