by In the last couple of days I’ve talked to a number of people about the replacement (firing?) of Joe DeBergalis with Andrew Arulanandam as Executive Director of General Operations at the NRA. The people have included both current and former directors, former NRA staff, and outside observers. The one theme that constantly was brought up is the bylaw provision (Article V, Sec. 2 (f)) that the Executive Director of General Operations serves as the interim Executive VP/CEO if the Office of Executive VP is vacant. He or she would then serve until the next meeting of the Board of Directors.
One theory was that Wayne LaPierre wanted an absolute loyalist heading General Operations in order to approve his legal bills in case the New York court removed him as Executive VP and CEO. This is not to say DeBergalis was not a loyalist to Wayne. One person went so far as to say “his head was up Wayne’s ass”.
Another theory that plays off the one above is the Bill Brewer orchestrated the change and wanted “his guy” in that position. One person who had butted heads with Brewer said Arulanandam was an “acolyte” of Brewer. DeBergalis was not considered, I am told, as amenable to the whims of Brewer. Thus, if Wayne is removed, Brewer has someone in position to keep the money flowing to him until it all runs out.
As to the Board of Directors having any advanced knowledge of this move by Wayne, I was told there was none. Jim Shepherd of the Outdoor Wires confirms that in his post today.
Speaking with a current NRA board members, it seems there was no conversation -at least with them- regarding the abrupt decision. DeBergalis, a retired former New York police official, is a former Board member and longtime NRA supporter.
We’ve reached out to him -and others- and have gotten no response as of this writing. If/when we get any insight, we’ll share it with you.
Wayne was within his powers to replace DeBergalis. Article V, Sec. 2 (c) of the Bylaws explicitly gives him that power without any recourse by the Board unlike the Secretary or Treasurer who can only be suspended with pay.
From all I’ve read over the years and the anecdotes I’ve heard, Wayne is a weak man who has a hard time making a decision. He has relied over the years on others to lead him. This has included his one-time BFF Tony Makris, his wife Susan, his late mentor Angus McQueen, and now Bill Brewer. If I had to bet house money, I would say that Bill Brewer convinced Wayne that it was in Wayne’s best interest to replace DeBergalis with Arulanandam. That it was also in Brewer’s interest should go without saying.
The trial in New York begins a month from today and the Board meets in Dallas on January 5th. All I can say is that January will be an interesting month.
