Spitzer Drops Examination of Radio Host's Charity

The investigative flap over a charity ranch run by combative national radio host Don Imus is over. According to published reports, an official from the New York State Attorney General's charities office wrote to the gruff radio personality telling him that "no further inquiries concerning the Ranch are needed at this time," thus ending the probe launched by AG Eliot Spitzer. The 64-year-old Imus and his wife Deirdre, operate "The Imus Ranch" a 4,000-acre parcel in New Mexico for critically ill children. The ranch became the subject of an unflattering profile in the March 24 edition of The Wall Street Journal, which drew comparisons of the unusually high costs associated with the ranch -- $2.6 million per year for 100 children -- and compared them to other well-known charitable camps such as actor Paul Newman's "Hole in the Wall Gang." The piece detailed the Spitzer probe and questioned the Imus' personal use of the property without reimbursing the ranch. Spitzer's office said the inquiry was launched when the charity requested an extension to file tax data and that the AG's office had received an anonymous letter urging it to investigate Imus's use of the ranch. The cantankerous Imus, known for wearing his trademark 10-gallon hats on the air, labeled the WSJ reporter, Robert Frank, a "punk" and "dishonest," claiming that he (Frank) refused to come to the ranch and that he interviewed him (Imus) just one day before the article appeared. During his morning broadcast, Imus maintained that he never personally benefited from the ranch. "I'm not getting anything out of this other than having fun helping the children," he said. However, Paul Steiger, the Journal's long-time managing editor, said the article was fair and accurate and written by "one of our most experienced and capable reporters."