William Aramony

In February 1992, William Aramony, president and CEO of United Way of America (UWA) resigned under allegations that he conspired to defraud UWA and its spin-off companies. On April 3, 1995, Mr. Aramony was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia of various counts of conspiracy, fraud, and filling false tax returns. He has served 84 months in prison, and was released in October 2001. He was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release following the expiration of his term and fined $300,000. In his 22 years with the organization, Aramony is widely credited with raising the United Way's profile and binding the 2,100 independent local groups into a tight confederation. The youngest of four children born to Russell and Nazley Aramony, Lebanese immigrants, he grew up in Worcester, Mass., and was the first in his family to attend college, graduating there from Clark University in 1949 and from Boston College with a master's degree in social work in 1951. Joining the United Way as executive director of the Columbia, S.C., chapter in the late 1950s, he headed local chapters in South Bend, Ind., and Miami before taking the top national job in 1970. He married Bebe Ann Nojeim. They had three children, and were separated in 1988 and divorced in 1991. He married Gail Manza in 2002. Besides Ms. Manza and his son Robert, Mr. Aramony is survived by a daughter, Susan Kanelidis; a son, William; and seven grandchildren.