. >> scott, wounded warrior project, chief executive officer, steven nardizzi, and giordano were fired by the board of directors after a meeting this afternoon here in new york. >> with a gift of $19 a month you can join wounded warrior project. >> reporter: by appealing to america's generosity, wounded warriors project raised more than $1 billion in donations since 2003. $300 million in 2014 alone. but while the money was pouring in, it was also flowing out. on lavish employee conferences. in 2014, $26 million. >> let's get a mexican mariachi band in there, the logo, put them on every staff members desk, get it catered, have a big old party. eric millette was a staff sergeant when he took a job with speaker. after two years he quit. >> i'll be damned if you will take hard working american's money, and drink it and waste it instead of helping brave men and >> reporter: more than 40 former employees told cbs news that spending by the charity was out of control. these two former employees were so fearful of retaliation, they asked us not to show their faces. >> it was extremely extravaga

told us excessive spending begl+an when steven nardizzi took over as ceo in 2009. they point to the 2014 annual meeting at luxury resort in colorado springs as typical of o his style. >> he rappelled down the side of a building. >> reporter: to make a grand entrance.o >> yes, come in on a segway. come in on a horse. >> reporter: nardizzi defended the charity's spending. >> if your only fixation is spending the most on proams, that is feeling good, but not necessarily doing good. you can run a lot of programs, spend a lot of money and have them be ineffective. >> eporter: many donors were outraged over allegations that a little over half of donations went to help wounded vets. fred and diane kane raised $325,000 with golf tournaments. >> i feel like i'm representing all of these people that have donated over the years. all of these seniors over 65 that, that have sent them $19 a month. all the people on fixed incomes. if noby is going to talk about this right now, and it has the >> eporter: are you done with wounded warrior project? >> yes, except for my motion of t

ee reporter: former employees told us the excessive spending began when steven nardizzi took over as c.e.o. in 2009. they point to the 2014 annual meeting at a luxury resort in colorado springs as typical of his style. >> he rappelled down the side of a building. >> reporter: you mean to make a grand entrance? >> yes, and he's come in on a segway. he's come in on a horse. >> reporter: nardizzi has defended the charity's spending. >> if your only fixation is spending the most on programs, that's feeling good but not necessarily doing good. you could run a lot of program activities. you could spend a lot of money and have them be wholly ineffective. ma reporter: but many major donors were outraged over allegations that only a little over half of donations went to help wounded vets. fred and dianne kane raised f25,000 with golf tournaments. >> i feel like i'm representing all these people that have donated over the years, all these seniors over 65 that-- ntat have sent them $19 a month, all these people on fixed incomes. if nobody's going to talk about beis right now, and it has to be m

spent some donor do cbss don't miss the boston month since cbs news broke the story of lavish steven nardizzi to respond. we sat down with two major donors who are demanding accountability. >> reporter: with two sons for wounded was more than a cause for fred and diane caikane, it was a since 2009 the dollars that should have been going to the service men and women that were injured and it's a real repter:out ra outro cancelled this year's golf tournament and thought steven nardizzi should be firped. >> i said where is this guy? not be invo has learned kane is one ordered a review by independent auditors and that it would be s projects have done a lot of good things for our veterans. i've done stories but this is a time when they shouldtaheourishment for beautiful healthier looking skin. aveeno® naturally beautiful results® i'm my bargain detergent, ithift couldn't ket aetter clean. voted 2016 product of the year. if it's got to be clean, it's got to be tide. hwhy use traditional aerosols. that are? is a multi-layered fragrance, spine to idl tw mark t

steven nardizzi an algae owner dan know, the ceo and chief operating officer were fired during a board meeting on thursday. the wounded warrior project has taken in more than a billion dollars worth of donations since 2003 but more than 40 former employees told cbs news the charity's spending was out of control, including millions of dollars on lavish conferences. the wounded warrior project released a statement calling some media reports on its conference spending inaccurate, but the charity says such events will be curtailed in the future. >>> coming up on the "morning news." prisoners on the run. an intense search is under way for escaped convicts in new mexico. >>> later, take off trouble? a passenger opens the wrong door and claiming he just wanted a bit of fresh air. this is the "cbs morning news." cbs morning news is sponsored by seabond denture adhesive. no pasty ooze! x with stronger, clean sea-bond. see me. see me. don't stare at me. see me. see me. see me to know that psoriasis is just something that i have. i'm not contagious. see me to know that... ...i won't stop until i

