Peter,
That's a pretty good assessment of what went on from everything I've seen so far.
However, I disagree about the severity of the financial issues! I don't know what the AMSAT-NA budget is, in reality, 4 or 5 dollars may not seem like a big amount but when it is misappropriated it is still a crime and someone needs to be made aware of the situation. We aren't talking 4 or 5 dollars here we're talking about 4 or 5 THOUSAND Dollars(or more) and that IS NOT TRIVIAL - it is a major FELONY and needs to be addressed for anyone to have confidence in AMSAT-NA's operations going forward.
My personal assessment of this at this point in time is along the lines of the "good ole boy network" in charge doesn't like being caught making questionable expenditures to the point that one of them felt it necessary to RESIGN when all this came up. That suggests that something fishy is going on and this all needs to be investigated by a 3rd party and if necessary criminal charges need to be pursued against the responsible parties.
On a slightly different related note - if the AMSAT-NA board is only meeting once a year, how the hell is anything getting done???
If the incumbent board members are not willing to address these SERIOUS issues - they should step down and let someone that will, take over!!
Trust me, it's NOT fun to remove a board member that is embezzling funds, BUT IT HAS TO BE DONE REGARDLESS!!!
7 3 Jeff Moore -- KE7ACY