This is certainly a tough day for Philadelphia Traffic Court Judge Bob Mulgrew, who was arrested Thursday after being accused in a federal indictment of using state grant money for personal use and passing it out to friends and family when it was supposed to be used for the nonprofit Friends of Dickinson Square.
But this has been no picnic for The Friends of Dickinson Square Park, a completely different and unrelated nonprofit that had nothing to do with the federal investigation and considers itself the real entity in charge of upkeep for the green space at Fourth and Tasker streets.
That nonprofit's board of directors posted a notice on its website today to clear up the confusion:
The Friends of Dickinson Square Park Inc. is a separate and distinct 501c3 volunteer organization registered with the IRS and relevant government entities. The Friends of Dickinson Square Park Inc. has no paid staff and consists solely of volunteer Board members. The FDSP is funded by private donations and small grants, the majority of which are maintained by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and Philadelphia Green.