PASADENA, Calif. (Pasadena Independent) — William M. Paparian, former mayor of Pasadena, has announced his resignation as chairman of the board of directors of the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial amid allegations that the board treasurer provided fraudulent background information about himself, that the treasurer failed to follow California law regarding legal filings and that other board members did nothing to address it.
“California law requires that the board of directors carry out their responsibilities in good faith and with such care, including reasonable inquiry, as would be used by an ordinarily prudent person,” said Paparian. “It is my belief that the board has failed in that fiduciary obligation owed to the community.”
The memorial, approved by the Pasadena City Council in September 2013, has been scheduled to be completed and dedicated at the north side of Memorial Park in April 2015 to mark the 100th anniversary of the killing of 1.5 million Armenians over a three-year period beginning in 1915.
On August 6, the webmaster and social media coordinator for the memorial reported to the board that the bio of the treasurer had been removed from the website (www.pasagmc.org) due to the discovery that his claims of being a certified treasury professional and a former paid employee of the cities of West Hollywood, Sierra Madre and Pasadena were false.
Three days later, Paparian informed the board that the report from the webmaster was corroborated by a background investigation by another municipality, which found that the treasurer had made material misrepresentations about his professional and educational background in his application for appointment to an advisory committee and that he had been removed as treasurer of an Armenian community organization in Pasadena for the same reasons.
