Another Money Scandal

Well, make that three members of Northeast Harbor's wealthy summer community that is in trouble with the law over money. Some might suggest the economy may have hastened their woes, but I don't know that the economy can be blamed.

Dianna Brochendorff (at right), the latest to join the list, has a history of bouncing checks on and around Mount Desert Island, according to local police, though she hasn't faced any local charges. I've been told by one area business owner that they now have what they call "The Brochendorff Rule," which means that all the orders they receive are paid for in full before they ship out. This rule was implemented well before the economy went south. Now, she's accused of stealing nearly $200,000 worth of antiques and designer clothing from a former friend in Connecticut, where she's facing a charge of first degree larceny, according to this article in that state's Register Citizen newspaper. Local police say she has been living in a Main Street apartment in Northeast Harbor and is believed to have sold some of these items out of her consignment shop in Somesville on MDI. Nan Lincoln wrote in a Bar Harbor Times story that Brochendorff denies the allegations and is pressing on with her shop.

The predicament of Anthony Marshall (near left) does not seem economy-related as much as a question of whether he had a right to manage his mother's money the way he did. In a much publicized trial in NYC, he was found guilty of stealing millions from his late mother, former New York society doyenne Brooke Astor, but his lawyers are trying to have the conviction vacated. They are arguing that one juror caved in to pressure though she did not believe he was guilty, according to the New York Daily News. Astor summered in Northeast Harbor for decades, and Marshall is married to former local resident Charlene Marshall (far left). Tony Marshall is listed in the town's official assessor database as the owner of Astor's former local summer estate, Cove End.

Donald Anthony Walker Young's situation, like that of Bernie Madoff, probably is more economy related in that people stopped investing in his brokerage firm and began asking for money back as their investments began to tank. According to investigators, Young couldn't give back the money because he spent $25 million of it on himself and his family. News about the allegations became public a year ago (see the SEC's initial press release), and earlier this month he was indicted federal prosecutors, according to this article in the Philadelphia Business Journal. Much of Young's assets have been seized and sold by investigators, but the town of Mount Desert assessor's database still lists him as the owner of record for his former summer home on Tennis Club Road.

If Marshall and Young are having money problems (Young certainly is), the sale of their local homes surely would help them with their cash-flow issues. But who's going to buy a seasonal luxury home in this economy? Someone might - the Barretts were able to sell their oceanfron mansion in Bar Harbor in January (see this earlier post) - but I'm willing to bet that there are a lot more sellers than buyers right now, especially at that end of the market.