The small Texas Highway Patrol Museum in San Antonio is a telemarketing operation that generated nearly $12 million from 2004 to 2009, says the San Antonio Express-News in a story available only to paid subscribers. The museum is run by the Texas Highway Patrol Association, which the Grits for Breakfast blog calls “a so-called ‘”charity’ that spends barely any of the millions of dollars it raises for its stated purpose – helping families of state troopers slain in the line of duty – and instead spends most of its money on fundraising costs and executive pay.”
Telemarketers say they are from the “Texas Highway Patrol,” but the group is unaffiliated with the Department of Public Safety. The Express-News says that while the association takes in more than $1 million per year, it spends $20,000 or less on “death benefits” for troopers’ families.