Cloud of suspicion
Toolbox
By Susan Smallheer STAFF WRITER - Published: October 6, 2009
SPRINGFIELD — The executive director of the Rockingham Area Community Land Trust abruptly resigned last month shortly after he was confronted with information that officials in Oregon, where he had last worked, had accused him of misappropriating $55,000.
Russ Brink, who had taken over the leadership of the organization in August 2008, resigned for personal reasons, according to Richard Crocker of Chester, chairman of the land trust board.
Crocker said Friday that someone had tipped off the board about Brink's problems with Downtown Eugene Inc., and Crocker had talked to Brink about it. He said Brink resigned Sept. 3, shortly after that conversation.
"We don't know if it's true," said Crocker. "He had a pretty good case for himself," he said, declining to repeat what Brink told him.
According to published reports in the Eugene newspaper, the Register-Guard, an audit of Downtown Eugene's books, conducted on behalf of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce, revealed $54,283 was missing or misappropriated.
While the finding has been referred to the Eugene Police Department by the chamber, no criminal charges have been filed.
Crocker said he was confident that there were no misappropriated funds at the Springfield-based land trust, which is in the midst of several high-profile renovation and construction projects in Windsor and Bellows Falls.
"We have pretty good safeguards in place," he said, adding that Brink really didn't have access to the trust's finances.
He said the trust had already completed "a very extreme audit" that covered the first half of Brink's tenure, and would conduct another audit that would cover the second half.
Crocker said having someone with such a cloud over his head would obviously reflect poorly on the land trust.
According to an article published in April, Brink was one of the founders of the high-profile Oregon organization 21 years ago, and he was the group's only director until the chamber took over management in July 2008, shortly before he came to Vermont.
In the article, Brink said he had given "thousands of dollars of my own funds so DEI could make payroll and pay its bills. This came at great personal cost on many levels."
The article quoted Downtown Eugene officials saying Brink used the organization's debit card to make $10,000 in 80 cash withdrawals, and that $15,000 was spent at bars and restaurants and out-of-state transactions in Madison, Wis., and Tucson, Ariz.
Additionally, Downtown Eugene reportedly believes Brink owes it $6,800 for overpaying himself during the last three months of his consulting work, including "his failure to make withholding tax payments and not repaying DEI for health insurance."
Crocker said that the land trust board had hired someone to make the reference calls on Brink before hiring him, and the board had also done some due diligence. He said he didn't know why none of the problems at Downtown Eugene turned up.
"We were fairly happy with his performance," he said of Brink's 12-month tenure.
A committee of three senior staff members at the land trust have assumed day-to-day operations.
Crocker said the board was on the verge of hiring an interim director to help the organization through the immediate future and to allow the board enough time to do a thorough executive search.
susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com
58