The executive director of the US organisation set to bring hundreds of delegates to Bermuda for a conference insists she is still working for the group.

But claims by Vanessa Williams that she remains employed by the National Conference of Black Mayors and has authority to organise the conference, which will be hosted by the Corporation of Hamilton, have been questioned by one municipality councillor.

And Larry Scott said that NCBM leadership is now so clearly in disarray that the Corporation should cut ties with the organisation and shelve any conference plans for the immediate future.

Ms Williams spent five days on the Island earlier this month in order to examine conference and hotel facilities. The trip was paid for by the Corporation.

Yesterday The Royal Gazette revealed that, according to US media reports, Ms Williams was sacked by the NCBM last September over allegations she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of NCBM funds on her own expenses.

After the news broke, the Corporation yesterday contacted Ms Williams to establish if there was any truth to the reports.

“We spoke with her this morning and she is sending a copy of the letter from the NCBM board confirming the conference in Bermuda and her status as Executive Director,” Corporation Secretary Ed Benevides said in an e-mail to The Royal Gazette.

No letter was sent from the NCBM Board, but this paper was later contacted by Michael Blunt, mayor of the village of Chesilhurst in New Jersey.

Mr Blunt claimed that the NCBM president who oversaw Ms Williams’ sacking, Kevin Johnson, was himself sacked by the NCBM in December and Mr Blunt had been appointed as the new president.

And in a letter addressed to Hamilton Mayor Graeme Outerbridge, which was copied to The Royal Gazette, Mr Blunt wrote: “It was a pleasure speaking with you today and I personally apologise for inconvenience that you may have encountered as a result of false information about Vanessa Williams.”

The Royal Gazette later e-mailed Mr Blunt asking him to provide documentary evidence to support his claim that he was the NCBM’s new president and that Ms Williams was still its executive director.

Mr Blunt replied that Ms Williams would forward that information on, but no documentation was received by press time last night.

And internet searches could find no evidence to back up Mr Blunt’s claims, which were refuted by NCBM spokesman Jeff Dickerson.

“Kevin Johnson, mayor of Sacramento, is the duly elected president of the National Conference of Black Mayors,” Mr Dickerson told this newspaper.

“Mayor Johnson has demanded a level of integrity, openness and honesty in the organisation concerning its present challenges and its long-standing mission, and as president, he has asked for a full accounting of the organisation’s resources.

“He has also sought out pro bono auditing, legal and communications assistance, and I am a part of that team.

“We are fully aware that there are challenges to the efforts of Mayor Johnson to bring honesty and openness to the organisation.

“Those challenges, however, do not change the fact that he is the duly elected president.

“Mayor Johnson has sought legal action to compel the release of NCBM documents, as well as to settle any lingering questions regarding governance.

“Those court challenges are ongoing, and we will keep you abreast of them as they develop.”

Mr Blunt hit back by questioning Mr Dickerson’s credentials as a spokesman for the NCBM.

“I’ve never heard of him,” he said.

But latest news reports coming out of the US appear to support Mr Dickerson’s claims.

A January 18 article on the website allvoices.com claims that Mr Johnson took Ms Williams to court in order to make her hand over NCBM financial records.

A counter action was filed claiming that Mr Johnson’s election as president was illegal. According to the article, the court will make a ruling on both issues at the end of this month.

Last night Mr Outerbridge said he was still in the process of trying to “get to the bottom” of who is now running the NCBM.

He acknowledged that Mr Blunt had called him yesterday and that he was taking his claim that he was the new president “at face value”.

“But I will be calling him back and am still doing my due diligence to try and get to the bottom of this and find out what the facts are,” he added.

But Mr Scott — who first raised concerns about Ms Williams at a Corporation meeting several weeks ago — said the episode was damaging Bermuda’s reputation, and that the Corporation should cut ties with NCBM until it “gets their house in order”.

“Mr Blunt’s letter leaves more questions than answers, and though the Mayor has or seems to have accepted it as bona fides I don’t,” Mr Scott said.

“There is something amiss at the NCBM that they have not clarified to my satisfaction. Therefore I am not comfortable with the vagueness coming out of NCBM. It is my view that we should distance ourselves from it.

“The Corporation of Hamilton is bigger than the Mayor and myself, but it is now the credibility of Bermuda that is at stake, and it’s that which we must have concern with.

“My view is that the sounder heads of the NCBM will just simply pull out of this saga and I encourage them to do just that — get their house in order before involving other places like Bermuda in what is no more than a ‘Thelma & Louise’ race to the edge of the precipice.

“I don’t wish to be involved in this and I won’t encourage the board to proceed.”