There’s no “altruistic” filter to identify all the people who specialize in rip-offs.

The spotlight of fraud, deceit and “white collar” crime has recently been focused on dishonest corporate figures such as Enron’s Kenneth Lay and our own David Wittig of the struggling Westar utility organization.

But there are big crooks in such categories as charitable activities, as well. For many, the first major revelations occurred in 1992 when William Aramony, a slick and charming operator, was fired for stealing, big-time, from the United Way of America. The charismatic UW president was convicted in 1995 on 25 counts that included conspiracy to defraud and filing false tax returns. He spent seven years in federal confinement for his sins and many felt he got off far too easily.

Again, the Enrons, Westars, WorldComs and such have been getting a lot of attention in recent months. There have been the enormous rakeoffs by some of their executives. Such behavior has led to financial disaster for so many innocent stockholders, employees and retirement account-holders.

J.R. Labbe of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram recently discussed the latest annual convention of the Council on Foundations in Dallas. That is the agency for grant-making, allegedly nonprofit foundations and the corporations which give them billions of dollars. They involve projects ranging from disaster relief and medical research to bringing arts education to underprivileged and at-risk children. Labbe cites a COF report that says U.S. foundations gave out nearly $28 billion in the year 2000.

Most of us admire agencies that help the needy and encourage the underprivileged. But just as foxes can raid hen houses in private business and industry, so can they infest the environs of charitable agencies where one might not expect such crooks. Clearly, not everyone in this mix is imbued with altruistic nobility.

Asks Labbe: “How good does the CEO of a private foundation have to be to earn $717,000 in one year’s compensation? The board of the James Irvine Foundation in California thought: as good as Dennis Collins. Congress and the Internal Revenue Service might not agree.”

Adds Labbe: “Collins’ name — and the copyrighted San Jose Mercury News stories of April 26-27 about his pay and extravagant parting gifts when he departed Irvine in January — were all the buzz recently among participants at the annual COF convention in Dallas.”

Sounds like something a Lay or Wittig might orchestrate on their own behalf, right? Except, this involved a charitable operation where executives are expected to be far more ethical and moral. Even honest.

Concludes Labbe about the crooks such as UW’s Aramony who have helped poison the pond: “The days of America’s innocence are long over. Once upon a time, the men and women who operated foundations and charitable organizations were viewed as altruistic (if not always humble) philanthropists. But today, even doers of good deeds are examined with jaded eyes.”

Sad, but true and as it should be. It behooves those in charge of any agency that handles money, private or public, to check the books regularly and carefully, and take many discerning looks into the cash drawer.

Altruistic obviously doesn’t mean above reproach.