. >> reporter: the charity's ceo steven nardizzi is yet to respond. we sat down with two major donors who are demanding accountability. >> reporter: with two sons serving in iraq, raising money for wounded warrior project was more than a cause for fred and diane cainekane, it was a calling. since 2009 the two's charity tee off for a cause raised money for the wounded warrior project through golf tournaments in carolina. they honored fred kane with an award for being a vip donor. that is a big deal. >> yes. >> reporter: you were proud of that? >> i was very proud of it. >> reporter: but learning that help wounded vets came as a blow. >> then hearing there was this waste of money in donor dollars that should have been going to the service men and women that were injured and it was spent on their having a good time. it's a real disappointment. >> reporter:out rage outragejgedoutraged, kane cancelled this year's golf tournament and thought steven nardizzi should be firpeded. >> i said where is this guy? they told us he really needs to not be involved. you

steven nardizzi about how he was running the charity. melia told us he's angry about allegations of lavish spending that he fears come at the expense of veterans' programs. those were the issues that led to the firing of the charity's but now, the charity's original founders want more. they're calling for the resignation of board chairman anthony odierno as the only way to restore public trust in wounded warriors. >> the same board that oversaw these problems, who approved the budget, is the same board that's trying to fix the problem. tony is a good and honorable servant of our country, but tony was, frankly, asleep at the wheel. >> reporter: odierno was appointed interim c.e.o., but cbs news has learned odierno, who works for a bank in new york, is not running the daily operations of the charity in jacksonville. odierno canceled a planned meeting with melia, after melia threatened to make public phone calls he recorded with board members that he says show a board in disreal estate. in a statement today, the board said the melias are at

ceo steven nardizzi and coo al giordano fired. >> it is a culture that was created by these guys and i think that the culture is systemic. >> reporter: wounded warriors raised $314 million in 2014 alone. questions remain of how that was spent. >> the money should go to the veter veterans. the gauge is 90%. anything less than that is wrong. >> reporter: a former employee describing steven nardizzi entrances at a company meeting. >> he repelled down the side of the building. >> makes a grand entrance. >> he is coming in on a he is coming in on a horse. >> reporter: up to half of the donations are going to costs of running the charity and not to veterans. an internal audit found more than 80% of donations went to programming. if that is the case, the charity would meet guidelines from watch dog groups. the ripple effect will impact veterans firstly. >> and the contributes will go down. >> if donations do go down, it could impact more than 20 million veterans. we did reach out to the fired executives. they declined to comment. >>> thank you. former first lady nancy reagan is finally reun

n steven nardizzi should be fired. >> i said, "you know, where is he? you lead from the front, good or bad." i said, "you don't hide." i don't understand how an organization that has many veterans who value honor and service and the chain of command can be led by a guy like that. >> reporter: cbs news has learned kane is one of several major donors who are ending their support, and he wants answers from the group's board of directors. did they have a responsibility to know what was going on? >> absolutely. any board of directors does. >> reporter: sources with direct knowledge of the charity's operations said the board signs off on all the charity's major spending, including expensive staff retreats. those sources also told us the board has spent donor dollars on its own meetings at five-star hotels, including the beverly wilshire hotel in los angeles and the waldorf astoria in new york. members questioned spending decisions and executive salaries, their concerns were ignored. we tried to speak with each board member in person, but they declined. >> i f

but his anger has subsided now that the charity's top two officials, steven nardizzi and al giordano, have been fired. >> it feels good. it really does. and-- and i didn't do it for me. i did it for all the veterans that wounded warrior project time in years, he's guardedly optimistic about the organization's future. but he also agrees with fred and dianne kane, who raised $325,000 for the charity with golf tournaments, that the ouster is only the first step. >> they need to change the culture, which, in my opinion, will require significant changes to the team, the executive team. i think they can right the ship, but it's going to take a lot of effort, and it's going to take a lot of effort to build up that good will again. >> reporter: also weighing in today, the melia family, which founded wounded warrior project in 2003. in a statement they, accusedinar diseasey of going so far as to remove any mention of the melia family from the w.w.p. web site and said doirns have every right to be angry about the lack of stewardship shown by the immediate past leadership. conceded in i a statem

ceo steven nardizzi and coo al giordano, according to reports on tax forms, spending on conferences and team building meetings, skyrocketed by more than 150% after nardizzi took over, $250,000 a year spent on snacks and sodas. less than 60% of the charity's funds went to the charity. most charities spend about 90%. >>> a dangerous murder suspect on the run for more than a week shot and killed in mississippi. rafael mccloud broke out of jail last week threatening a guard with a homemade knife and stealing his clothes. yesterday when he forced his way inside a home holding a man, his wife and 5-year-old son hostage in their bathroom. eventually the woman broke free and grabbed a gun and gave it to her husband who shot and killed mccloud. >>> in upstate new york two sisters have been found nearly a year after they vanished. and a woman has been charged with kidnapping. ky-lea and shaeleen fortner had not been seen since last april when they were waiting for a school bus. the girls now 16 and 14 were living with a foster family at the time of their disappearance. the woman charged with abdu

anything less than that is wrong. >> reporter: a former employee describing steven nardizzi entrances at a company meeting. >> he repelled down the side of the building. >> makes a grand entrance. >> he is coming in on a segway. he is coming in on a horse. >> reporter: up to half of the donations are going to costs of running the charity and not to veterans. than 80% of donations went to programming. if that is the case, the charity would meet guidelines from watch dog groups. the ripple effect will impact veterans firstly. >> and the contributes will go down. >> if donations do go down, it could impact more than 20 million veterans. we did reach out to the fired executives. they declined to comment. >>> thank you. former first lady nancy reagan is finally reunited with her beloved husband. she died at the age of 94 last sunday. she was laid to rest at the ronald reagan library in simi valley, california. all gathered to celebrate the queen of republican camelot who planned the funeral herself. >>> we learned the founder and keyboardist of keith emerson has died. after his partner dis