County supervisors order questionable monk ordered to leave Iowa abbey
Ryan St. Anne Scott has 72 hours to vacate what he calls the Buchanan Abbey and move what he calls a religious community.
Scott, a self-described monk, has been living in the former Buchanan County home with a small group of followers since about April. He agreed to pay the $125,000 for the property over two years and has made monthly $1,000 payments.
However, as of Monday, Scott had not insured the 16,950-square-foot building and surrounding acreage as the real estate contract required.
County supervisors voted 2-1 on the issue following a half-hour discussion Monday. Supervisor Ellen Gaffney felt Scott should have more time.
County Attorney Shawn Harden cited liability concerns. If an incident should happen on the site, such as a personal injury, Buchanan County's insurance would not kick in because it doesn't have possession, he said.
"I'm pretty sure our insurance company is going to tell us to take a hike," Harden said.
Supervisor Gary Gissel expressed concern the county could be sued, however.
"We have the deep pockets," he said. "(Scott) doesn't."
Scott owes a judgment of $161,000 in Illinois to a former follower. In December he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection for a failed venture, the Holy Rosary Abbey in Galesburg, Ill. Scott also filed a personal Chapter 7 bankruptcy Dec. 21 in Iowa.
"I don't want to be the bad guy here, but I think he's had his time and we need to move on this thing before it's too late for us," Gissel said.
4 comments:
This whole thing just keeps getting more & more bizarre. & every thing is just more proof he is a con man trying to stave off the inevitable collapse of his con. Will someone please arrest the guy & throw away the key?
He claims he does have insurance now, however the document he provided was flawed, and much of it could not be deciphered. Also, he has included Buchanan County as a creditor in his personal bankruptcy:
http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/scott-apparently-obtains-abbey-insurance/article_48724b8f-ea15-5862-9d13-bdc7fd1b9396.htmld
http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/buchanan-county-named-as-creditor-in-monk-s-bankruptcy/article_ac976bd1-ab45-5012-921c-37787798aa1d.html
The Courier has set up a timeline w/ links to the stories to help people follow it:
http://wcfcourier.com/timeline-ryan-st-anne-scott-investigation/html_7d44fdea-3e11-11e1-8294-0019bb2963f4.html
How do you know he's a con?
TAN Books has been in and out of Chapter Eleven for years and I don't think anyone has referred to its owner as a con.
Tancred: TAN Books is a whole different matter. Yes they were in & out of bankruptcy. & they are now owned by St. Benedict Press. But they were faithful to the magesterium. & they weren't trying to defraud people.
This guy is a sedevacentist who doesn't recognize the Pope or Archbishop Hanus' authority. & have you looked at his history of actions in Iowa, Illinois & Wisconsin? I stand by what I said.
Al, you are right. This fraud has destroyed many lives and even now the fate of an elderly follower is unknown.
http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/former-abbey-resident-s-whereabouts-still-unknown/article_6c74ba2c-1fe9-5259-a4d9-4aeeba6b0154.html
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