What the ESL Centre told the IRS

Thanks to a reader, I have a copy of the 2005 U.S. tax return of the Monroe Community Sports Centre Corporation, the board that nominally governs the ESL Centre. You can find the tax returns of the MCSCC (or just about another other not-for-profit entity) at www.guidestar.org.

The return I have covers the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2004 and ending Sept. 30, 2005. That's the latest MCSCC return on guidestar.org, and my source, as well as County Legislator Paul Haney, say the returns for 2006 and 2007 have yet to be filed at all.

Anyway, the corporation's 2005 return includes several noteworthy items:

• The ESL Centre ran a deficit of more than $1.5 million for that year, pulling in about $1.7 million in revenue and shelling out roughly $3.2 million in expenses. At the end of the year, the centre's net assets/fund balances stood at -$7,280,210.

• The return cites $317,285 in "management fees." I'm guessing at least part of that went to Advanced Arenas, the company hired to manage the facility, as a percentage of total revenue.

• General manager Ray Maluta earned $86,500 during the year. The corporation spent an additional $277,807 on other salaries and wages.

• All the members of the corporation's board — president Jack Driscoll (the County Legislature's majority, i.e. Republican, appointee), secretary Lynda Garner Goldstein (the Lej's minority, i.e. Democratic, appointee), Roger Rassman (a VP at ESL Federal Credit Union, which bought the facility's naming rights), Gordie Robertson (an Amerks great) and Chet Orzelak (not sure who he is) — received no compensation.

• The centre was worth about $11.6 million when it first opened. By 2005, depreciation had dropped its worth to roughly $9.4 million. The corporation also claimed as assets about $1.4 million in deferred financing costs, i.e. they were told by the bondholders that they didn't have to pay for the bonds that year.

• The return lists the three sets of bonds the corporation took out through COMIDA (County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency): one for $1,105,000, with a maturity date (i.e. when the loan was scheduled to be completely repaid) of March 2008; one for $10,270,000, with a maturity date of March 2028; and one for $910,000, with a maturity date of March 2005. As of 2005, the centre had pay off none, zero, zilch of any of the three loans. In addition, the bondholders didn't charge the centre any interest on any of them, either.

• The centre also took out a $1.9 million loan, maturity date September 2048, from Empire Ice LLC, the company formed by Advanced Arenas head honcho Leon Lekai and local construction magnate David Christa to eventually buy up most of the bonds.

• The facility turned over to MCC a lease payment of $31,738. (MCC owns the land on which the centre sits and leases it to the centre.)

• The corporation's books are in the care of Lekai (address in Woodbridge, Ill.), who now owns part of both the centre itself as well as Advanced Arenas. (In case you wanna give Lekai a ring and introduce yourself, his listed number is 630-521-1111.) The return was signed by Maluta and prepared by Heveron & Heveron, CPAs, PC, of Rochester.

In all, the return doesn't paint a pretty picture. However, keep in mind that all this stuff is from more than two years ago. Driscoll says the centre is now making a slight profit and has greatly reduced or restructured its debts. It would be nice to see the corporation's most recent tax return, if it were ever filed ...