Ryan J. Reilly November 30, 2011, 9:55 AM

The New York Agency for Community Affairs worked as a front group for the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) and used federal grant funds to make ACORN’s payroll back in 2005 and 2006, according to a new report by the Justice Department’s Inspector General.

Investigators questioned $138,129 in grant money spent by NYACA. They found that the organization “did not have any paid employees at the time it received the grant or at any time during the life of the grant-funded project.” From the report:

All of the individuals who worked on behalf of NYACA were ACORN employees. Further, the former NYACA Executive Director stated that she served concurrently as the Executive Director for both NYACA and the New York branch of ACORN. NYACA entered into a contractual agreement with ACORN for contract employees and all NYACA grant funds were transferred to ACORN for contractual payroll and fringe benefit charges paid to ACORN employees.

DOJ’s Inspector General “determined that all of the grant funds were essentially transferred from NYACA’s bank account to ACORN’s account,” both of which were maintained by the Louisiana-based company Citizens Consulting Inc.

One side note: the report — which is sure to get plenty of play on the political right — comes from the same office that some Republicans have claimed isn’t capable of running a credible independent investigation into ATF’s flawed Fast and Furious operation.

ACORN, DOJ Office Of The Inspector General, New York Agency for Community Affairs