Pa. strikes deal with industrial museum
Bethlehem’s long-delayed industrial museum could open within two years under an agreement with Pennsylvania prosecutors who were investigating the nonprofit’s operations, officials announced Thursday.
The National Museum of Industrial History failed to get off the ground despite raising more than $17 million over 17 years. But the state probe found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing or misappropriation of funds and concluded the museum is financially viable, Attorney General Kathleen Kane said.
The museum, envisioned as a showcase of American industrial might, is restoring a century-old building at the former Bethlehem Steel plant, which was once America’s largest abandoned industrial site but now hosts the Sands casino and a thriving arts complex called SteelStacks.
A grand jury report released a year ago concluded the museum suffered from serious mismanagement and wasted public and private funds. The panel referred the matter to the attorney general’s office.
Under an agreement with prosecutors, the museum will subject itself to enhanced state oversight of its finances, and pledged it will either open to the public within two years, or seek court approval to partner with an outside organization or transfer its assets to a successor group. The deal has received court approval.
The museum restarted construction last month, and said it anticipates opening by the middle of 2016.
“With the attorney general’s investigation behind us, we are delighted that we can move forward confidently with our plans and open a museum that the general public and our donors will be proud of for years to come,” Charles Marcon, the museum’s chairman and interim president, said in a statement Thursday.
Longtime President and CEO Stephen Donches resigned in the wake of the grand jury report, but remained at the museum as an employee at half of his former $180,000 annual salary. Donches and the board had defended his job performance.
Court documents released Thursday noted that Donches went unpaid in his first four years at the museum and was “primarily responsible” for securing donations to keep the museum afloat in the midst of negative publicity.
Under its agreement with the state, however, the museum has agreed to stop paying Donches and hire a new CEO with experience in museum management.