The St. Petersburg Times carries a fascinating article today on a fake charity called the U.S. Navy Veterans Association and shows how easy it was for its founder, who called himself "Lt. Cmdr. Bobby Thompson," to create the non-profit out of thin air, set up state offices, pull down millions of dollars, and cozy up to national political figures.

The article, by staff writers Jeff Testerman and John Martin, who have doggedly covered the unfolding scam, found that the charity was operating out of a rundown, roach-infested duplex in Ybor City, Fla.

Click here to read the full story.

Thompson, a fugitive now under investigation by the IRS and under indictment in Ohio, traveled in limos and attended black-tie fundraiser as a retired Naval reserve commander and winner of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

The Times says his application to the IRS in 2002 for nonprofit, tax-exempt charity status was approved in 33 days. During the next eight years, the Times reports, Thompson's charity filed tax returns reporting income of more than $100 million.

The charity eventually set up state chapters across the country and even created a political PAC, called Navy Veterans for Good Government, that also operated out of his rented duplex.

"The scam, so brazen, went unchecked because the government pays little attention to whether charities are legitimate," Testerman and Martin write.

But the hoax finally unraveled this year, as the newspaper stepped up inquiries and state and federal officials began to take an interest.

In August, Ohio authorities issued an arrest warrant that accused 'Bobby Thompson' of stealing the identity of a man in Washington state, the paper writes. "Authorities still don't know who 'Bobby Thompson'' is or where he might be," the Times reports.

A Cuyahoga County grand jury in Ohio has since indicted him for allegedly engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, theft and money laundering.

The organization's website went dark in November, the paper writes, long after 'Thompson" had abandoned his Ybor City duplex.

"Meantime," the newspaper writes. "The IRS still lists the Navy Veterans as a legitimate charity."

(Posted by Doug Stanglin)