GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) -- The goal was admirable: raise $400,000 for a bronze memorial to honor more than 300 men and women from Michigan killed in wars since Sept. 11, 2001.
But after more than five years, there is no bronze -- only clay collecting dust.
Target 8 has learned that the Michigan Attorney General's Office has launched an investigation into the man behind the Michigan Fallen Warrior Memorial.
The plan was to install the memorial at a site on Covell Avenue NW near Lake Michigan Drive in Grand Rapids. It would include statues of three soldiers and a wall bearing the names of all Michigan service members killed since 9/11.
THREE WEST MICHIGAN SOLDIERS
Among those who donated to the fund to build the memorial are the families of soldiers who were supposed to be honored.
"This is Tim's dog tag," Tim Brown, of Cedar Springs, said as he showed Target 8 the tag on a chain around his neck. "It's a short tag. They always have two, and when they come upon a dead soldier, they take the short one."
Not that he needs such a keepsake to remember his son -- Specialist Timothy Brown, killed by a roadside bomb on Nov. 4, 2005 while serving in Iraq -- or his sacrifice.
"He always wanted to be in the military, ever since he was a little kid," said the soldier's mom, Cindy Brown, recalling how her son played army in the woods when he was a boy.
In Iraq, his fellow soldiers nicknamed him "UPS" -- what can Brown do for you.
Not far away in Grand Rapids, Sandi Vollmer set up her own memorial in her home for son, Sgt. Chad Vollmer, who was killed in December 2006 by an improvised explosive device in Iraq.
"Nobody wants their child forgotten, especially when they're out there, fighting for our freedoms," Vollmer said.
Spc. Brown and Sgt. Vollmer were supposed to be a big part of the memorial. Their faces, along with that of fallen soldier Dane Carver, 20, of Freeport, would be used on the statues. All three were from the Michigan Army National Guard 125th Infantry Regiment.
The families say they have donated thousands to the memorial fund. Now, they're wondering where the money went and what happened to the project.
"There were a lot of people that had their faith in this, that were excited about this," Cindy Brown said.
PROJECT ORGANIZER: 'IT GOT AWAY FROM ME'
An anonymous tip led Target 8 to investigate the fund. Through the Freedom of Information Act, Target 8 learned the Michigan Attorney General's Office also is looking into it.
Records show the memorial fund was headed by Joe Levandoski, a former Michigan Army National Guard sergeant who recruited Brown and Vollmer.
Late last month, the AG demanded that Levandoski provide records to account for the money taken in -- and spent.
Records show Levandoski, who has retired from the National Guard, created the nonprofit in 2011 but hasn't filed required paperwork with the state. IRS records show he hasn't filed tax documents, known as Form 990s, which are required for nonprofits.
Target 8 reached Levandoski by email and later by phone. He denied any wrongdoing but acknowledged he doesn't know exactly how much money he collected or how much was spent. He said his intentions were good but that he couldn't get help with bookkeeping.
"Nobody ever stepped up to do it," he said. "It got away from me; I needed help."
The AG's office has given him until Friday to account for the money taken in and spent. Levandoski said he plans to meet with an accountant on Friday but said he won't meet the state's deadline.
PHONE CALLS NEVER RETURNED
Grand Rapids artist Mic Carlson said he was recruited four years ago to sculpt the statues, building them out of metal forms, Styrofoam and clay. He planned to use the clay statues to create molds, then cast them in bronze at a cost of about $60,000 each.
"The money's run out a long time ago," Carlson told Target 8.
The unfinished statues are collecting cobwebs in his studio.
Carlson said he doesn't believe there was any wrongdoing.
"Nothing that I know of has been misused," he said.
But he also said he hasn't been able to reach Levandoski for answers.
"So I call him and he doesn't return my phone calls," Carlson said.
He said he wants to know: "What's going on? Are you raising money? Are you doing anything?"
"I stopped trying to get ahold of him now about eight months ago, six to eight months ago," he continued.
WHERE DID THE MONEY GO?
A post by Levandoski on the Michigan Fallen Warrior Memorial Fund Facebook page shows he'd raised $80,000 by late 2012.
The artist said he has spent about $65,000 -- most on the statues, some when he entered them into ArtPrize in 2011. He said most of the money came from the memorial fund, but he also raised some on his own and has spent some of his own cash.
"There's a lot of people that have donated to this project," he said. "This is my reputation."
The Vollmers said they have also tried repeatedly to reach Levandoski.
"You only bang your head on the wall so many times," Sandi Vollmer said.
She and Vollmer's father, Terry Vollmer, said they donated up to $5,000 -- giving money to the fund instead of buying Christmas gifts.
"We've tried to support it the best we could, then all of a sudden, there was nobody around," Terry Vollmer said.
"I've wondered where the money's gone, but I hadn't gotten any answers," Sandi Vollmer said.
The Browns say they raised thousands through golf outings and helping at 5K runs.
"We were going to town, then all of a sudden, just nothing," Cindy Brown said.
'YOU DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO BE FORGOTTEN'
Spc. Brown's name already is on a memorial in Cedar Springs, but this memorial was supposed to be different.
"This wasn't just about these three soldiers," Cindy Brown said. "It was about honoring all Michigan fallen, so to me that's important.
"You don't want anybody to be forgotten, these soldiers, their sacrifice," she continued.
The soldiers' families said they still hope, somehow, that the memorial can be finished.
"I would like to see it in my lifetime, but I don't know now," Tim Brown said.
"We'd like them to have a better home, where people can see them, realize what they're for," Sandi Vollmer said.
But she's not optimistic.
"I've come to the realization that I don't think it's going to happen before we're probably not around," she said.
Levandoski told Target 8 he eventually hopes to rekindle the memorial fund. The artist said he also wants to finish it.
"I got really connected with the emotion of the piece, so ever since then it just has to get done," Carlson said.