PASTOR W. FRANKLYN RICHARDSON: THE ULTIMATE POVERTY PIMP

Pastor W. Franklyn Richardson

In times of turmoil and difficult economic times people often turn to their elected officials and clergy for leadership and hope to get them through the storm.  People seeking the help of these persons often take the advice given to them as gospel and truth.  

Mount Vernon Exposed™® begins its mini-series into the corrupt black pastors in the City of Mount Vernon.  This mini-series will explain how the leaders of the black churches are directly responsible for the decline in the quality of life in Mount Vernon, the failure of the Mount Vernon school system, and the increase in crime.  

There are approximately 435 churches in Mount Vernon. With this amount of churches in the City of Mount Vernon, one would think that the City of Mount Vernon should be holier than thou.  However, this is not the case.  The City of Mount Vernon is a municipal mess of corruption.  The preachers of the largest religious institutions in Mount Vernon are nothing more than Sunday plate shakers and poverty pimps. 

In Mount Vernon it is a given African Americans in Mount Vernon make up the majority of the population.  This population serves as prey for the sharks and vultures also known as the preachers and poverty pimps.  One such poverty pimp and Sunday plate shaker is Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, Pastor of Grace Baptist Church.  Pastor Richardson has become a permanent fixture in the City of Mount Vernon and has repeatedly injected himself into Mount Vernon politics. 

On a typical Sunday during service it customary for the worshippers to pay offerings or tithes to the religious establishments.  Tithes are normally calculated at 10% of one’s annual salary.  There have been allegations that worshippers of Pastor Richardson’s church had to show their tax returns to prove that they were in fact contributing 10% of their salary.   

Upon arriving at Grace Baptist Church on a Sunday Morning visitors are greeted by security personnel that mirror the image of Secret Service Agents.  Some of these security personnel are armed.  After all, Pastor Richardson must protect the loot that is funneled through his church each and every Sunday.  

You may ask yourself, “why is it important that I show my tax returns to the church”?  You may also ask yourself “how does my pastor get paid or how is my pastor’s salary calculated?  Under normal circumstances the salary of a pastor is 10-15% of the annual intake of the religious institution.  For example if the religious establishment takes in $3 Million per year the pastor’s salary would be between $300,000 - $450-000 per year.  $3 Million per year is a very conservative number for a religious establishment such as Grace Baptist church. 

It has been alleged that Pastor Richardson controls over twenty entities directly and indirectly affiliated with Grace Baptist Church.  Some people question how did Pastor Richardson rise to power?  Pastor Richardson rose to power on the backs of poor blacks in the City of Mount Vernon.  Pastor Richardson is the ultimate poverty pimp. 

The City of Mount Vernon is not good enough for Pastor Richardson to live, but it is good enough for him to come to every Sunday to extract money from the city residents.   Pastor Richardson lives in a grand mansion in Scarsdale, New York and can often be seen get chauffeured around town in the latest model Mercedes-Benz.  Pastor Richardson usually gets the top of the line model and has the numbers of that model taken off.  One can guess that his reasoning for doing this is so that his followers do not become too envious of his material objects.  One can also say that Pastor Richardson idols these material possessions and is guilty himself of violating the gospel that he preaches every Sunday.  The first commandment states “You shall have no other Gods before me.”  It is evident that money makes Pastor Richardson’s world go round.  

Pastor Richardson is alleged to be the biggest shakedown artist in town and is reported to be involved in such crimes as racketeering, extortion, bribery, and tax evasion.  Pastor Richardson is alleged to receive cash filled envelopes from people with a not so perfect lifestyle on a regular basis. 

Pastor Richardson is the former President of the United Black Clergy of Westchester.  As President of the United Black Clergy of Westchester, Pastor Richardson surely enriched himself.   Pastor Richardson has a history of selling out blacks in Mount Vernon for his own personal gain.  Grace Baptist Church has developed tens of millions of dollars of affordable housing projects in Mount Vernon over the last decade.  In exchange for promising then gubnortorial candidate George Pataki the black, Pastor Richardson received millions of dollars from New York State to construct low income housing across the City of Mount Vernon.  This would be the beginning of Pastor Richardson’s racketeering operation.  

Pastor Richardson is aligned with many shady and corrupt characters.  When the dots are connected, Pastor Richardson may very well be behind bars.  It is surprising that he is still a free man.   In addition to the alleged multiple counts of racketeering, Pastor Richardson has injected himself in the world of Mount Vernon politics.  Mount Vernon Exposed™® will elaborate more on this in our next issue. 

Mount Vernon Exposed™® has learned that an organization has filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service seeking to have his tax exempt status revoked.  Pastor Richardson has and is still using his church as a political playground to promote the platforms of candidates that serve his interest.  Pastor Richardson is a cancer spreading throughout the community that will prove deadly if it is not stopped and eradicated.  

To be continued………..