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When former President of the American Bible Society, Dr. Paul Irwin, hired Richard J. Gordon to help revamp the organization's websites and improve online marketing efforts, neither Irwin or the ABS apparently knew of Gordon's connections with pornography and online gambling enterprises. Irwin had worked with Gordon previously at the American Humane Society.
According to a New York Times report, Irwin had been suspended following an investigation into possible financial irregularities at the organization.
Tax records from 2005 to 2007 reveal that the Bible society paid more than $5 million to Gordon's companies.
ABS spokesman Roy Lloyd said the charity was the "innocent victim" and assured that an independent review of the organization's financial stewardship would be done with "integrity."
The American Bible Society has brought on the The Rev. Dr. R. Lamar Vest to assume the role of President.
According to the website LukeFord.net, Mr. Gordon, 62, played a significant role in the birth of electronic commerce.
"While Amazon.com and eBay were still fledgling enterprises, the companies that Mr. Gordon founded in the early 1990s were already laying the groundwork for electronic transactions conducted with credit cards - a development that opened the doors to the first generation of e-commerce start-ups. A number of Gordon's earlier clients were indeed in the porn sector.
"Gordon processed sales on a range of sites from small, mainstream retailers to others like ClubLove, which published the Pamela Anderson-Tommy Lee sex tape. Today, his payment processing company continues to have roots in the world of sexual entertainment. One of the several companies he owns or operates, Processing Solutions, facilitates credit card transactions for the Web sites of DTI, or Dial Talk International, according to current and former employees familiar with the arrangements."
Those familiar with his operations say his relationship with DTI remains the nexus of his enterprise.
"DTI appears to rank in the top 1 percent of adult entertainment companies in the world," said M. J. McMahon, publisher of AVN Online, an Internet news site covering the industry.
The New York Times reported that publicly traded Cryptologic, a pioneer in what is now a multi-billion-dollar global Internet gaming market, was among Gordon's earlier clients.
Alejandro Botticelli, Gambling911.com
