St. Paul police are investigating a case of possible embezzlement at the storied Town & Country Club.
Police were notified of the matter Monday and an investigator met with representatives of the club, said Steve Linders, a St. Paul police spokesman. A brief police report indicates the incident of possible embezzlement began in January 2010 and ended Dec. 2.
Police are not releasing details “because it’s an open and active investigation,” Linders said Friday. No one has been arrested.
The St. Paul Police Department is leading the investigation and working closely with the Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force and the U.S. Secret Service, Linders said.
The club’s general manager, Vincent Tracy, acknowledged Friday that the club is working with police on a matter involving its financial accounts. Tracy referred additional questions to law enforcement.
Club officials notified its members of the situation in a letter from President Dan O’Brien, which indicated that on Dec. 2 “evidence of potentially significant financial improprieties involving the club were discovered.”
The letter went on to say that the club’s board of
directors hired “outside resources to assist in the investigation.”
Club officials estimate “the extent of potential financial exposure to be significant,” though “we do not yet know the full scope of this incident,” according to the letter.
The letter further indicates that the matter won’t affect the club’s ability to fund operations.
But it also states that “… depending on the outcome of the investigation and pending a thorough review of Club finances, our planned work on the clubhouse expansion project will need to be postponed.”
In the club’s September newsletter, O’Brien wrote about ongoing work on a new master plan for the club, which included improvements to its golf course “for years to come.”
The club did well financially in 2016, according to its November newsletter to members. Golf and pool revenue were up about 15 percent over 2015.
Initiation fees at the prestigious St. Paul establishment are poised to jump about $2,500 in 2017, another fall newsletter reported, bringing the total for anyone wanting to join the club as a social member next year to $7,500. Corporate initiation fees are expected to jump from $7,000 to $10,000.
The Town & Country Club dates back to 1888 and is the home of the first golf course to be established in Minnesota.
Overlooking the Mississippi River in the Merriam Park neighborhood, it has an 18-hole golf course, tennis courts, a heated outdoor swimming pool, fitness center, and dining, banquet and meeting facilities.