A US mayoral conference courted by the Corporation of Hamilton with payments of $50,000 so far, and potentially up to $350,000, will likely spend all its takings on covering its substantial debts.

The Conference of Black Mayors (CBM), which rebranded itself from the National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM), can’t duck the $2 million owed to more than 100 creditors, a lawyer for the predecessor organisation told The Royal Gazette.

The conference was hoped to bring hundreds of attendees to Hamilton this October, as negotiated with the CBM’s purported director Vanessa Williams.

Meanwhile mayor Michael Blunt, of Chesilhurst, New Jersey, has claimed to this newspaper to be president of the NCBM.

“As you know it has been the NCBM’s firm position that the CBM is in no way related to NCBM,” lawyer Valarie Allan said.

Ms Allan’s firm, Ballard Spahr, is currently acting on behalf of the NCBM.

“As you also know, however, Vanessa Williams and Mayor Blunt are holding out the CBM as not just an affiliate, but as the successor to the NCBM, and are raising funds and generating revenue under this guise,” Ms Allan continued.

“In the US a corporation cannot escape its debts simply by changing its name and registration.”

The lawyer said that “successor liability” — the debts and obligations of the prior organisation — would succeed and attach to the new organisation, regardless of the switch in name.

“So, with regard to the question of whether CBM is related to NCBM, which NCBM contends it is not, Williams and Blunt better be careful what they wish for,” Ms Allan added.

She noted that an auditor appointed by the courts in prior litigation had found that Ms Williams lavished “at least $600,000 in NCBM funds” on her own personal expenses.

“The bankruptcy trustee may decide to pursue a recovery of those funds from Ms Williams — and he may consider this new venture, the CBM, a source,” Ms Allan said.

This implies that the Atlanta bankruptcy court could potentially seize CBM assets, including the Corporation of Hamilton’s payments.

Speaking to The Royal Gazette, bankruptcy trustee Edwin Palmer confirmed that the trust now “owned” all NCBM debts. The group has no assets.

Informed that Ms Williams had set up a new group and was now soliciting funds from the Corporation of Hamilton, Mr Palmer said that any assets in the hands of Ms Williams and the CBM, including cash donations from the Corporation, were “definitely on the table” to be used to pay off NCBM’s debts.

Ms Allan responded that “everything should be on the table” for Mr Palmer, since he was now acting on behalf of creditors owed millions “that we know about”.

“Vanessa Williams is responsible for this,” she said. “The NCBM had no alternative but to declare bankruptcy and unwind because of Vanessa Williams’s misuse of funds and mismanagement of the organisation. It is just too early to speculate on if and how CBM might be affected.”

City of Hamilton officials have yet to respond to concerns over the fate of monies paid out to the organisation. So far half of a $100,000 retainer has been paid off.

According to Corporation sources the event could eventually cost the municipality up to $350,000.