 He was placed on paid leave (along with chief financial officer Richard B. Stewart, Jr.) after an article in "The New York Times" linked him with Richard J. Gordon, a web consultant hired by ABS, who was a convicted felon with ties to online pornography and gambling enterprises.At that time, it was revealed by USA Today that, while president of the Humane Society, Irwin used $85,000 of Humane Society money for renovate a home in Maine in 1987.In April 2003, the Humane Society paid $881,000 to Gordon's Exciting New Technologies (ENT) company; ENT hired Irwin's son (Christopher) as director of business development.